sunrise over Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur City Walking Tour: A Review
In 2012 I discovered the great merits and fun of joining small localized specialty tours.
Until recently, I’d generally avoided them, even scoffed. “I’m an independent traveler! I don’t need to join a tour. I can manage on my own. I don’t want to be herded around like a cow or sheep.” I don’t like the touristy-ness of it all.
In addition, such tours are usually expensive for budget traveler like myself. They generally range from $20-$100 US for a half day or day tour. On the other hand, I’ve found many specialized tours that cost just $5-10 US, including island-hopping snorkeling tours in Thailand; a mangrove river trip; village visits in Sapa, Vietnam; a Perfume River trip in Vietnam; and river tubing in Vang Vieng, Laos, among others.
Lash on rural village tour near Sapa, Vietnam
So I have to confess that I’ve never been entirely against tours either, at least not small specific tours. When they’ve fit in my budget and there was really no way to do the activity on my own, I’ve joined. Reasons I’ve joined tours include:
* the place/activity is logistically too difficult to do solo
* local or national rules require guided tours
* there’s a great chance of getting lost
* to learn about the place, activites, or lifestyles that I wouldn’t understand on my own
The main benefit of such tours to me is learning. I do greatly enjoy learning in general and, specific to travel, learning as much as possible about places I visit, be it their history, culture, geology or flora & fauna.
Lash joining a sunset dinner cruise at Langkawi Island, MalaysiA
2012 was quite different. I had the great opportunity, as a travel blogger with my own website, to join several tours as a ‘journalist/reviewer’ in Penang, Langkawi, KL and Singapore. Because of this I discovered how great specialized tours really are. From now on, whenever it fits in my budget or I have more review opportunities, I’ll definitely join more specialized tours!
One such tour I joined in June, 2012, was a fun and informative Kuala Lumpur city walking tour.
entrance to Petaling Street – Chinatown – Kuala Lumpur
Let me preface my city tour with this: I’ve been in and out of KL several times / year since 2004. I’ve visited all the city’s major and minor attractions at least once, including all its museums, parks, iconic landmarks, neighborhoods, temples, shopping malls, rooftop bars and lesser-known places.
I’ve chatted at length with guest house owners, staff and newly-made local friends. I’ve explored side streets and little markets. I’ve pedaled around the city hundreds of times. I have friends living in KL, both locals and expat Europeans.
So I considered myself a ‘bit of an expert’ on KL. I didn’t think I’d really learn much on the walking tour. I just expected it to be a pleasant stroll around downtown with a local Malaysian guide.
So I was surprised right from the very start to discover how much I still didn’t know about KL, particularly its intriguing historic details.
British colonial Moorish style Building at Merdeka Sqare – Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia
Our tour started in Merdeka Square and meandered around KL’s ‘downtown’ area, where we visited historic buildings, temples, and Chinatown alleys with stops to eat local foods.
important but little-known Chinese Temple in ‘downtown’ Kuala Lumpur
I learned how incredibly important one tiny discreet Chinese temple has been to KL’s inhabitants over the decades, and continues to be to this day. Tsze Ya Temple is so small, seems so insignificant, as to be entirely over-looked.
I’ve walked past the cute red temple several times but never guessed its significance. Only a local Chinese Malaysia would be knowledgeable enough about its history and importance to fill me in.
My tour guide, Diana Lee, also alerted me to many quirky architectural details around KL that I’d never noticed before and told me their historic/cultural significance. I’d walked amidst those same buildings for years. As a huge lover of architecture and detailing, I was shocked and dismayed that I’d never even noticed them before!
Diana told me the intriguing gossip about a ‘sordid’ love affair that sprouted between a western woman and local man… and the unique way in which it was all settled. She also filled me in on 2 or 3 of KL’s most successful local Chinese merchants and their historic role in downtown.
During our 4-hour walking tour Diana taught me many other interesting facts about KL. She also took me to eat at 2 local eating shops, one Indian and one Chinese. Although I’d already eaten all those foods dozens of times around Malaysia, I noted that for new visitors to Malaysia, this would be an excellent, less intimidating way to sample some of Malaysia’s delicious and varied cuisines.
Kuala Lumpur City Walking Tour Guide
The entire tour was quite fascinating.
If you’re like me – you love learning about new places in depth – I highly recommend this KL walking tour when you visit the city, or perhaps even if you live in KL. I’ll bet there’s a lot you still don’t know about Kuala Lumpur, too!
Diana Lee is part of the Malaysian Tourist Guides Council, which has tour guide members all over Malaysia. They can arrange walking tours in just about any town and city in the country, including Melaka, Penang, Langkawi and other places.
Contact Malasian Tourist Guides Council for walking tours in KL or around Malaysia as follows:
website: Malaysian Tourist Guides Council
email: mtgc@streamyx.com
Contact Ms. Diana Lee for KL walking tours: dianalee98@hotmail.com
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QUESTIONS:
Have you ever joined a city walking tour?
If so, where? What did you learn?
If you could choose any city for a guided tour, what city would you select?
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Hi! I'm Lash, an American nomadic world traveler who's been traveling solo since 1998. I’m passionate about traveling the world nomadically and then sharing it all with you. I hope to inspire you to travel the world, to entertain you with tales from the road, and to help you reach your travel dreams. Welcome! 
