Background

My first deployment in the Royal Navy was the first half of Global ’90, taking me from Plymouth to Hong Kong. Along the way we stopped in Lumut, Malaysia, which led to a side trip to Pangkor Island. It was paradise, so… when Rachel and I married in summer of ’98 I chose to return to Malaysia (and Singapore) for our honeymoon.

That time around we did a packaged trip organised by Kuoni, which took us to Kuala Lumpar (KL), the Cameron Highlands, Penang and Singapore[1]. This series of posts covers the slightly revised itinerary for the (almost) 25th anniversary return trip.

Getting there

I was once lucky enough to fly back from Singapore on Singapore Airlines, and it was one of the nicest flights of my life. So it was an easy choice to pick them for the trip to KL even though it meant a brief stopover in Changi.

Both flights were comfortable, and the service was great.

Hotel

On the original honeymoon we stayed at the Shangri-La KL, and it was lovely. Something that stuck with us was a taxi driver who was almost proud to take us there – “Shangri-La – number 1 first class hotel in KL”. So of course we had to go back.

There may be newer and shinier hotels in KL these days, but the Shangri-La is still fantastic. It’s like a well maintained classic car – elegant, whilst still functional. The staff there are brilliantly helpful and friendly.

Last time around our package included a regular room. This time we booked a suite, which turned out to be a good choice, not just for the extra space, but for access to the Horizon Club. Evening cocktails at the club became a regular feature of our day, and a couple of Shangri-La KL regulars gave us some excellent tips for nearby places to eat (and many entertaining conversations).

Ratings:

✓ Accessible HDMI
✓ Good WiFi
✓/2 Bedside power (only on one side)
✗ Human interaction free Room Service
✓ Tea making apparatus

For 3.5 Bodils

White Lotus potential: possible, but unlikely

Food

Each day started with hotel breakfast, and although we could take that in the Horizon Club we generally went downstairs for the broader selection of buffet on offer. That left little room for lunch, so most days skipped straight to dinner.

I’d picked out a few nearby places on Google Maps and TripAdvisor before the trip, and we never made it to any of them. Walking to the place I’d chosen for our first dinner we found ourselves on the wrong side of a busy road with no crossings in sight, but a whole side street of restaurants. So we found ourselves in Manja for some tasty modern Malaysian Fusion food. The first recommendation we took from our new cocktails friends was Bar.B.Q.Tonight, which I’d noticed on the way back from Manja, and served up an excellent platter.

Normal proceedings were interrupted a little by the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and the semi-final match between England’s Lionesses and Australia’s Matildas. We needed a pub with the match on, and Healy Mac’s (just around the corner from the hotel) fitted the bill perfectly. I didn’t have huge expectations for the food, but my duck wrap was excellent, and despite the huge crowd the service was great throughout. We might have been in the minority cheering on the victorious Lionesses, but any team rivalries were very good natured.

A return to the regular routine took us to Bombay Palace, and a variety of curry I’ve not seen on a menu before. I think about three different staff told me it was ‘spicy’ in a way that inferred “this is not a white guy curry”; and it was spicy, but not too spicy, and absolutely delicious. We also got a quick Dim Sum fix at Din Tai Fung Pavilion, which had been recommended for its pork soup dumplings, though we preferred the spicy prawn ones. For our final evening we tried Zipangu, a sushi restaurant within the hotel. We went for ‘ghetto omakase’ with chirashi bowls, and they were excellent.

Attractions

Last time around the Petronas Twin Towers were shiny and new, and although we visited the shopping centre there we didn’t get onto the tour. The towers don’t dominate the skyline like they used to, but the view from the tour was tremendous, and let us pick out a few other places to go.

The KL Monorail runs right past the Shangri-La, and every time I saw it The Simpsons’ “Monorail Song” popped onto the brain radio. I had to have a ride on it, and looking at the map the KL Sentral terminus was right by one of the largest parks in the city, which hosts a bunch of attractions. Sadly we discovered that one can’t actually walk from Sentral to the park, at least not at all directly. So instead we perused the shopping centre.

We got our park fix with a walk up to the KL Forest Eco Park, though the hike to the entrance, which is at the base of KL Tower, was a bit hot and sweaty. Once in the park we found it a bit dilapidated, so we didn’t linger. I guess it was better value when it was free.

For our last full day in KL we took a trip to the Royal Selangor visitor centre for a tour of their pewter factory. We also made some pewter knick-knacks for ourselves as part of their ‘Foundry’ experience.

Getting around

Most things were a short walk from the hotel. For the transfer from the airport we used Grab, which is the Asian version of Uber/Lyft.

Next: Part 2 – Ipoh (Banjaran Hot Springs Retreat)

Note

[1] Sadly there wasn’t a good option that included Pangkor Island.