Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - February 2023

Gall Ivanova
Mar 1, 2023
3 min read

Updated: Mar 3, 2023

Okay, I must say this has been one of my favorite trips ever!! I just fell in love with KL - the city, the people, the food, the yoga studio, the community, all the vibes ❤️

"Kuala Lumpur rises up out of steamy, equatorial, Southeast Asian jungle, Malaysia’s capital city — a chaotic, multi ethnic, multicultural modern metropolis of Malay, Chinese, and Indian.” I couldn't describe it better.

I was teaching bikram yoga there @lifehotyoga and it was an amazing experience. So much great energy, so much love for the practice, love for the community. The owners Isabella and Stephanie are so lovely and helpful, always there for the students. The studio is very nice and spacious with 3 hot rooms and a big relaxation area. I like how the students will come even one hour before the class to relax and chill there, there is no this Western style rush. The students - those are the most dedicated students I met. At that time there was a 30-days-challenge going on and so many students were taking part in it. It's just incredible - coming to the class everyday, doing double classes 4 days/week, sweating together, laughing together, struggling through the postures together, having the best time!! I felt so much love from them like nowhere else❤️❤️❤️, its been my honor to guide them through the practice 🙏

city#7, country#5

While I was teaching there for a week, I also did some sightseeing, of course!! Here are my fav spots;

- Batu Caves - the most impressive colorful place I have been to. In Hindu religion they have so many gods and what I love about traveling is feeling so small and humble in a sea of diversity. Makes me think that there is no absolute truth and that the world is wonderfully rich in culture. Don't miss to visit also Ramayana cave where is the giant statue of Kumbhakarna.

- Walk the city - start at Masjid India, then go to Masjid Jamek Sultan Abdul Samad Kuala Lumpur (the staff working there are super nice and will tell you the whole history, take a picture of you), then continue to Merdeka square, then River of life, after that the central market, go then to Sin Sze Si Ya Temple (closed on Monday ) and finally at the end to ChinaTown (great market, cheap stuff). - Petronas towers and the KLCC park in front of , if you like city views from the high (buy tickets in advance online) . I went also to Menara KL tower but doing one tower is enough. Great views over the city, you gonna love it !!

- Thean Hou Temple - a beautiful temple and they have all animals of the Chinese zodiac in big colorful statues. Try your luck - fortune telling sticks - first ask a question in your mind, grab all sticks in your hands, drop them down, the one that is higher/up is your lucky number, look for the paper with this number and read your luck/fortune 🍀💚🍀

- Botanic gardens - a beautiful park, just keep in mind the hot weather outside (maybe do not go there at lunch time as I did, it is too hot to walk 😅).

Food and coffee best spots;

Must try - nasi lemak so delicious and kaya toast with a half-boiled egg for breakfast + local coffee, so good 😋 and of course roti canais and masala dosa 😋 😋 I ate predominantly Indian food, so highly recommend it!! And almost forgot: the best ice cream is at Inside Scoop 🍦