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.

Hotel Stripes roof pool and bar with views to KL Tower (including remnant jungle). A beautiful hotel in a heritage neighbourhood.
Chow Kit Hotel feels like a Gatsby era gambling den. It makes you smile as soon as walk into the hotel.
Kebun Kebun Bangsar is a beautiful respite from the urban jungle
Captain Nasharudin and all of the Air Asia staff I met were so excited about the new direct routes to KL. KL is not a stopover city, it’s a destination.

6PR Radio: Chrissy and the Gentleman Traveller Find Luxury Abroad

 

On Perth’s best talkback radio station, 6PR, I recently discussed with my fine friend and colleague Chrissy Morrissy some options for luxury abroad; the magnificent Apurva Kempinski in Bali and the distinguished Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur.

A bit closer to home I spoke about day trips through the Avon Valley, from bakeries to canola crops, from Bentley Blowers to the history of this beautiful part of Western Australia.

The featured image for this post is the Apurva Kempinski Bali, located in Nusa Dua. The inspiration for the design are the classic and iconic rice terraces found throughout Bali.

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Above: The sumptuous lounges of the Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur are perfect for high tea, gin and tonics or just resting between shopping sprees.

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Above: What makes a beautiful resort that you will return to again and again?  Water slides for the kids? Restaurants? Waterfront views? Rooftop bars? Maybe.  The Kempinski has all of these things but I think it’s the people who work there that are the greatest influence on your enjoyment.  Tom is holding a soft toy of the Bali Myna, an endangered local species of bird that the Apurva Kempinski is working hard to protect.

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Above:  The Library at the Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur.  Come for the atmosphere, stay for the food.  An enchanting and refined menu full of passion for the flavours that represent the melting pot culture of Malaysia.

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Above: The Avon Valley has rolling hills filled with wildflowers, rolling fields of canola crops and great towns with bakeries, museums, galleries and pubs.

With Have A Go News Newspaper, Let’s Go Travelling…to KL!

Have A Go News

In the link above to Have A Go News enjoy reading my feature article on travelling, eating and shopping your way around Kuala Lumpur and making sure you stay somewhere amazing as well. You can also find Have A Go News in over 1800 outlets across Perth and regional Western Australia.

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Love Lot 10! From the Hutong Food Court in the basement, amazing shops and activities in between and the cheesecake in Tokyo Restaurant at the top, you’ll be splashing your cash and loving every minute of it.

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Travel from KL airport to Kl on the fantastic KLIA Ekspres.  The best way to travel into KL and also the easiest and most comfortable.

IMG_5893.JPGStay in the heart of KL’s shopping precinct, Bukit Bintang, at the luxurious and very friendly JW Marriott.  If you’re not doing the shopping, this will be the perfect place to wait for your shopping partner to return.  Look, they even parked my car under the hotel sign!

95.3fm: Radio Conversations About Malaysia

On Saturday evening, 18 September, I spoke on 95.3fm about my regular Malaysian travels, Malaysian food and Malaysian tourism strategies.

We also spoke about Rajah Brooke butterflies, the JDT Tigers, the benefits and consequences of spicy food and how much I enjoy using the rail network (particularly the monorail) in Kuala Lumpur to travel the city.

Have a look and listen to the discussion at their Facebook page: 6EBA 95.3FM Radio Melayu (https://www.facebook.com/radiomelayuperth/)

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Pic above: I love talking about Malaysia.

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Pic above: The Rajah Brooke Butterfly that I found in the jungles of Perak.

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Pic above: KLIA Ekspres is a very fast, very quiet and very comfortable ride between KL International Airport (KLIA 1 & KLIA 2) and Kuala Lumpur.