To get to Kuala Lumpur from Penang, I took a bus. I bought my ticket in downtown Penang that morning and if I remember right, it was fairly simple. But along with how I got from Thailand to Penang, you have to have a bit of blind trust that they will put you on the right bus/transportation. Luckily, I made it there safely and was able to check into my room at Mingle Hostel a little early. I had a quick lunch (I think pasta) in the cafe that is attached to the hostel, Leaf and Co. Cafe.
This hostel was a very cool spot in Chinatown that I highly recommend. It's close to lots of food options and some cheap shopping because of markets in Chinatown, as well as two really good cocktail bar/speakeasies. But the best part is that you don't even have to leave the building to get some weird/cool cocktails, because there's a bar on the rooftop of the hostel, called The Deceased. So of course after I settled into my room, I went upstairs to get a drink and below you'll see what it looked like. It was in a wooden shoe and had incense burning with it. No clue what ingredients were, but I remember it being more about the unique presentation rather than the taste.
The sun went down and that meant it was time for me to make my way over to one of the main attractions in KL, the Petronas Twin Towers. Just before I went there though, I had to grab a bit of dinner. Since it was fairly close to the towers, I ended up getting some ayam goreng kunyit (a chicken dish) and a smoothie at the Tapak Urban Street Market. Then it was time to walk over to the towers and boy were they beautiful! I love when attractions live up to the hype. I took far too many photos from many different angles and distances, but I loved visiting. Highly recommend walking there at night to see them lit up.
On my last full day of a seven week backpacking trip throughout Southeast Asia, I woke up and had the free breakfast at the hostel and started my day of seeing more of the sights in KL. First stop was the oldest mosque in Kuala Lumpur, the Masjid Jamek Mosque right at the confluence or estuary where two rivers meet. Fun fact: that's how Kuala Lumpur got it's name: it means muddy estuary. This was my first ever visit to a mosque, and it was a cool experience. At the beginning they had a place where you could put on a covering (essentially an entire robe) to go inside. Despite it being the oldest mosque in KL, it's not technically very old - only just over 100 years old. Right by the mosque, just around the corner you can find even more Mughal architecture, including the gigantic Sultan Abdul Samad building right along the river. It's beautiful and so detailed. Across the street, where I tried to get a picture of the entire building (and it wouldn't fit, so I had to do a pano) is Merdeka Square park where Malaysian Independence was declared from the British in 1957.
The next stop was to the Islamic Arts Museum of Malaysia, which is a little bit difficult to find the entrance to. I wanted to make sure this was on my list to visit in my short time in KL because 1) it's one of the top museums in the city and 2) I've never been to a museum dedicated to Islamic art. Except for possibly some small exhibits at other art museums, I haven't seen much Islamic art period. I loved this museum. Everything was beautiful and there were so many mediums represented: pottery, paintings, clothing, furniture, weapons, and more. My favorite exhibits were the one on books and the one with miniatures of famous and architecturally beautiful mosques around the world. It also worked well with my day because for part of my visit in the museum it was pouring rain. Overall, I highly recommend checking out this museum when visiting KL. And don't skip the gift shop!
After I got back to the hostel and changed up my attire to something a little nicer (and hopefully clean - you never know this far into a trip), I made my way just around the corner from my hostel to these two cocktail bar/speakeasies that are virtually next to each other. The first one I went to was called Botakliquor and you entered through a restaurant on the first floor and take the spiral (I think?) staircase up to the second floor. I loved the ambiance and design of the space - very tropical and jungle-like with tons of plants. The name of the bar is also reflected in their drinks with using unique ingredients like different flowers and such. I really liked it! The next place I went to was PS150, which felt very similar to a New York speakeasy, which I loved. You enter through a tiny toy shop storefront, and end up in a very swankily designed space. I sat at the bar and ended up having two delicious drinks while I chatted with another American until I needed to head back to my hostel. I had to get to bed so I could get up early and catch the bus/shuttle to the airport, which is about an hour outside of the city. Make sure to make enough time to get to the airport when leaving! Overall, was very impressed with the drink scene in KL and that was all within a 2 block radius at most, if you count the bar above my hostel as well!
Not a bad way to end my seven week journey through Southeast Asia. It was a wonderful country to end on as it was very easy to travel around and so in that regard it felt a bit more relaxing then say, Vietnam. I loved my short week in Malaysia and would highly recommend people visit. Just take a bit more time so you can see the Cameron Highlands which I missed, and go down to Singapore as well.
Also p.s. This wasn't actually that short, sorry! :)