Bye bye Beijing, my heart belongs in Malaysia
On the 18th of April I traveled to Beijing, China in the hopes of teaching English... It was an interesting experience to say the least.
Let me just say that sitting in Dubai Airport waiting to board my flight and being the one of two people who was non- chinese was pretty frightening. And then arriving in Beijing in the dead of night and not seeing a single english sign and then having to guess which train to get on (thankfully I made an educated guess and I was correct) was not the warmest welcome that I could have had.
The next couple of days was full of many challenges that I tried to overcome, I got a job, I made some (english speaking) friends and tried to learn some basic mandarin... For the sake of the blog I won't go into a lot of detail but basically the job wasn't a good fit, the language barrier was a problem and my agency was not very helpful...
So I decided I would travel to Malaysia and stay with my parents. It was a scary decision to make , but one that I will never regret because I spent three months of pure bliss experiencing the most exquisite country. ( in this blog I will only be talking about Kuala Lumpur.)
These are some of my favorite places that I visited:
1. SURIA/ KLCC
This in the tourist hub of Kuala Lumpur, you can feel the hustle and bustle and it is such a magical feeling! Suria is a beautiful shopping centre , there are a lot of high end shops and just outside is KLCC park which is so well kept and really could give Central Park in New York a run for its money... And most importantly the Petronas Towers!!!
2. BUKIT BINTANG / THE PAVILLION/ ECO PARK
Bukit Bintang has to be my favorite place , the energy is electrifying and has the most delicious street food I've ever eaten in Jalan Alor. The Pavillion is another shopping centre
(of hundreds in KL) , but this one really is for the rich and famous with the most beautiful fountain and lights in the evenings. The Eco park is also in this area and is beautiful, you can go on a canopy walk and see the city amongst the trees , it's one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen.
3. The Putrajaya Botanical Gardens
Putrajaya is south of Kuala Lumpur. It has the beautiful Putra Mosque and the Botanical Gardens which are stunning. There is no entrance fee , but there are bicycles for hire. It can get extremely hot so just be prepared for that.
4. 1 UTAMA Shopping Centre
The third biggest shopping centre in the world with a secret garden and rainforest too... Any shop you could ever want as well has restuarants from fast food to fine dining. This is the place to come to for a shopping spree...
5. CHINA TOWN / CENTRAL MARKET/ MERDEKA SQUARE
China Town and Central Market is for those who love a good bargain... I'm talking T shirts for 30 ringgit! There are some real bargains, and you can really haggle the vendors if you want a lower price. Merdeka Square is one of Kuala Lumpur's best known landmarks and is always full of tour buses , just be prepared for the heat...
There is so much more to this beautiful city and I can't wait to continue exploring it when I'm back in November!