קואַלאַ לומפּור - מאַלייַסיאַ

After an extremely exhausting exam period, I traveled to Asia in September. It was my first time on the Asian continent, and I chose Malaysia and neighboring Singapore for this trip. Initially, I had planned to travel solo, but I was fortunate enough to have Schleicher support me. So I wasn't alone and had a travel partner with me. Additionally, we had planned to visit our mutual friend Mona in Singapore, who was studying there at the time.

Since I had planned and booked the trip back in April, I was very lucky with my flights. I paid a total of €700 for the flights from Cologne to Kuala Lumpur via Istanbul and back. During check-in in Cologne, the next stroke of luck happened: my brother booked me a seat with extra legroom on both flights, so I could relax comfortably during this 20-hour journey. I had a slightly longer layover in Istanbul, where I tried the local specialties of Turkish cuisine.

Poverty and luxury up close in KL - connected by a bridge

After about 12 hours of flying, I arrived in Kuala Lumpur, and that was the first shock: 32°C and 90% humidity really knocked me out. From the airport, I took the train directly to the city center and then took the tram to a train station. From there, I took a Grab to my first accommodation. Kuala Lumpur is a real metropolis with tall buildings, extremely heavy traffic, and poor air quality in my opinion. In the hotel, I freshened up quickly and set out on my first walking tour of Kuala Lumpur. I had already found out beforehand that there was a food market not far from me, which makes one of the best Nasi Lemak in Malaysia.

What can I say, it's true because it tastes incredibly good, so I got a second portion to go, which I ate at my first stop. Because the first stop was the iconic bridge, which provides a beautiful backdrop in the shadow of the Petronas Towers.

After crossing the bridge, you arrive in a whole new world. Before, I was in a very dirty and simple area, but once I crossed the bridge, I ended up in Kuala Lumpur's upscale neighborhood.

The streets are clean, there are no rats, and the plants are watered. Here, with a view of the local Petronas Towers, which are lit up at night, I had my first thoughts about this trip. During my flight over the supposed rainforests of Malaysia, it became clear to me that, as mentioned before, about 80% of the alleged forests are palm oil plantations and extremely harmful to the environment.

After a short walk towards Bukit Bintang, the supposed Times Square of Kuala Lumpur, I took the train back home.