KL Travels - Your 1STOP guide to Kuala Lumpur

Pulau Ketam, or ‘Crab Island’ as it is called, is a unique island that is completely made of mangrove swamps with a village built on stilts nestled inside it. The island was named after the thousands of tiny crabs that appear on the shores during the low tide. What makes Pulau Ketam fascinating is that a visit here is like a journey back in time, where Chinese traditions, wooden homes and fishing are very much a part of life.

Far away from the modernity of the cities, Pulau Ketam allows visitors a fascinating glimpse of the rustic Chinese village that depend on the sea for fishing and farming. Things here are very much the same as it was century ago, when the first fishermen from China arrived at the shores of Pulau Ketam to begin a new life. Today, the village retains much of its ancient traditions, shown in the clan houses, ornate temples and peaceful personalities of the people.

During this tour, expect to visit a mangrove swamp and observe the amazing wildlife that occur here, from mudskippers and monitor lizards to majestic raptor birds and colourful crabs. After the mangrove swamp, it’s a detour to a fish farm where you get to see how Garoupa, Snapper and Barramundi fish are raised in nets for the aquaculture industry,

Break for lunch in one of the island’s most popular seafood restaurants and enjoy the freshest fish, prawns and crab you’ll ever taste before proceeding for a walkabout around the island. During this walkabout, which will either be on foot or bicycle, you’ll get to see aspects of life around this village, from one of the last traditional boat-builders on the island to an elaborate temple dedicated to seafood and fishermen hard at work drying their catch to a ‘Kongsi’ or Clan House, which was used by the first people on Pulau Ketam’s shores as a home.

The Kuala Lumpur Suburb Tour is a trip to see modern and traditional life along the fringes of the city. First, we head to the Ambassador Row; a street that is filled with embassies, Istana Sharif Ali; a Malay palace and Malay villages. We’ll stop at the Royal Selangor Pewter, the largest factory in the world that manufactures this special metal. Here, you’ll be show the different processes to make this alloy, such as casting, filling, polishing, soldering, hammering and engraving. Then, we head to the Batik Factory to see how this traditional Malay fabric is designed and printed.

Our final stop will be the limestone caves of Batu Caves, which has three caverns and numerous smaller caves. This entire cave is a religious site of worship for Hindus. A flight of 272 steps lead up to the main cavern where various altars are housed. Another cave called the ‘Museum Cave’ is filled with images of Hindu deities and murals depicting scenes from their religious books.

The KL Walkabout Tour enables you to experience the rich diversity of typical Malaysian lifestyles in the cosmopolitan city of Kuala Lumpur, through a 7-hour journey on train, van and foot with lunch included. Kuala Lumpur is the capital city of Malaysia, which was built by Chinese miners that made the confluence of the Gombak and Klang River into a settlement in 1860.

 

The morning starts with a journey to a wet market to see the colourful and traditional way of shopping for household goods among locals. After that, you’ll proceed to the Petronas Twin Towers, or KLCC, one of the tallest structures in the world. From KLCC, you head on to Masjid Jamek by an LRT train to explore Little India in Masjid India Street.

Later, we proceed towards Jalan Tun Perak to see the Jamek Mosque, the city’s oldest place of worship for Muslims since 1909. You’ll also be show the confluence point between the Klang And Gombak Rivers before breaking for lunch in an authentic Indian banana leaf restaurant.

After lunch, it’s onwards to the Sultan Abdul Samad building, an important landmark in Kuala Lumpur which used to house the old railway station and high court. This heritage building has a 41-m clock tower dubbed as the ‘Big Ben of Malaysia’. Just opposite is the Dataran Merdeka or Independence Square, where Malaya proclaimed her official independence on 31 August 1957 by hoisting the National Flag.

From this point on, it’s a short walk to the Central Market, which showcases Malaysian handicrafts and artistic products; souvenirs you can purchase to take home. We close with a trip to ‘Sze Ya’ Temple, the oldest Taoist Temple in the city before transferring you back to the hotel.