Whirlwind Week in Central Europe, August 2019

I took a week-long vacation to Prague, Vienna, and Budapest in August 2019 with my sister Sarah and our best friend Michele. My travel buddies stayed a few extra days but I came home after 7 days because it was a busy time for work. It was super fast for 3 capital cities and reminded me of my European backpacking trip when I was 21…a very long time ago. This time I upgraded to hotels instead of hostels and drank slightly less. Maturity! Here are a few highlights if you’re interested, but first: the TL,DR feature:

 

Prague

General Tips:

• Buy train tickets in advance.
• My cell provider offers a $10/day feature for call, text, and data when abroad. I highly recommend it.
• When withdrawing money from ATMs, use the "without conversion" option if offered.

Prague Highlights:

• Don't rely on Uber in Old Town.
• Stay in Hotel Liliova Prague Old Town.
• Go to Brevnov Monastery and Strahov Monastery (have a drink at the outdoor bar at Strahov overlooking the city).
• Obviously go to Prague Castle.

Vienna Highlights:

• Dinner at Gasthaus zu den 3 Hacken was delicious.
• I loved walking around the museums and having breakfast in the park.

Budapest Highlights:

• Have dinner at Chef’s Café.
• Another obvious one, but take a river cruise at night on the Danube.
• If you want to splurge, have dinner at Costes Downtown.
• Definitely spend a day at Szechenyi Thermal Baths.

Days 0 and 1: Prague

Charles Bridge

I left Austin on Saturday and flew to JFK where I met up with my sister at the airport for our 6.5-hour flight to Prague. We landed around 1 pm on Sunday, waited almost an hour to get through immigration (Be patient in Prague in the high season. You and everyone in the world are there.), and took a bus and a train to downtown, where we had a short walk to our hotel. We checked in around 3 and hit the town. Old Town Prague was mobbed, but that’s what happens when you go to a hot spot in high season. The crowds were thick everywhere we went and we just kind of shuffled along with them. We shuffled to the Charles Bridge for views of the castle and St. Vitus Cathedral, snapped a selfie, and turned around toward the Old Town Square. We shuffled to the Astronomical Clock and a cathedral in the square and then shuffled through twisty cobblestone streets for an hour until I started getting hungry.

Old Town Prague

Sarah warned me that Prague is a very cash-based city (I didn’t do much research for this trip, which will become obvious soon), so we needed to find an ATM before we could get a late lunch. We had been looking for a bank ATM but everywhere we went had private ones that charged crazy fees. After we passed through the old Powder Tower and came to the Municipal Hall, we scored an actual bank ATM (turn right after the tower, Muni Hall will be on the left). We each took out a little less than USD150. We had the choice to withdraw money with or without conversion, and I had a little bell ringing in my head from some previous trip that without conversion was the right answer. (Sarah Googled it later and I was right! Always choose without conversion if you can.)

Inside Municipal Hall Cafe

We decided to eat at the beautiful café in the Municipal Hall, which is a stunning art nouveau building. We sat at a table on the sidewalk overlooking the small square and ordered beers and a cheese plate. Happily satiated, we decided to go back to the hotel for showers and a little rest before Michele arrived. It was around 7, and she was due around 9:30, so we planned on going back out with her when she got to the hotel.

I hit the bed HARD and the next thing I knew Michele was in the room trying to find a place to dump her backpack. I was groggy and Sarah was out. I dragged myself out of bed to get ready for dinner but Sarah would not be waking up to join us. Mish and I walked a couple blocks to Old Town Square and sat down at a sidewalk table that was still full of people eating and drinking. She got a very Czech meat-based meal and I selected the one vegetarian entrée: fried cheese with French fries. We discussed going somewhere else for another beer after dinner, but then it started raining on us so we decided to call it a night. We made the short walk to the hotel and I was fast asleep in no time.

Day 2: Prague

Brevnov Monastery

The next morning, we had the free breakfast in the hotel (Sarah’s a pro at finding gems of hotels with free breakfast). We shuffled Michele through the sights we saw yesterday and over to the main train station. I wanted to buy our tickets to Vienna in advance (we were going the next day) because I hate being rushed on the way somewhere and I was worried the train would sell out. We waited in line for a little bit and to get tickets for the 2.5-hour train to Vienna the next day. Our charming ticket vendor politely let us know we were stupid for initially buying train tickets without paying the extra charge for reserved seats. High season again.

Brevnov Cafe

Brevnov Gardens

Then we hit public transportation for the day’s main adventure: 2 monasteries with a walking tour of suburban Prague in between. It took us a few wrong turns to get to the first monastery, Brevnov, but we got to wander through a beautiful old cemetery on the way. It was pretty quiet when we arrived at Brevnov and we walked toward the church in the back, but it was closed to the public. We meandered through their gardens for a bit and then headed to the café for monastery beers. Michele ordered a pork appetizer but she wasn’t too impressed with the ball of pate with raw onions and loaf of bread she received. Sarah and I stuck to beer. As we were leaving a bunch more tourists were piling in the gates.

Strahov

Next we started our walk through a very communist-looking village of apartment towers and came out on a street with cute little cottages on more winding cobblestone streets. The walk was about an hour and then we reached the second monastery of the day, Strahov. This one is famous for its library and there were many more people than at Brevnov. We bought tickets that gave us access to a roped-off door at the entry of the library. No one is allowed in it, so we snapped a few photos and went off in search of our next monastery beer. Strahov has a much nicer outdoor seating area and we were all taken aback by the amazing views of the city down below. It was so beautiful we decided to have a couple rounds and another cheese plate to soak up the view. (Am I eating too much cheese and beer?)

Strahov Library

Strahov

Strahov Library

Then we walked to the tram stop and headed back to old town. We wandered a little south along the river and stopped at a cute beer garden right on the water. Then we decided to rent a paddleboat because the river was full of people paddling around and it looked adorable. We took a spin in our boat as close to the Charles Bridge as we could get and turned around to ride by hippie island. It has a proper name, but I just remember Sarah reading from her guidebook that it’s a bohemian enclave of artists and free spirits who like to picnic by the water, so it became hippie island in my mind.

Paddlers

Then we headed to a restaurant Sarah found in her research for dinner. Again we got to sit at a table on the sidewalk and enjoy dinner. Everywhere we went in old town, we saw people eating or selling things called trdlos and trdloniks, which we started calling turtlenecks. They are ice cream cones but made from a sugar-covered pastry and they looked delicious, so I had to have one after dinner. Mine was filled with whipped cream (not the ice cream I was expecting), chocolate sauce, and strawberries. It was so good, especially toward the end of the pastry cone when it was pretty much just pastry and chocolate sauce. Highly recommend. 

Turtlenecks

After we finished our turtlenecks we all agreed it was time for bed but decided to make a quick stop at the Charles Bridge to see it at night. Our hotel was in a great location so it was an easy detour. After a few night photos of the castle lit up in the distance, we happily called it a night.

Day 3: Prague and Vienna

We started the day with free breakfast again and had to check out of the hotel. We were heading to Vienna in the afternoon but had time for a tour of Prague Castle first. We got there early enough that the lines and crowds weren’t terrible (but by the time we left it was crazy, so go early!). Sarah had her guidebook with her and gave us an excellent walking tour of the beautiful St. Vitus Cathedral and the castle. 

St. Vitus

Prague Castle

Inside St. Vitus

Small cathedral in Prague Castle

We stopped for coffee at a café along the river and then walked the small Jewish quarter for a little before heading back to old town for lunch at an Italian restaurant. Then we picked up our bags at the hotel and waited for our Uber. Turns out most Uber drivers won’t pick you up in old town. After waiting for one for about 20 minutes who then canceled when he got close, and then having another 2 cancel on us, we had to speed walk the 20 minutes to the station with our big backpacks. Keep that in mind if you go. We made it just in time for our 2:45 train and settled in to read horoscopes, take personality quizzes, and drink wine.

Mushroom goulash

Gasthaus zu den 3 Hacken

When we arrived in Vienna, I made the girls buy tickets to Budapest with me before we left the train station. This time it was warranted as tickets for the day were already sold out. If we had waited to buy when we were leaving the next day, we would have been out of luck. By the time we got to our hotel near St. Stephen’s Cathedral, it was too late to make the symphony in Schonbrunn Palace, which was really the only thing I wanted to do in Vienna (they have a show every night in the palace during the summer). Bummer, but it’s a reason to go back. So instead we looked up a restaurant in Sarah’s guidebook (Gasthaus zu den 3 Hacken) and I had an amazing dinner of mushroom goulash.

Wine garden

Next up, we found a “wine garden” downtown. Vienna is known for wine gardens, and the concept sounded perfect, but it turned out to be just another café with sidewalk tables serving wine. Nice, sure, but not really what I was picturing. (To be fair, if we had time to go a bit out of the city, there are real wine gardens.) Sarah decided to go to bed after this, which is always the right decision, but Michele and I wanted to see the Viennese nightlife. Turns out it’s not so great, at least not where we were. We found one café that served us a drink as they closed up everything, and then we stumbled upon a tiny, packed, “American” bar for a nightcap before finally calling it a night.

Stephensdom near our
hotel in Vienna

Day 4: Vienna and Budapest

Sarah and Michele got up early the next morning to sightsee, but I opted to sleep in another couple of hours. After leisurely packing up my stuff, I wandered down to Museum Row and the Hofburg Palace and had brunch at a lovely café in the gardens. I didn’t actually go inside any of the museums, but I walked by them all and snapped a few photos, so I’m good with that.

Vienna

Budapest Keleti Station

We met up at the hotel to pick up our bags and go to the train station. We were off to Budapest and I was very excited. Is it bad that I was leaving Vienna after fewer than 24 hours and not really bothered? I’ll let you judge, but I didn’t feel bad. We filled our 4-hour train ride with more horoscopes, tarot cards, and personality quizzes, and then we pulled into the most beautiful, abandoned-looking train station (that’s obviously not abandoned at all). We had to walk the whole perimeter before we found the little room selling tickets for international trains (again, I insisted on buying tickets immediately). Then we took the subway to the inner city and walked about 10 minutes to our hotel. Already, I was happy. The streets were so much less crowded but just as beautiful as Prague and Vienna.

Catfish goulash

Chef's Cafe

We chilled in the room and looked up options for our night entertainment: a cruise on the Danube River to see the sights of Budapest. We had plenty of options and selected an hour tour that started at 9 pm. River cruises are one of the most popular tourist activities in Budapest, and I recommend it. Next order of business: dinner. Sarah found a cute place called Chef’s Café, which recommended you have reservations but we headed over early in hopes of beating the rush. (Can you tell that Sarah was our de-facto tour guide, willing or not?) We got to Chef’s Café before 6 and scored the last non-reserved table. We were waited on by Chef himself, and his son, and enjoyed their hilarious banter and the delicious food. I got catfish goulash, and it was soooo much better than I was expecting. One of my best meals of the trip. After dinner we walked along the river for a while and then headed over to our night cruise.

Budapest Parliament

Boats leave docks along the riverfront almost constantly in Budapest, and for good reason. It’s an easy but beautiful tour. We cruised down the Pest side for about 30 minutes, passing the Chain Bridge, the gorgeous parliament building, the Elisabeth Bridge, and then we turned around and passed the Buda Castle on the way back, along with countless other sights lit up in the night. We were staying on the Pest side (the more urban side) and didn’t really explore Buda at all, so it was nice to see it at night.

Buda Castle

After the night tour we walked back to our hotel about 20 minutes from the waterfront. Michele wanted a rooftop bar, so we tried valiantly the whole walk to find one, but with no luck. We ended up at an sidewalk café, but again they were closing up as we arrived. We were able to have one drink before the started rolling up awnings and moving tables and chairs inside, so we headed home around midnight.

Day 5: Budapest

The next morning, we woke up leisurely and walked to a nearby café for brunch. This was one of my few contributions to the agenda: a couple of tables at the entrance to a city park with a waiter who ferries coffee and brunch food to you from a tiny café across the street. The food and coffee were delicious, and it was a such a lovely spot. Then we went back to the hotel to get ready for the best part of Budapest: the baths! I was stoked. Budapest is known for its Roman and Turkish baths, and today we were heading to the largest/most touristy of them all: Szechenyi Thermal Baths.

We had taken public transportation in all of our cities, but the tram to the baths was something special. They have old-timey tram cars restored and running on tracks through the city. Super fucking charming. When we got to our stop, we walked over to the big yellow buildings right across the street from a rundown-looking children’s park. Budapest is beautiful in such a unique, semi-derelict way.

Szechenyi Thermal Baths

We walked into the baths and paid our entrance fee and headed to the changing rooms. After putting on our suits and showering off, we did a full lap of the baths before committing to a plan. They are massive and offer so many options. There are two large pools outside separated by a lap pool (you have to wear a swim cap to get in the lap pool) and a huge network of indoor pools: hot tubs, almost-freezing plunge pools, and everything in between. The main building we entered through also houses the locker rooms, bar and restaurant, and sunning decks.

Szechenyi Thermal Baths

After our initial lap we decided to start outside and work our way through every single pool (and steam and sauna room, I forgot to mention those) inside to bath building. It was quite the time commitment and so worth it. I was especially proud of my ability to jump into those freezing plunge pools. After a few hours of indulgent self-care in tiled beauty, we hit the bar for beers and fruit, and enjoyed them on one of the sunning decks (I found shade, Sarah found sun, and Michele straddled the two). Sadly, we had to pull ourselves away because we had another decadent experience booked for that evening: dinner at the chef’s table at a Michelin-starred restaurant in town.

View from the chef's table

We headed back to the hotel to clean up and put on our “fancy vacation” clothes. 

Michele had made us reservations at Costes Downtown a month or so in advance. We had the chef’s table, but we had no idea what that would entail. When we arrived, the hostess took us to the big table (it easily sat 10 and it was all ours!) and told us we should put our stuff down. Then the chef came out to greet us and took us into the kitchen for a tour of all the stations. He had us walking around while everyone was trying to do their job, and honestly it was kind of uncomfortable but also cool. We sampled bread, cheese, and desserts as they were being prepared for the evening. Then the sommelier came over and took us to the wine cellar, where there was champagne, cheese, and dessert waiting for us. He gave us a history of Hungarian wines and regions and then it was time to have dinner. I’ll let the photos do the talking here.

Bread and avocado butter, heirloom tomato and burrata salad, trout with avocado and salad, another fish I can't remember but might have been monkfish, palate cleanser of watermelon soup, mushroom main course, fig and ice cream, coffee, surprise dessert

After dinner we knew we had to rally and hit up a ruin bar. It was our last night in town and even though we were full of wine and food, it was our tourist duty. So we walked the twenty or so minutes to mother of all ruin bars, Szimpla Kert. If you’re not familiar with the ruin bar trend, it’s a phenomenon in Budapest where people took over crumbling buildings in town and turned them into trendy bars. Szimpla Kert began the trend and now there are many in town, but we decided to see where it all started.

Szimpla Kert

Sadly, I think we are a little too old for Szimpla Kert. It was packed full of young backpackers who were mobbing the bars and overloading their credit card system. We waited in line behind one couple who kept trying different credit cards on the poor bartender with no luck. We finally gave up on that bar and wandered to a smaller one but it only served wine (there are many bars scattered around the complex of little cave-like rooms and scaffolding and levels that make up Szimpla Kert). We hung out for a drink, took some photos of the chaos, but finally accepted we just weren’t cool enough to hang and left. I guess that’s what happens when you’re all approaching 40? Did I mention how loud and bad the music was?

Red Ruin

We left and started walking back to our hotel through the old Jewish quarter (where many of the ruin bars are). We had found another ruin bar just around the corner from our hotel so we decided to check that one out. It was called Red Ruin and had communist propaganda all over the place, but was mostly a neighborhood dive bar, not necessarily a ruin bar. But it was more to our taste, so we ordered a round of beers and sat outside. This was our last night before we split up (me going back to Prague for a night before flying home, Sarah and Mish going back to Vienna and then Prague to fly home), so we convinced Sarah to hang out later than she normally would.

Day 6: Budapest and Prague

Bookseller outside the train station

Today I was catching a train back to Prague and it was going to be about 8 hours of travel. I got up and left the hotel while Sarah and Mish were still cozy in bed and made my way via subway to the train station. I purchased some snacks and coffee from a little stand in the station and then boarded my train. I was leaving Budapest around 8 am and arriving in Prague around 4 pm. It wasn’t as fun without my travel buddies to kill time with quizzes like “what kind of crystal are you?” but there was beautiful scenery out the window. I booked a hotel room in the new part of Prague, but still only a 20-minute walk to Old Town. We had some delays and it was about a 15-minute walk from the train station, so I barely made it to my hotel before the check-in guy left for another property.

Pivovar u Fleku

I dropped my bags and walked to the old city center, but wandered through some parks and areas in my new neighborhood along the way. I walked by a beer garden on the way and decided to have dinner there. It wasn’t crowded when I walked in, and I grabbed a spot at the end of one of the long, communal tables. Waiters were walking around with mugs of beer, and one came by and offered me a mug. I said yes, and he dropped it off along with a little scrap of paper indicating I had one beer. Then another waiter came by and took my food order, and wrote that on the same scrap of paper. There were a couple guys walking around playing the accordion and one came right up to me so I could take some photos. Everyone there was a tourist, so I wasn’t embarrassed. After dinner I took my scrap of paper up to the payment stand and then headed out.

Astronomical Clock

I hadn’t gotten to see the astronomical clock do its show, so I was going to catch it tonight. Every hour the mechanical figures make a procession. I arrived about 15 minutes before 7 and claimed my spot. The crowds weren’t bad, but as it got closer to the top of the hour I was hemmed in by tourists. When the clock struck, I watched the little guys make their rotation and then headed off for dessert.

Prague candy store

All through Old Town Prague, you’ll see candy stores that are works of art. Barrels overflowing with brightly colored candy fill shops on twisty cobblestone streets. I had resisted going in them, but my willpower failed on my last night. Plus I figured candy would be a nice gift for coworkers who had been covering for me while I was on vacation (sure, that was an excuse, but it sounds good!). I went into one and spent about five minutes just walking up and down the aisles looking at everything. It was seriously as much a feast for the eyes as the mouth. This stuff was stunning. Once I made a full loop to see everything, I started filling up bags with the scoops they have in each barrel. I probably scooped up five pounds of candy in total, but I told myself that most of that would go to the office and my family.

Then it was time for me to call it a night. I was flying home the next day, so I went back to my hotel and packed up everything for my return home. This was a very fast trip for three cities with so much culture and history (although we can all agree I didn’t really see much of Vienna). I love my vacations with Sarah and Michele, even when they’re whirlwind trips like this. Until next time, ladies!

Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, September 2019

Singapore

(I've realized how long-winded and rambling I am, so I'm trying to do a summary of key points at the start of posts.)

TL,DR:

• Get approval for your meds before going to Singapore.
• Bring napkins and wet wipes to hawker markets in Singapore.
• It's hard to choose a hawker market in Singapore; my vote goes to Newton Food Center.
• Go to the gardens in Singapore! The botanical gardens and the Gardens by the Bay were two of my favorites on this leg of the trip.
• There are so many options to get to KL from Singapore. I struggled with my choice, but the flight was so cheap and easy that I recommend it. Buses and trains seemed very complicated.
• Be wary of Google Maps if you are walking in KL.
• Do NOT enter a mosque during the call to prayer. 
• Go to Batu Caves in KL!

I’ve mentioned before on this blog how wonderful my job can be with regard to travel. This is another example. I got to go to Singapore to work a conference we were holding in September, and I took a couple days of PTO at the end of the trip to see Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I didn’t have time to venture outside the cities, but I recapped a few highlights if you’re interested.

Singapore

Singapore: Saturday to Tuesday

One important note I have is about traveling with medication to Singapore. I take birth control and an anti-depressant daily. In all of my travels, I have never had to request permission to bring my meds into a country, until Singapore. I was very nervous about my anti-depressant because it is a controlled substance there. About a month before my departure, I had to get a doctor's note explaining why I take it, take photos of my pill bottle, and send them to a government agency for approval. I expected a long wait and possibly an interview about them, but I received an email within 24 hours saying I was fine to bring a week's worth of medication with me. I printed that email, along with all my other paperwork, and had it ready to go at immigration in Singapore. But the agent didn't even ask me about medication. I was nervous the whole way through the airport until I got in my cab to the hotel. All this to say, follow the rules and give yourself plenty of time, and you should be fine. But never try to bring controlled medication into a country without approval.

Flights to SE Asia from the States are no joke, but who am I to complain when work wants to send me? Answer: Not one to complain! I flew from Austin to Atlanta to Seoul to Singapore, a 30-hour, door-to-door trip. I left on Saturday morning in Austin and arrived at the hotel at 1:00 am Monday in Singapore. We were staying at the Marina Bay Sands, which was an amazing work perk. The hotel is beautiful and backs onto the Gardens by the Bay, which was the best part in my opinion. Full disclosure: if I planned a trip to Singapore for fun, I would not stay at MBS. It felt like Las Vegas to me, in that everything was ostentatious but gaudy and lacking character. There was also a casino on site. So if you love Vegas, this is your place. But for my first time in Singapore, it was an easy introduction.

Gardens by the Bay

I checked into my room, took a shower, and passed out in my plush bed. After 15 hours from Atlanta to Seoul in the middle seat, followed by 6.5 hours to Singapore (admittedly in an aisle seat), I was ready for a real bed.

Singapore Botanical Gardens

Monday I woke up at 9, went down to one of the breakfast buffets (the second best thing about MBS), and made my way to the hop-on-hop-off bus. It was harder than it should have been, because the F1 races were in town the night before and streets were still shut down as a result. There is normally a stop at MBS, which I was planning on jumping on, but it was part of the shutdown but not clearly marked. After wandering around confused for way too long and finally asking the hotel concierge about it, I clumsily got myself some cash from an ATM, broke it at a 7-11, and purchased myself a subway ticket. I saw a woman with a Starbucks cup in the subway, which is supposed to be taboo in very rule-oriented Singapore, but no one hassled her. I still wouldn’t recommend it.

Singapore Botanical Gardens

I finally made it to the central spot for my tour bus (an area full of shopping malls) and hopped on. I hopped off at the botanical gardens and wandered blissfully for about an hour. I highly recommend a visit if you’re in town. Then I hopped off at Little India for a little wandering with a side of dosa and lassi. Also recommend. Then I took the loop back to the drop-off point closest to MBS and walked home via the waterfront and the giant mall across from the hotel. If you’re into shopping for expensive, designer items, this is your place.

Dosa and lassi

Then I met up with a couple of my coworkers (Anil and Ganesh) for dinner at a hawker market, Lau Pa Sat. Even if you know very little about Singapore, you know about the food. They're renowned for both high cuisine and the delicious variety on offer at many hawker markets throughout town. I was excited about my first experience.

Lau Pa Sat

We ordered our own meals but sampled each other’s and split some satay. I ordered the carrot cake, which is not what Westerners think of as carrot cake. It is radish mixed with rice flour and scrambled with eggs. I ordered a combo, so I got one white cake (as described) and one black (which is the same with soy sauce added). They were both great. The prawn satay was delicious but so much work for so little reward. And there were no napkins in the market, so Ganesh ran out and bought us wet wipes and Kleenex from 7-11.

Carrot cake

Singaporean laksa

The next morning I went for a jog in the Gardens by the Bay before hitting another breakfast buffet and going to work. The convention center is right across the street from the hotel, which is why we were all staying there. We finished conference set up in time for a late lunch where I got Singaporean laksa. It’s a coconut curry dish with prawns and tofu and egg and noodles, and I love it. After lunch we all went our separate ways for a few hours, so I headed back to the Gardens by the Bay. They have 2 large domes/greenhouses in the gardens but only the Flower Dome was open that day, but they sold me a discounted combo ticket so I could go to the Cloud Forest Dome the next day for. The Flower Dome was beautiful (and an air-conditioned respite from the unrelenting humidity of Singapore) and full of tourists posing for their next great Instagram post. Then I met back up with coworkers for dinner on Orchard Road at an Indonesian restaurant. It was the one disappointing meal I had the whole trip, with a watery, bland soup full of chicken despite ordering the vegetarian version.

Flower Dome

Cloud Forest Dome

Cloud Forest Dome

Botanical Gardens

Singapore: Wednesday to Friday

Chili and black pepper crab

The conference started on Wednesday, so the rest of my sightseeing was in the evenings. After work that day I went to the Cloud Forest Dome (also beautiful and full of would-be Instagram influencers) and another walk through the gardens. Then we went to a restaurant that specializes in chili crab for dinner. Not only did we order chili crab, but we also got black pepper crab, some noodles, and some buns that you’re supposed to use to sop up the extra chili sauce the crab is swimming in. Everything was delicious and I was grateful they provided a bib and gloves to wear. I made quite the mess cracking into the crabs, but it was worth it. And the black pepper crab gets my controversial vote as the best one.

On Thursday after work my coworker and I went to the infinity pool at the top of Marina Bay Sands and I ordered an obligatory Singapore Sling. Then we went to another hawker market for dinner, Newton Food Center. I liked this one even better than Lau Pa Sat because all the seating was outside and the stalls were lined up around the perimeter of the seating. I got delicious Indian curry with naan bread and we split more satay.

Newton Food Center

Dinner at Newton

Friday was our last night in town, so I dragged Ganesh to the Raffles Hotel, where the Singapore Sling was created. It’s a gorgeous hotel but built during British colonial rule, so I felt some guilt about liking the architecture so much. My plan was to have a sling at the original bar, but when we got there the line was out of control. Instead we turned around and got an outside table at another Raffles bar with no line but also no Singapore Slings. I ordered a cocktail that was more to my taste anyway (i.e., not fruity). We sat next to a fountain and talked about our weddings and different decisions about children. It was lovely to get to know a coworker more personally. (I might have cried when he showed me a video from his wedding because I cry at all weddings, even virtual ones.) Then I was planning on going to another food market with my crew, but after the drink I realized how beat I was from the conference and decided to go back to my room and order room service. I felt lame, especially when they started texting me photos of their amazing food, but I was also happy to be chilling in my PJs and going to bed early.

Raffles Hotel

Prawns at Newton

Kuala Lumpur: Saturday to Monday

On Saturday morning all of my coworkers were flying home but I was flying to Malaysia! I was looking forward to some work-free time to explore a new city and to visit a Muslim country for the first time. The flight was less than an hour and KL has a fast, easy train from the airport to the city center. Traffic is so bad I read it would take over an hour to drive in, but the train was less than 30 minutes. Once I arrived in town (at the KL Sentral train station), I made a rookie mistake. Google Maps made it look like my hotel was a short walk away, but it didn’t factor in all the roads I couldn’t cross and the mall smack dab in the middle of my route. I ended up wandering in the middle of the road at times because there wasn’t a sidewalk and darting across busy traffic with my giant wheelie bag, but eventually I made it to my budget hotel down a little street lined with food stalls.

Malaysian National Mosque

After getting settled I relied on Google again to tell me how to get to the KL botanical gardens. This time I got to walk along highways with very little sidewalk and run across more heavily trafficked roads. I walked by the national mosque but didn’t go inside and finally ended up in the gardens by a back entrance. I spent about an hour walking around what felt more like a large city park than a botanical garden, but it was a beautiful and quiet oasis from the crazy smog and traffic outside (and the homicidal scooter drivers who pop up on sidewalks and come at you full speed!). I came out through the main entrance and was right next to the national museum, so I stopped in for a visit. I learned about the history of the country, from prehistoric times through the arrival of Islam to the colonization by multiple European countries, up to the fight for independence and modern times.

KL Botanical Gardens

Malaysian National Museum

By the time I finished at the museum I was ready for the long, sweaty walk home for a shower. It was just as humid in KL as Singapore had been, and I had done some serious walking already. Plus, Ganesh and his wife, Sujitrah (who live in KL), were going to take me to dinner that night. I got cleaned up and had about an hour to chill in my room, so of course I ended up taking a nap. I woke up to a raging thunderstorm and text from G saying the rain was making his 1-hour drive more like an hour and a half. I dozed a little more.

My street in KL

When they I arrived, I apologized that they had to drive so far for dinner but they were both so gracious about it. They said it’s just part of living in KL. They drove me to an Indian restaurant near my hotel. It’s inside a music school where students learn classical Indian music and then wait tables at the restaurant in the evenings. They had an awesome buffet set up, and Ganesh and Sujitrah explained all the options for me. They told me the buffet used to be free and everyone could pay what they want or pay nothing if they couldn’t afford it. Ganesh said unfortunately people took advantage of it, so after years of operating at a loss they finally had to start charging. Dinner was delicious (and decadent because I had TWO lassis, one mango and one strawberry) and then they drove me back to my hotel with a mini tour of Little India along the way.

Batu Caves

The next morning, I got up excited for my plans. I was going to take a train to Batu Caves, a complex of Hindu temples set in caves. It was my number one plan for KL. I walked to the train station (much easier without my wheelie bag), bought a train ticket at the special counter, and made my way down to the platform. Almost immediately a man sat down next to me and started asking me all about what I was doing in KL and where I was going, not taking hints that I wasn’t interested in conversation. Just a typical experience for women in train stations. So when the train arrived and I saw one car emblazoned with pink signs declaring “Ladies Only,” I happily ditched the guy and entered the serenity of a man-free space. No offense, dudes, but sometimes we need a break from that nonsense.

Batu Caves

When we arrived at the caves, I walked through incense-filled stalls selling souvenirs and snacks before coming up to the colorful outside temple and the giant, gold statue of Lord Murugan. There was a long, tall, brightly painted staircase leading up to the main cave, and by the time I reached the top I was winded. I walked into the huge cave and took it all in. There were small temples and statues all along the cave walls and a bigger temple near the middle. You have to remove your shoes to walk into it, so I shuffled along in my socks and watched devotees conducting ceremonies and laying out offerings in front of statues. When I left that area, I climbed another set of stairs (still in the cave) with monkeys climbing all over it, dropping bits of fruit rinds down on tourists’ heads. There were a few shrieks as people jumped back when a monkey got a little too close for comfort. I watched for a while as a mother with a baby clinging to her belly jumped from railings and searched for food.

Batu Caves

I climbed up to the top and walked around the other temple up there, and then slowly made my way back out. The main cave is free to enter but they have donation bins set up all around. I happily gave some money and then climbed back down the massive staircase. There are two smaller caves as part of the complex, along with the large temple at the base of the stairs. I took my shoes off to enter the temple and just as I entered, a band started playing music and a parade headed toward me. They were carrying a statue and offerings, and they walked them over to an altar. They set the statue down and started laying out food and flowers and incense, one by one, while the music continued.

Batu Caves

I left the temple and walked down to the smaller caves, passing food and trinket vendors along the way. One guy was chopping up durian and putting it in small containers for sale. I stopped and asked if it was durian (I couldn’t smell it so I wasn’t sure). He said it was and offered me a piece to try. It didn’t have the strong odor I had heard about, and when I took a bite it wasn’t awful. It wasn’t good, but I was expecting worse. For me, the texture was more of a problem than the taste. It was mushy but had a slick, tight feeling on the outside and it felt like something I should not have in my mouth. I thanked the man and tossed the rest of the durian in the trash after one bite. I’m glad I didn’t have to pay to try it.

A smaller Batu Cave

I paid a small entrance fee to check out the two smaller caves. They weren’t as cool as the big one, but I was happy to pay the small amount to help with the upkeep. Then I headed back to the ladies-only train car heading into town.

When I arrived at KL Sentral I bought a metro token (they use round plastic tokens instead of cards) and took the train into downtown for the hop-on, hop-off bus. I’ve really developed a love for these overpriced, lazy-tourist shuttles. This one had two routes, city and garden, and I took the city route. Shortly after I got on the bus it started raining, and when we got to the Petronus Towers it was a full downpour so I didn’t get off. Most of the stops didn’t appeal to me (there are a lot of malls in KL and they were all featured on my tour), but luckily the rain stopped by the time we got to Petaling Street (Chinatown), so I disembarked.

Outside Jamek Mosque

Petronas Towers

I walked through the crowded stalls overflowing with smells and goods and then walked over to Central Market, another shopping and eating destination. I had Malaysian laksa for lunch and decided I prefer the Singaporean version (although Malaysian was still good). I also had Malaysian white coffee, which is basically iced coffee with a lot of cream.

Disgraceful Tourist

Then I walked over to Jamek Mosque, a gorgeous mosque situated at the convergence of two rivers. When I entered the gates, there was a security guard standing there, who didn’t say anything to me, so I figured I was fine to keep walking around. The call to prayer had just started so I pulled out my phone to record the sounds a little bit, and then kept walking. There were two open-air rooms attached to the walls of the mosque where men were praying and lounging around. I walked around most of the mosque taking photos (but not of any people) and as I was approaching the gate I came in, a man on a bicycle started yelling in my direction. I looked behind me but no one was back there. He biked over to me and circled behind me but didn’t say anything. He gestured to the gate angrily so I kept walking while he rode right next to me. He waited to make sure I left, and I was thoroughly confused but aware that I had definitely done something wrong. I was dressed modestly (I was wearing an ankle-length dress and I put on my sweater to cover my shoulders when I entered), but I had clearly violated something. When I got back to wifi I looked up whether tourists are even allowed in (they are), but learned I should not have been there during the call for prayer. It makes perfect sense, and I felt awful after reading it, but it didn’t even occur to me when I walked in the gates. I felt like such an asshole tourist.

Petaling Street

Outside Central Market

I walked back to the bus stop, rode back to the start of the tour, and hopped on the garden route. They announced that buses stop running at 6 pm and kick you off wherever they happen to be at the time. I checked the map and decided I could make it to the Little India stop before 6, so I got off there and walked back to my hotel. My ticket was good for 24 hours, so I planned on walking back to the Little India stop in the morning to finish the garden route.

When I got to my room, I tried to shower off my mosque shame and all the sweat from another humid day, and then I wandered around my area a bit before deciding on a restaurant called Gandhi for dinner. I’m much less adventurous with food when I'm on my own, so I ordered some veggie fried rice. Ganesh had told me the area I was staying in could be sketchy at night and warned me not to walk around by myself, so after dinner I just went back to the hotel and called it a night. I wasn’t upset at having to get lots of sleep.

Malaysian laksa and white coffee

Monday was my last day, so I packed up and left my bag at the hotel, but I wasn’t flying home until 10 pm, so I had all day to sightsee. I had breakfast at a café near the hotel (traditional Malay breakfast of nasi lemak and more white coffee) and walked back to the Little India bus stop. I got off at the National Palace, a sprawling area with the palace set far off on a hill. I was able to walk up to the gates but tourists aren't allowed in. I snapped a few photos and headed back to the bus stop. My next stop was Merdeka Square, where the British flag was lowered and the Malaysian flag raised in 1957 when they officially gained independence. The square is surrounded by beautiful buildings, including the Sultan Abdul Samad Building. Jamek Mosque was across the river, but I was too ashamed to go back. I walked around the square for a while and then jumped back on the bus to Chow Kit, another busy area full of stalls selling all sorts of food and souvenirs. I wandered through the food area until I got to the meat section and turned back. I bought some sweet pastries and hopped back on the bus.

Chow Kit

Pastry stand outside Chow Kit

By that time I was getting a little hungry and wanted a beer; I was ready to embrace my Western tourist. So I took the bus to an area that’s known for catering to ex-pats, Changkat, and posted up at an outdoor bar. I ordered eggrolls and a margarita (it was on special and was half the cost of beer or wine). I killed about an hour and a half there, and then walked back to the metro station near the hop-on, hop-off bus hub. After two days of riding the bus I realized they weren’t really covering that much ground. A lot of the stops they drove to were in walking distance of each other, but traffic made it seem like we were going further. It was late afternoon and I didn’t have much time left in town, so I took the metro back to the station near my hotel. I wandered the mall, Little India, and the train station area, and then it was time to go get my bag. I lugged it back through the chaotic streets but had learned the shortcut through the mall by this point, so it was much less stressful.

Nasi lemak

National Palace

I took the train back to the airport and then got ready for my 28-hour trip home. I’m definitely still embarrassed by my mosque faux pas, but I’ll know better next time. This was my first trip to Asia and I’ll be back. Fingers crossed for another work trip to help with those expensive flights!