Enjoy reading the link below to my experience in Selangor, one of Malaysia’s most intriguing regions.
Surprising Selangor in Have a Go News
Category: #abc
ABC Victoria Statewide: KL has everything but food comes first
On ABC Victoria Statewide the timing was perfect for Prue to want to know more about Kuala Lumpur. I’d returned from Kuala Lumpur only a few hours before our discussion.
We wandered through Kampung Baru and found a streetside stall selling Nasi Lemak. I explored the streets around my hotel, Hotel Stripes, and found a refreshing bowl of Cendol. At Chow Kit Hotel I enjoyed sambal prawns and satays with sophisticated cocktails in lamp lit dining rooms oozing speakezy vibes.
Prue and I talked about the melting pot culture of Malaysia and what this means beyond food. You can discover beautiful temples and mosques dating back to the late 1800’s. There is architecture from the 1940’s being reincarnated from laundries and residences into galleries, cafes and bars.
We discovered the green lungs of KL, those green spaces like Kabun Kabun Bangsar – a community garden with vege patches and squabbling turkeys and geese. There’s remnant jungle surrounded by urban jungle and parks with walking trails through shady trees that cast dappled light as you meander through opportunities to get away from the hustle and bustle of this amazing city.
It’s an exciting time to get to KL. Air Asia is flying new direct routes from Darwin and Adelaide and there’s always great deals on the established routes from the other state capitals. I also found that Air Asia has its own ride share service and partners with luxury and boutique hotel brands. I flew Air Asia, caught Air Asia ride share and for two nights enjoyed the remarkable Chow Kit Hotel. It’s a great way to travel, being able to bundle everything under one umbrella of service.
ABC Alice Springs & ABC Darwin: Air Asia Flights to KL
It was a battle that was broadcast across the ABC airwaves of the Northern Territory with Andrew Murdoch and he graciously gave me the win. He wasn’t convinced that the new Air Asia flights from Darwin to Kuala Lumpur would fill many seats but after my descriptions of a city full of vibrant culture – from architecture to food – and monorails, shopping malls, secret bars, street food and so much more, I won the debate!
Enjoy just a few pics below of KL days and nights:
It’s not the Petronas Towers, Bukit Bintang or Petalang Street, it’s just a little cafe in 2D and it defines the quirkiness you’ll find in a city that enjoys having fun around every corner.
Nasi Lemak is a meal you can enjoy for breakfast, lunch and dinner. My favourite Nasi Lemaks in KL are in the old streets of Kampung Baru.
There’s nothing wrong with too much food in KL. Jalan Alor is just behind the bright lights of Bukit Bintang’s high end shopping malls. You’ll find fresh fruit, grilled satays and all sorts of curries and barbecue meats and vegetables that all go very well with a freshly made coconut juice or chilled Tiger beer.
ABC Victoria Statewide: Theatre tourism can be far away and close to home
With Prue on ABC Victoria Statewide we discussed the strategy required for that short interval break during a theatre show. Do you run for the bar or the bathroom? Do you try both?
We explored London’s West End, New York’s Broadway, The Loop in Chicago and even closer to home in Perth with opportunities to see Wicked at Crown Theatre and upcoming productions in Geelong.
Musicals can lift an old story to new heights, think of Matilda and Lord of the Rings. They can provoke an interest in history thanks to Les Miserables, Evita and, of course, Hamilton.
Musicals and tourism walk excitedly hand in hand, engaging you in temporary escape experiences and providing an opportunity when you’re in distant lands to immerse yourself in local culture or closer to home turning a night out into a night away.
Try and book early for your theatre experience but there’s nothing wrong with Prue’s approach to just rocking up to the ticket counter in your best back packer outfit and trying your luck!
Just a reminder if you’re booking online to please make sure it’s an official ticket purchasing site.
The curtain is about to come down on this description but it might come back for an encore if I can upload the audio file of the discussion a bit later on.
ABC Statewide across Western Australia heads down our favourite roads
On ABC Statewide we took a drive down our favourite roads. From Broome to Cape Leveque in the far north, to the roads of the Midwest during wildflower season, the big loop from Perth to Kalgoorlie, Esperance, Albany and back to Perth and how about the Zig Zag Scenic Drive up on Gooseberry Hill?
Personally, I still think an unsealed road in the Wheatbelt is hard to beat but the Broome to Cape Leveque road (back in the day) was a great experience.
ABC Weekend Explorer … how murals are changing the world around us
On ABC Perth Saturday Breakfast we found mural trails in Kuching and Milan and in ever increasing numbers here in Perth and our regional communities. Where’s your favourite mural? Where’s your worst?
Enjoy listening to our discussion below and then find a way to find a mural next weekend, and then walk to another one, and another one. You get the idea.
This mural in Kuching is one of my favourites and recently found its way onto a list of the Top 100 Murals of the World.
ABC Weekend Explorer … time to get some red dust on your boots
For ABC Perth Saturday Breakfast we thought we’d head over the escarpment, through the Wheatbelt and head up the wide open road to Kalgoorlie.
We had callers with tales of brothels and gold in the gutters and the culture of a community that sometimes gets mistaken for being only about the colour of your high viz shirt.
Enjoy listening to our show in the file below and learn about rotundas with Afghan architecture, big holes in the ground, wide streets and where to play Two-Up!
Astrotourism … a new frontier
On the Weekend Explorer for ABC Perth Saturday Breakfast, I recently explored space and rediscovered my memories of Skylab and discovered observatories, big dishes, astrotourism towns, astronauts in Carnarvon, emus in the sky and starlapse wonder by local photographer, Dan Paris.
Listen to the link below to learn more about Astrotourism and some really good music but really bad space jokes:
And for a mesmerising starlapse above Mount Augustus and other great Western Australian sites, go to @danparisphotography
For Hidden Treasures on ABC Perth Saturday Breakfast: Western Australian books and their locations … and a Special Guest
One of our best ever Hidden Treasures stories of all time! With special guest star, global writing superstar Molly Schmidt, we explored local books and the use of local locations and how they inspire our travels.
Listen to our chat below and learn not just what our favourite Western Australian books are but how important those local locations can be:
Radio Melayu: Exploring Singapore and Sarawak with DJ Wan and special guest the Consul General of Malaysia, Mr Ahmad Fikri
Having just returned from Singapore and Sarawak I was given a great opportunity to talk fast and furiously with DJ Wan on Radio Melayu about my experiences.
We also had the Consul General of Malaysia, Mr Ahmad Fikri, come on the show and talk about his experiences of Sarawak and what we had spoken about together at a recent Tourism Malaysia event.
From some destinations in Singapore you might not be aware of to Sarawak, a land of constant activity by day and night, it was a wonderful opportunity to describe my adventures and encourage listeners to book their flights!
Chris Parry Writes For Us 