This post is in collaboration with my girl @x_daniya_x! She visited Kuala Lumpur with her school and has been kind enough to share her experiences with me. She calls herself an average doodler, but I think she is pretty awesome. On the other hand, I visited Kuala Lumpur with my folks, so it was really a trip tailored for a family with kids. We’ve come up with these awesome places that you should visit on your trip to KL!
Petronas Towers
There are tonnes of places to explore in KL. I loved this warm, tropical city which has such a superb urban life. And when you are there, you don’t feel anything artificial in the air. They’ve really worked on eco-tourism: Making Malaysia a tourist-friendly destination and at the same time building experiences for them around the environment. There are high rise buildings, an excellent local transportation system, and at the same time, the city is surrounded by hills and highlands that keep reminding you that you don’t need to disconnect with nature to modernize your city! It really attracts an audience and I must say that it’s a great idea.
Chinese New Year Celebrations at Bukit Bintang in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the ideal place to visit with a family. Of course you can come here as a couple or with a bunch of friends too, but we’re going to keep the focus of this post for people with kids/teenagers. Read on and discover Kuala Lumpur!
Top Places to Explore in Kuala Lumpur with Kids
1. Zoo Negara
Of course a trip to the zoo is something you must do with the kids. Zoo Negara is Malaysia’s local zoo managed by their Zoological Society (a non-governmental organization). Home to so many animals, you can walk around this beautifully designed place, meet and greet all sorts of animals: lions, tigers, monkeys, snakes, hippos, cows, buffalos, giraffes!
I think there are some animals that roam freely out of their cages here. Of course these are the ones that are harmless to humans. It’s very interesting and quite deep. You’ll need at least 2-3 hours to explore the whole place. But it surely is wonderful for animal lovers. Hang out with the elephants or feed the monkeys – the place is a treat for animal lovers.
2. Bird Park
The Bird Park is magical. I say this because before going here I thought it’s going to be just like a normal zoo having birds in cages that we could just look at and feed with our hands. The conventional kind of a park. But when I actually went here, I was astounded to discover that this is instead a walk-in aviary, also the world’s largest aviary spread across 20.9 acres of land! All the birds roam freely over here! There is a canopy made of net to cover the park, so the birds can’t really escape into the sky, but still it is much much better than being in a cage. Funny story: The birds here are so free, they can even snatch your food if you happen to be eating something :p True story.
Beautiful Waterfall at KL Bird Park
Oh and there’s a show everyday in the park where the birds are given challenges and stunts to perform. Don’t miss that out. It’s really entertaining.
Bird Show Everyday
3. Butterfly Park
Image Courtesy: Butterfly Park
[By Daniya]
Ah! The most visually appealing places of all. The Butterfly Park is actually a netted area and just like the Bird Park, the butterflies here can roam around freely under the netted roof from where the sunlight flows in. It is like a landscaped garden full of pathways where you can stroll around and look at different kinds of butterflies. The place is full of lush green and flowering plants so you really have to keep your eyes open to spot a butterfly. I tried to hold a butterfly on my fingers but it flew away. (A butterfly got stuck to a guy’s pants too. Haha!) I’m sure the kids would be awestruck by this place.
Image Courtesy: Butterfly Park
When you exit the main butterfly park you arrive at a display of other interesting insects and species. For example, I mistakenly thought of an insect to be display of stems and leaves. It was when it got moving that I got startled! Some of the insects and species tend to camouflage as well which catches you by surprise. There are models of old butterflies or largest butterflies and their wingspans etc too. All in all, a fun place.
4. Sunway Lagoon
Image Courtesy: Expedia.com
[By Daniya]
Sunway Lagoon is a place comprising of different kind of parks full of fun-filled activities for everyone! The main parks are: Water Park, Scream Park, Extreme Park, Wildlife Park, and Amusement Park.
The Water Park has an artificial beach with waves that are timed at the sound of a bell. There’s another artificial swimming pool with a stage and a DJ in front of it. Behind the DJ area there’s a kids’ area with different swimming pools specially for kids. There’s a barrel which fills up and showers water on you. There’s a python ride which twists and turns like a, well, python. There are different types of simple water slides, one and two-seaters etc. There is a ‘5D’ cinema where, warning: you get completely soaked in water in the first few seconds! How exhilarating!
Image Courtesy: Expedia.com
The Wildlife Park is pretty much like a zoo comprising of snakes and reptiles! There are different types of animals behind glasses. Watching the lions and tigers is pretty exciting and there is a huge aviary with several small birds that you can see from up-close!
The Scream Park is full of scary stuff! Just kidding. It is not that scary, but the theme is designed to scare you out. For example, as you enter the park area someone dressed up in a scary costume jumps at you to make you scream.
Image Courtesy: Expedia.com
The Extreme Park is composed of adventure activities. There’s zipline that you can ride; it’s called ‘The Flying Fox’ and it goes above the artificial beach. Some people on the beach like to throw water on the people zipflying 😀 You can also do bungee jumping and archery here among other activities.
Obviously not all activities are kid friendly around here but there is definitely some parts of the area that are specific to kids. For example, the Amusement Park has different mechanical rides. The most exciting one is the Pirate Ship. It even turns a full 360 so beware! And of course there are several fast food restaurants from where you can grab a bite.
5. Berjaya Times Square
Berjaya Times Square is basically a place where you can shop, eat and have fun. They’ve got a very nice hotel in there too so you can stay here during your trip to KL. The best part about the square is their indoor theme park. It is said to be Malaysia’s largest indoor theme park. Imagine, a place only designed for fun. Wow!
I found one thing quite unique over here. They had this cute staircase that looked like a piano and at one point a floor that would light up as you walk over it.
The Piano Staircase
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Other interesting places to explore: Aquaria KLCC, Petrosains Discovery Centre, KidZania, Genting Highlands.
+ Photo credits to my wonderful sister and photographer @elarte_doodles.
+ All the places mentioned above would require you to pay some sort of entrance fee.
Simply Tasmay 