kathleen poon travels kuala lumpur Archives | Kat Pegi Mana: Where Is Kat Going?

Little India, Brickfields – Self Guided Walk

May 3, 2017 Kathleen Poon Destinations, Malaysia, Travel Guides

If you are planning a trip to Kuala Lumpur, there are guided walking tours available in the city but majority are paid tours. Fortunately, Kuala Lumpur City Hall has been organizing free walking tours for tourists: Dataran Merdeka Heritage Guided Walk, Jalan-Jalan @ Kampung Baru Cultural Guided Walk, Old KL & Nature Walk and KL Night Walk. I went for the Dataran Merdeka and Kampung Baru walks earlier this year – you can read about it here. There was a guided walk organized by City Hall called Little India Brickfields Guided Walk but unfortunately, they stopped the tour in 2014.

3 Walking Tours to Explore Kuala Lumpur

March 22, 2017 Kathleen Poon Destinations, Malaysia, Popular Posts, Travel Guides

Please Note: As of 30th April 2018, the free walking tours organised by Kuala Lumpur City Hall – Dataran Merdeka Heritage Guided Walk and Jalan-Jalan @ Kampung Baru Cultural Guided Walk have been discontinued. However, you may refer to my post below for your own self-guided walks around these areas in KL. I hope the history, heritage and cultural information that I share with you provide sufficient background knowledge of the city. Should you need further information about sightseeing activities in KL, please visit the Kuala Lumpur City Gallery at Dataran Merdeka. ***** Exploring a city on your own can

Dinner In The Sky Malaysia – Review

March 15, 2017 Kathleen Poon Destinations, Malaysia

When I first heard about the launch of Dinner In The Sky (DITS) in Malaysia in 2015, I didn’t think much of it. To have a meal while being suspended high up in the air is not my cup of tea. If you have been following my blog, you would have known by now that I have fear of heights. My phobia is not to the extent of feeling dizzy or throwing up but I tend to just freeze and not move an inch for fear that I am going to fall. As a result, I was never interested in

avenue j hotel kuala lumpur modern stylish lobby

Avenue J Hotel, Kuala Lumpur – Review

February 6, 2017 Kathleen Poon Destinations, Malaysia, Travel Guides

When it comes to choosing a hotel accommodation, I like to stay in the city centre mainly because I prefer to be close to amenities such as cafes/restaurants, shops, sights and public transportation, not having to worry about food or getting around in the city. I’m not a luxury traveller but a budget/mid-range traveller which means staying at a 3-star hotel in the city. 3-star hotels can be of a hit-or-miss experience – it’s either clean but not value for money, or reasonably cheap but not clean. However, staying at Avenue J Hotel was a hit experience on many accounts

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#AboutKL 2.0: Kopitiam Nostalgia – Cafe Old Market Square

January 30, 2017 Kathleen Poon Destinations, Malaysia

Almost every Malaysian I know would have had breakfast or afternoon tea/coffee at a kopitiam. The word kopitiam is actually made up of two words: kopi means coffee in Malay, tiam means shop in Chinese Hokkien/Hakka, hence it means coffee shop. Kopitiams are traditional coffee shops found virtually everywhere in Malaysia, and they serve as a favourite place for Malaysians to eat, meet and chit chat or gossip about the latest news 🙂 Their menus have a variety of food but mostly are based on toast with Planta margarine and kaya (coconut and egg jam), half-boiled eggs, plus hot beverages

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Wayang Kulit (Shadow Play) Malaysia

January 18, 2017 Kathleen Poon Destinations, Malaysia

Shadow play or shadow puppetry is a traditional form of storytelling and has a long history in Southeast Asia namely, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia. Shadow play uses flat, cut-out figures (shadow puppets) which are held between an oil lamp or halogen lamp and a white muslin cloth. In Malaysia and Indonesia, shadow plays are known as wayang kulit – wayang means shadow or imagination while kulit means skin which refers to the cow hide or goat skin that the puppets are made from. Historically, wayang kulit was once performed in the palace of the first Malay king around 200

The Old Colonial Influences in Kuala Lumpur

March 16, 2016 Kathleen Poon Destinations, Malaysia

I was ruminating the other day that I have not been writing much about Kuala Lumpur (KL) city in my blog – the city that I have been living in for the past 16.5 years. Now, why is that? Hmm, I don’t know, really. Maybe it’s because when I’m in KL, I’m busy with the usual daily routine of work, house chores, catching up with family and friends (and blogging, ahem!). Then 2 or 3 months later, I leave KL for a weekend getaway somewhere in Malaysia or South East Asia, or a 2-week trip to a destination further away. I’m

wesak day buddhist temple brickfields wesak float lights

In Pictures: Wesak Day Celebration at Buddhist Maha Vihara

May 20, 2014 Kathleen Poon Destinations, Malaysia

In Malaysia, Wesak Day is a public holiday and was celebrated on 13th May recently. Wesak or Vesak Day is a holiday observed traditionally by Buddhists in many countries all over the world. It is sometimes called “Buddha’s Birthday” as it commemorates Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and his departure from the human world. I visited the Buddhist Maha Vihara in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur – a Buddhist temple founded by the Sinhalese community to provide a place of worship in the Sri Lankan Thevrada Buddhist tradition. There was going to be an 8km Wesak light and float procession at night, so I