The social backpackers guide to a good time in Kuala Lumpur

The social backpackers guide to a good time in Kuala Lumpur

Saturday, 1 June 2019

Back in 2017 I embarked on my first solo trip; one which I had meticulously spend the past 3 months planning day by day. My adventure around Southeast Asia would start Kuala Lumpur (for 3 days) and then I would leave Malaysia until the end of my trip when I would have to go back to catch my return flight home. I planned to visit Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bali, Java, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

That all changed from the day I touch down KL and met some people who later became some of my best friends.

Turns out I ended up spending 6 weeks of that trip in Malaysia and a whopping 26 days (almost a 3rd of the whole trip) just in Kuala Lumpur. I had no idea how awesome it was going to be; but as everyone says that's the great thing about travelling solo. I made my plans to suit myself and ended up leaving and flying back to Kuala Lumpur 4 times throughout.

I had such a good time that I never ended up getting around to writing about it and now, a year and a half later, I'm seeing people popping up on Twitter all the time saying that they going to Malaysia and asking questions. That is when I realised that I actually have quite a lot of knowledge on the subject.

This post is going to be a little bit different from the usual Kuala Lumpur City guide type blog posts. I had just come out of an eight year relationship, I made an awesome group of friends and all I was interested in doing was hanging out with them and meeting as many new people as possible. So whilst most of the Kuala Lumpur guides you might see online, cover the usual tourist hotspots; this one is going to be more about the social side of things.

Where to stay

I stayed between two different hostels and they were both awesome for different reasons - I would happily go back to both because I had absolutely wild time at each of them.

Sunshine Bedz

So this was the one that I booked when I did my crazy plan and considering it was the only part of that plan that I stuck do, I did a pretty good job. It lived up to its brilliant reviews and was very central with good transport links.

Although I can't really comment about how close it was to the tourist attractions because I didn't really see any of them, I can tell you it was very close the bars and restaurants, the shopping malls and had great transport links with a tube station just outside and a bus stop a bit further down.

The beds were super comfortable and every room was very clean from what I could see. I stayed in female dorms, mixed dorms, private rooms and I also stayed up chatting on the sofa till 5 a.m. most nights so I feel pretty qualified to comment. And as the 5 a.m. chats suggest the atmosphere for making friends at this place was perfect.

Step Inn Too

I ended up here as one of my friends from Sunshine bedz took on a job there. I would definitely recommend this place for the party hungry backpacker; although if that's not you, the beds are in a different part of the building so it's actually very quiet and comfortable for sleeping as well.

For me, the location for this one wasn't as good plus when you walk in, it doesn't really look much but the community and atmosphere at this hostel was so awesome that's it didn't even matter that the nightclubs were a bit of a trek (25 minute walk maybe).

What I loved about staying here was that we didn't even go to the Bar Street most nights instead we bought alcohol from 7-Eleven and got drunk and reception; and when it got late we relocated to the backstreet road just outside the front door. 19.50MR for that bottle of vodka? £3.70.

As mentioned, the beds are completely out of the way so everything was quiet. Also I stayed in the 4 bed dorms and the 20 bed dorm which was more like lots of twin rooms all joint together. I found that 20 bed dorms are the best place to meet and bond with people so don't be scared to book one.

Jalan Alor

Jalan Alor or food Street as everyone calls it is just down the road from Sunshine bedz and one of my favourite places to eat from the entirety of my trip. The food scene in Malaysia is actually pretty cool with a mix of all sorts of other Asian foods but quite a strong influence from India.

Heading to Jalan Alor was the first thing I did when I arrived in Kuala Lumpur and it was the best way to thrust myself straight into crazy Southeast Asian City life.

An incredible street buzzing with people and lights and restaurants and street food vendors. I'd go on my own or I'd go with my friends and we would all just pick up things from different places as we went. Thai, Indian, dumplings, hot pots, coconut ice cream & fresh fruit.

I'm not going to lie, as a bunch of Brits Abroad we did spend quite a lot of time at Nandos - but if it is a short, flying visit, I recommend just taking advantage of all the amazing local food.

The Malls

Malaysia has some impressive malls and I love that you can pretty much find anything you need - One of my friends was looking for a resistance band so he could do some exercise (travelling made me fat) and of course we found one - I'm not even sure I'd be able to find one of those in London.

I spent most of my time in Berjaya Times Square with my English friends, usually looking for our KFC fix, playing snooker in a sketchy underground club just outside or bowling; which is not something I imagined I'd be doing all that often but whatever. This place was literally like 10 stories tall and had a full sized roller coaster inside.

Pavilion was also in the centre of town but was a lot more classy and full of designer shops and nice restaurants so I didn't spend as much time there.

Nightlife

Or Bar Street as everyone knows it. I had to actually look up the official name of this place and according to Google it's called Changkat, Bukit Bintang. I have absolutely no idea how to get there since I only ever saw it when I was drunk and had followed the rest of the group there but I can tell you that is a very short walk from Sunshine bedz and there is a very tasty shwarma stall on the way back!

One thing that I found incredible about nightlife in Kuala Lumpur was that women drink for free on Wednesdays (ladies night) and most other nights as well actually if I'm being honest. I could not believe it when I first got there but you just go to the bar ask for the drink and then take it. I'm sure there are people who will say there's no alcohol in them but they got me drunk every single night so believe what you want.

Now I know this is not something you can just magic up but the best thing that I did in Kuala Lumpur was make friends with two locals. The boys were already friendly with my English friends when I arrived and thanks to them I got to see a lot more of KL life then I would have done otherwise. They snuck us into hotels with amazing rooftop pools, they got us half price meals at restaurants and they booked an apartment so we could celebrate a birthday away from the other guests and hostel rules with an incredible view over the city from the 22nd floor.

So that's how I spent the majority of my time in Kuala Lumpur. I did check out a few of the tourist spots like China town and the Petronas Towers (and I was actually lucky enough to see Malaysia's last Formula 1 race) but I'm sure you can find all the information you need about that on Google. If you do have any more questions about social life and meeting people in Kuala Lumpur then please don't hesitate to email me or drop me a tweet

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Some of the most memorable places I've ever slept

Some of the most memorable places I've ever slept

Monday, 23 July 2018

Travelling hasn't just all been a big adventure (well it has, but), it's actually helped open my eyes to other ways of doing things; hence today's blog post. I realise that whilst a few of my most memorable experiences have indeed been at a luxury hotel, you don't need to spend thousands on accommodation to have great trip. If you're clever about it, you can do even the most expensive destinations on a budget and still have a blast. Whether its a cheap or expensive destination, there are always ways around it! ​Check out this useful tool to help you experience a Dubai holiday on any budget shoestring to splurge!

Although it seems pretty obvious, this really was a bit of a discovery for me. To put it into perspective, the first time I visited Bali, I blew so much money I don't know what I was thinking. I'm glad I did it back then because I don't think I could justify spending £300 a night on a holiday right now. When I went back to Bali last year, my accommodation cost £7 a night; that's almost 50 times less omg.

I've slept in some very expensive rooms and now, I've slept on the airport floor to save paying for a bed. Here are some of my most memorable nights:

Purple Monkey Hostel, Pai 

I had never heard of Pai but when I arrived in Thailand the whole backpacking community were talking about how amazing it was so I decided to book a couple of days and give it a go.

My trip turned into a week long visit and it became my favorite part of Thailand; it definitely had some of the coolest hostels but all of the good ones were out in the middle of nowhere and I didn't want to hire a motorbike so I had to compromise.

 After a few nights in a shared dorm at Purple Monkey, I couldn't take any more, it was just too basic and with Electric Valley festival coming up, I decided to book myself into one of the private rooms because I knew that I'd want to get a proper sleep the day afterwards.

Turned out that the private rooms were actually tiny little huts, just big enough to fit the mattress on the floor. There were 5 of them, all lined up in different colours. Super cute and pretty hilarious (they looked like an oversized dog kennels to me) with a padlock to lock the front door; it was the perfect place to shut myself away from the world and get some much needed sleep. 

The Mondrian Hotel, London 

The Mondrian is my favourite hotel in London and I have mentioned our many stays there on the blog before; although somehow, I failed to mention the time/s we stayed in their river view balcony suite (which is going for £924 including breakfast for tonight).

I assumed it was going to be an once in a lifetime experience, seriously, not even I would spend that much on one night but somehow, it happened again and we got to stay in this incredible room on two different occasions. Interesting what a couple of 4am fire alarms and a good old complaint email can get you.

The room was 700 sqft with two bathrooms - one with a freestanding bath, a separate dining area and a huge balcony overlooking the Thames. We drank complimentary champagne in the room, had massages at the spa and dinner and cocktails at their Sea Containers restaurant downstairs. Along with crab scrambled eggs and avo toast in the morning; this will forever be one of my most memorable hotel visits ever. 

Tipsy Tiger Hostel, Penang 

Tipsy Tiger was the best party hostel that I stayed in during my stint in Southeast Asia plus it was super cheap for such a popular place. My £7 got me a bed, a 2 liter bottle of water, two very strong mixed drinks at the bar and as much nutella and toast (and well you know, fruit) as I could eat the next morning. It was big, spacious and super chilled out during the day which made sense because you don't really get much sleep sharing a bedroom with 19 other ridiculously drunk people.

Yep. The 20 bed at Tipsy Tiger was the biggest room I came across and stayed in on my trip and yes, there were multiple couples having sex every. single. night. That was the tame stuff; all sorts of things went down in that room and as you can imagine, it was just madness.

Like all of my favourite hostels, I extended my stay here and did 6 nights on the trot. I left at 7am on the last day, completley broken and had to take a week off to recover, vowing I'd never go back. oops.

ME Hotel, Majorca 

It's not often I go back to the same place again and again, but this is one exception; I went back one year after another and was still desperate for more.

I've been to a few ME hotels but the one in Majorca is very arty, very lifestyle based and it is such a vibe. Honestly, that is the perfect the word for it; they even have a room called VIBE - although I've always stayed in sea view PASSION room because it has bathtub looking over the beach. Priorities.

Along with the bath tub, the rooms are minimalist, fresh, white and crisp with an open plan bathroom so you better be comfortable with whoever you are sharing with. With an adult only pool, an on site beach restaurant and music pumping all day from Nikki Beach next door, I didn't want to leave the hotel all too often; but of course we did (a couple of times at least.)

Chilled days would be spent drinking frozen cocktails by the pool and then heading out to Port Adriano for a seafood feast and more adventurous days would see us exploring Palma old town on an open top bus and making the most of Magaluf's infamous night life with super club, BCM just down the road - another Majorca holiday highlight for me, I've been going to that place since I was 17. 

Home, Auckland 

I wasn't sure if I should put this one in but I always think to myself how important part of my life story this little place is going to be. Not only was it my first home, the first place that I paid rent for but it's the first place I lived with a partner and the first time I've lived in another country, let alone one that is about as far away from home as I could get. It's funny where life takes you. 

Ubud Village Resort, Ubud 

I couldnt come in with an intro like that and then not mention the rooms. We actually stayed at The Elysian in Bali too but whilst I loved that place equally, it was much less authentic and I will always remember arriving at this hotel. It was our first time in Bali and I didn't realise that places like this existed. A completely open reception area meant we could see across the whole property while the sun set and we sipped on welcome drinks. As it got darker, candles lit every walkway in the resort; we hopped on a golf buggy to our villa. A big wooden gated entrance, a private pool, an outdoor bathtub and soft Balinese music playing in the background, made it (and Ubud in general) the most romantic place I've ever visited.

I wrote this paragraph and then realised that I have quite literally quoted this post word on word; very strong memories as you can see. 

Sukhuvati Retreat, Canggu 

For someone who had never done yoga before, it had always been a strange dream of mine to visit a yoga retreat and I finally made it happen last year.

What an experience; with daily treatments at the spa and in the villa, vegan food that I didn't know existed and a room to myself, even more extravagant than the one in Ubud, it was one of the most amazing things I've ever done.

Having taken up yoga since arriving in New Zealand, I would love to return to Sukhuvati one day.

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