Kuala Lumpur- our home away from home

Hey friends! I am going to try my best to write about our time taking the kids back to our beloved Malaysia so bear with me. If you want to read more about Malaysia and our time in KL, I have a plethora of blog posts of life, things to do, etc. Just click here to see the list of posts!

Beautiful Beijing Airports!

Taking our kids to Kuala Lumpur, to the city and country they were born in, 9 years after leaving, was definitely a “pinch me” moment. Although yes we always wanted to show the kids one day where they were born, we had no idea it would happen as quickly as it did. We imagined it more as they became teenagers or even young adults. But here we are again living in Asia and at the kids request, we spent yet another Chinese New Year in KL and boy oh boy, it did NOT disappoint!

With a long 10 days off school, we debated on spending all of it in Malaysia, like spending time in KL and then taking them to a beach or island off the coast for the rest of the time, but since we just got back from Thailand, we decided to instead just do KL city proper and then take a quick flight down to Singapore and show them around yet another favorite city of ours. These kids have it GOOD, lol!

HongBao!

Prior to arriving, I had reached out to some people I knew still lived there in the hopes we could connect. Our helper, Joyce, who was basically another mother to me and to Ava. She was there for us when we ventured into becoming parents and I cannot even put a value on her worth to us. She was one in a million. I also reached out to the doctor who delivered Ava and Mac- Dr. Paul. Our friend Chin Chin, from the church we attended in KL, and finally my dear friend Amy Blair, who is an entrepreneur and started the Batik Boutique in KL, living there still with her family.

Pavilion decor at CNY!

Although we lived in the Bangsar area of KL when we lived there, we decided to stay in the city so we could walk around to different sights easily with the kids and just experience a new side to KL that we hadn’t before. Bonus is that the hotel we chose was super close to the Pavilion shopping mall, a favorite of ours that decorates like crazy during Chinese New Year. It was spectacular once again! (Pavilion also goes crazy decorating for Christmas, which I always found amazing seeing that Malaysia is a muslim country). I just love the heart of the Malays. Side note, we didn’t love our hotel- the Ritz Carlton. We got an amazing deal on a great room that fit the 4 of us comfortably and yes it was nice and the staff wonderful….but I wouldn’t recommend it for kids. It wasn’t a very family friendly hotel. However, the Marriott brand is amazing and had multiple hotels next door so we got to use their pools, amenities, etc.

Jalon Alor!

The first thing we did after arriving at our hotel was take off to Jalan Alor, about a 10 min walk away. Jalan Alor is a famous street in KL known for its street food vendors. Jalan Alor is a MUST DO in KL. It’s HOT (no matter the time of the day), it’s CROWDED, and it’s brimming with SMELLS- both good and bad. The meals served are insanely good, the beer cold, the plastic tables and chairs have definitely seen better days, and I am telling you that you will walk away full and satisfied…..that is, if you like SE Asian cuisine and like experimenting with new flavors.

Hawker Stalls Delight!

Another thing…..you will see and smell DURIAN everywhere. Yep, get used to that. It’s a love or a hate food and one thing is certain- it’s a rite of passage to try it, whether you live there or are just visiting. So of course since David and I suffered our way through it about 14 year ago, we made the kids try it. Suffice to say, it was 2 thumbs DOWN. If you don’t know what Durian is, you can read about it here. But basically its a fruit that’s shell looks like a porcupine, the inside fruit looks like a squishy, yellow human organ, the smell resembles that of a combination of trash, vomit, diarrhea, garlic, and whatever else sits inside of a dumpster, and tastes basically exactly how it smells. I am telling you, it’s AWFUL. However, there are about a million people to my 1 that just love it. So yes, it’s a divisive fruit, and 4 out of 4 of the Nabers would NOT recommend it. BUT…..you SO have to try it so you can talk shit about it either way, lolol!

Kids trying Durian…..wish you could have been there, haha!

Our 2nd day we decided to take the kids to the Batu Caves. Now…we honestly know better as I have been there about 6 times and should have planned better than to go on a Saturday, but alas, there we found ourselves in a MASSIVE weekend crowd. There were so many people that sadly the wild monkeys that we typically found on the stairs also steered clear. No matter, the people watching was epic. The craziest thing though, I have never been stopped for my attire, and again maybe because I always have gone on a quiet weekday? But, they made me buy a sarong to put over my skirt that was shorter than my knees- whoopsies. Something to note.

The Batu Caves

The kids loved climbing the 300 stairs to the Hindu cave, checking out the temples and watching people worship. Mac even got brave enough to ask a man what the dots on the forehead meant and why there are different colors. Hindu believers have truly beautiful souls and it was such a great day spending time with them in their place of worship.

as beautiful as I remember

Let’s start our climb~

Stunning at the top

Mac asking an Indian man about their dots on their foreheads- love his curiosity

Amazing when you stop and look up and all around- all of this beautiful within a cave, sunlight peeking in at the top

And the climb back down!

After climbing back down we also took the kids to Merdeka Square, a famous square in KL that houses offices and government buildings. The streets are blocked off so it was nice to walk around, checking out the amazing architecture and reading plaques while the kids fired question after question. The modern skyscrapers behind the traditional islamic style buildings is so beautiful.

Merdeka Square

We also decided to hit up Central Market, although we passed on Chinatown since we live that every day, haha, even though I do love KL’s chinatown! Anyway, Central Market is so fun. Lots of fun eclectic shops where we stopped for cold juices, purchased a selfie stick to look like we fit in, and strolled around a new artisan market where we purchased some fun Malaysian pantry staples to take back to Beijing with us. What a FULL and fun day!

Central Market Walk

A fun new market (to us all these years later)- stocking up on some Malaysian goodies

Sunday our hotel put on an amazing Lion Dance for Chinese New Year which was as amazing as I remember them to be. And then the rest of the day was a total highlight day- we spent the day in our beloved Bangsar neighborhood. We started at Pantai Hospital, where both kids were born. Clearly it had undergone a massive remodel and was just stunning and gorgeous!! But because it was Sunday and Chinese New year, it was empty. Nobody really milling around, but that gave us an opportunity to snoop around the hallways where we found Dr. Paul’s office. My eyes may have welled up with tears as the memories came full speed. We loved this stop so much!

CNY Lion Dance at our hotel!

Oh my heart- where it all began.

Hi Dr. Paul!!!!

Our next stop was the one and only Bangsar Village. We had our fill of the Village Grocer- my old stomping grounds. We LOADED up on things we can’t source here in Beijing very much. It was such a blast from the past, again they also remodeled, and I was in heaven strolling up and down each isle. After that we wandered the mall and showed the kids around, even strolling up and down the outside streets surrounding the mall and pointing out cafe, bars, and shops to the kids that we loved.

So giddy to be here at my old grocery store- haha

Bangsar Village Stroll

A quick taxi ride took us from the village to Bangsar Shopping Center. This is a more upscale place and Jason’s was still inside, which I also loved grocery shopping at. Sadly my old gym was no longer there, nor was Chili’s, a basic American restaurant that David and I used to frequent back when we would get homesick. BUT, WIP was still there and we had a great lunch while chatting about life in Bangsar. The kids tolerated our teary eyes and sob stories :):).

Beautiful Bangsar Shopping Center

Lunch at WIP- selfie stick for the win- haha!

Sunday evening we walked over to the iconic town towers of KL, the Petronas Towers, and met up with some friends who also happened to be there from Beijing! Traders Hotel has an amazing bar with a pool and stunning views of the Towers. We loved our time catching up and taking LOTS of pictures (Thank you Tian for the pictures and Emily for the fun convo)!!

KLCC and the Petronas Twin Towers

Stunning Twin Towers lit up for CNY!

Monday was a special day…..SUPER BOWL!! Ironically, this was our 4th Super Bowl spent in Malaysia. Kind of a weird fact: We were there in 2013, 2014 (SEAHAWKS baby!!), 2015 (sad day for Seahawks fans, lol), and now 2024. CRAZY. With the help of my American friend Amy who still lives there, we found a pub called Sid’s in Bukit Damansara, about a 3 minute car ride from our old house and one of our favorite stomping grounds. What are the odds?!?!?! Sids was PACKED by 8am. I would say, we were definitely in the minority as Mac walked in with a Patrick Mahomes jersey, lol! Definitely more 49er’s fan but again, as a Seahawks girl, I would NEVER betray my team by rooting for them, haha. What a FUN game and great atmosphere.

Super Bowl Monday at Sid’s!

Giving Mac a pep talk at halftime- poor kid was stressed- lol!

We planned to have our old helper Joyce, meet us after the game. I wish I could figure out how to post a video but I can’t. David did take one of me seeing her walk in and I was crying, she was smiling, it was such a surreal (over-using this word I know) moment. We sat and chatted for a couple of hours before she headed to a babysitting job and it was amazing to catch up with the woman who we leaned on time and time again. The woman who my daughter just ADORED. She was, she is, family.

Amazing to see these 2 together after all these years

Joyce just slid right into life just chatting about what the kids interests are

A memory to cherish forever!

After our tearful goodbye, we headed to our old compound- IDamansara, which looked just as we left it- beautiful and full of our memories. Somehow we convinced the guards to let us through after giving them our ID cards and some begging. We drove up our old street, pulled up to our old house- No. 9, Jalan Rosa 4, and we were speechless. It was beautiful. What a fun gift to be able to stand at that gate once again. What a perfect day, capped off by swimming and eating back at Pavilions at Al Amar’s- my FAV Turkish restaurant with the best kebabs and hummus in KL!!

OMG our old house!! No. 9, Jalan Rosa 4

We loved living at Idamansara!

and always loved our lush entrance

Tuesday, our final day in KL, we couldn’t wait to see Amy and shop at The Batik Boutique. Amazingly, Amy had something up her sleeve- she put on a Batik workshop for us at her studio. It was so fun making our own batik creations with the kids and learn more about Batik that I didn’t know prior. You can read more about the amazing Batik process here. I am going to quote some of Amy’s information here- Batik Boutique is a company Amy started that empowers artisans in Malaysia to produce sustainable products from hand dyed fabric called batik. They train women (and now men) with skills to create batik products, providing them with income opportunities for entire communities. They also do so much more that you can read about on her website. I am a huge fan- buying batik gifts, clothes, jewelry, and more!

After our workshop, we got to spend more time with Amy over lunch and catch up on her family’s life in KL and how her business continues to grow. It’s never enough time but we loved our short and sweet visit.

From there we headed to the newest mega mall in KL called TRX and it was massive and beautiful. KL sure knows how to stun people with their malls! Here we met our dear sweet friend Chin Chin for coffee and sweets. She was a friend we met at St. Andrews Church which we attended while living in KL. She was as sweet as ever, very attentive with the kids and amazes me with her vibrance. She also still runs her Art Gallery in the city center. What a gift of a friend yet again.

We love you Chin Chin!

Needless to say KL was a packed, emotional, and beautiful trip down memory lane, where we were also able to create new memories with our kids. I am so glad we took this trip with them and I hope and pray that they carry these memories with them always. I also am hopeful we can visit KL again before we move out of Asia in a few years. Who knows……but I can’t say this enough, KL is a cultural and magical city that definitely needs to be on your list of places to visit!

Next up to cap off our CNY week…Singapore- a quick 45 minute flight south. That blog post is next!

Cheers friends, thanks for reading,

xo, Kimbra