Do you love traveling? I do, but only if it is easy and fun... It was time for me to do another visa. As airasia.com has so many value tickets, I was off for Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia... I asked a few people what's up there, but nobody really could tell me how things work in KL. The web sites I found where low in good info and two had such bad viruses in them, that I had to shut down my pc as it was freezing down. What about the visa? How long does it take? What papers you need? Where to stay and what to do if you travel with kids. So it was more or less a jump in the cold water, but I can tell you: It was nice and refreshing!

KL is extremely kids friendly. People really care about kids and help you if they see you need a hand. Besides in KL there is so much to do with kids, even we stayed a week, we have not done even 10%, but this is great. We look forward to come back and explore the rest...

Our first tip is: If you coming from Indonesia, change money here in Indonesia. In KL even the banks give you a bad rate. The money changers even a worse. The drive from the airport takes around one hour with one of the airasia.com buses. Very budget only 9RM - 30.000Rp one way. You will arrive at busy KL Central Station. Ask a taxi to help you to find a nice hotel, but only take a driver which is using taxameter, the others going to rip you off big time. We also found the taxameter drivers are much nicer people in general... It took us a while to find a nice and budget hotel, but we found a lovely place owned by some Chinese people which was just 72RM - 230.000Rp.

We decided to first take care of our visas. Off to the Indonesian embassy which is a very short trip from our hotel on Jalan Bukit Bintang, around 3 RM - 10.000Rp. We went inside the Embassy, there were only around 10 people and a very friendly lady behind the desk. She was very passion, even when people asked just silly questions. Here what you need and how much it costs:

After our paperwork was done we decided to just hang out the day, go shopping, check out some food and relax. KL has lots of shopping centers with great deals. I found, they got really good shoes there for good prices.

One of the best centers I found is the times square center you can see in the picture. It has many stores and the best of all: Cosmo's World! An indoor fun park for all ages. Gosh! I spent one day 8 hours in there watching my girls riding all the carousel, trains, scooters (special little ones for small children) and other fun stuff. But my most shocking faces you can see when you watched something they call: DNA Shaker. Wow! I could not believe the people in that machine survived the 10 minutes trip. It really shakes your DNA. Entrance for this fun day is: 20-25 RM - 65.000Rp for kids and 30 -35 RM - 100.000Rp for humans over 140cm. Its a great thing to do on a rainy day, but make sure you don't make big plans the next day, you might need a little rest, if not physical, than at least for your mind... You can also find an IMAX Theater in there, but make sure your kids know what it means...

The relaxing trip could be a trip to KL's rainforest and TV Tower. You take the monorail (a sort of train) for 1 RM - 3.000Rp to Bukit Nanas (Pineapple Hill). (www.foresty.gov.my) From there you walk up through the rainforest, you might see some monkeys there. Once up the hill you can enter the tower and have a look over KL. Cost you 20 RM - 65.000Rp for your kids and 40 RM - 130.000Rp for adults. I was quite surprised to see KL is still very green. It also gives you a clear idea where things are located. This is where I first saw and heard about the Batu Caves. A Hindu temple with a big golden statue you can see from the tower if the weather is clear enough. After the tower, we explored more around the rainforest, had a wonderful picnic in the trees - luckily the monkeys keep away from us! The day on Bukit Nanas is relaxing and fun for kids - we even saw some rabbits and jumped over jungle bridges, which was big fun because of the shaky effect of the bridge, there are many different trails all over the place to explore. Do it, as we did, bring some food for a picnic and enjoy the forest right in the middle of the busy town.

The next day was temple day. More a mom day, but well, it sometimes does kids good to get some culture in young years. I think to see a real big cave is also quite stunning. We took the monorail-train-taxi version to the Batu Cave Temple, the most important Hindu temple outside of India. It was the most budget way and we saw a lot of KL. The entrance for the temple is free, but you might get some blessings, some flowers and spiritual souvenirs, so get some 10 - 20 RM in small money with you. The monks are friendly and if they see you know some Hindu rituals, they bless you really nicely. The way up is over around 200 or more stairs, not very stroller friendly... You get some entertainment when the monkeys find someone who has food and/or is scarred of them. The cave is big and full of Hindu shrines. I really liked it and I believe bigger children will pick the magic of the place.

After so much side seeing we felt like a day of rest. We took off to KLCC. The twin towers to go over the Sky bridge, it's the one Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones jumped off in 1999, but the limited and free 1300 tickets a day where gone already. We've been late that day - you will find out later why... So off we went into the KLCC Park around the towers. A big surprise was the Wading Pool. Tons of kids and their parents where in the water and had fun on a hot sunny day. There are guards around the pool, so people don't go in there with shoes. The pool is free and well maintained. After a splash we went to a big playground where we almost spent 3 hours - the big spider web at the end was a real highlight. For us folks living in Bali, it was great just to dive into the city of KL and hang out with the locals, who have been so friendly. Kids are very open and make easy contact with each other. So always take time if you go somewhere, your kids might enjoy a simple play with local kids more than the big attractions around town. I found the openness of the people in KL was outstanding.

Our last spot was on Sunday to the National Science Center.(www.psn.gov.my) If you know the center in Singapore, the one in KL will disappoint you a bit. Many displays are broken, but the kids still seam to have fun. The Center has no money to run proper, which is a little bit sad, as they got a great building and the location is beautiful. But one thing there is very interesting. Just for this, the trip is worth going. They got something called a "Mind Ball". You got to move the ball with your mind, but there are two players in the game. The results can blow you away. I have seen 3 year olds winning over 40 year olds and some kids would just have a run against everybody. The entrance is only 6 RM - 20.000Rpfor adults and kids over 6 years pay 3 RM - 10.000Rp.

There are much more places to go and much more to do with kids, but if you take it slow, time is running. Here some more places to go:

(Please note, that on our last trip to KL we have not seen them, they might be not allowed to do it anymore....) So now to the part, why we always have been late for our trips... On our first evening in KL, we scrolled down JL. Bintang Bukit and saw some youngsters hanging out on a small place on the side of the road. Some of them danced a bit, but nothing special. Later the evening I looked out of my hotel window and saw a guy spinning on his head. Sure I was curious, but my baby was sleeping and I thought, if they here tonight, they might be here tomorrow. And they were! The next day we had a little afternoon nap, dine and off we went to our most fun time of KL. The STREET DANCERS OF JL BUKIT BINTANG. We sat down on some stairs and had a look. It was incredible. These guys danced on their arms and heads. They were fun and loved to dance and perform. Sometimes more than 300 people watched them - Tourists, Locals, Kids - it was great. Sometimes someone form the audience would jump in and perform as well. Some of them where stunning too... One evening a band with Digerydoos and Jimbee Drums played next to them. Some street vendors sold drinks and kids toys, to make the look round. It was real street live. Something I am really missing here in Bali. The guys were really nice and after we were a few evenings sitting there, they started to talk to us. Many of them are there each night. The picture shows a lovely fellow who makes incredible things on his arm and is a really fun entertainer as well. Another guy is doing incredible turns on his head, he seams to be a bit the boss of the whole gang. But the most craziest is a small muscle man which made one time 7 saltos backwards in a row without wearing a helmet. One evening a gang of break dancers showed up and they had a fun competition with the street dancer gang. Some of the dancers came from outside KL for an audition of a TV dance show. So cross fingers some of our dancers are lucky and starting a career in TV. What I really liked: All of them where fun and had an open character. The way they entertained a big crowed of people each evening was a show itself. I suggest you: Go there and hang out with them. Buy them some batteries for their ghetto blaster and you and your kids got the best evenings in KL you can imagine.

Hey boys, if you reading this: Thanks so much, we had a great time and we will come back next time! Princess is taking Street Dance classes now, so watch out when she is back!

We missed out on famous KL China Town, but we were just to busy. Perhaps next time... So much to do in KL. Here some food and other tips you might find useful:

* I think KL has better food than Singapore. The food is fresh and very clean. I loved a food court down at the Lot 10 at Jl. Bukit Bintang. They got some Mixed Rice or Nasi Lemak there. Very fresh, well cooked and a big variation each day. You get a plate with Nasi and take the rest yourself. You only pay what you got on your plate. With 4 RM - 13.000Rp for a big plate of rice and vegetables you got a lower price than in the warungs here in Bali! And sure there is some other nice food there. My little one told me the pizza we had one evening was the best she ever had!

* Some places sell fresh homemade ice cream. Yummy! I got a Rocher ice cream one time! Aduh, just for that I would go back!

* Use monorail and trains, they faster than you think and great fun for Bali kids. Take only taxis if they use taximeter, make sure they don't drive in circles! Ask a local before you go on the taxi how much it would cost.

* Get your money changed in Indonesia!

* On the side of Corona Inn at Jl. Bintang Bukit is a small restaurant. They serving a great croissant breakfast and is very kids friendly. Bring some time, they always very busy.

* We stayed 7 days in KL and spent the same money we would spent in 3 days in Singapore. So if you travel on a low budget, KL is the place to go.

I hope if you going to KL you will enjoy your time there as much as we did. Let us know if you got more tips and check out the page again, as we doing some network right now with places in KL. We might come up with some hotels and other places to go and stay!

The Social Bug Ni Merti on a family trip to Kuala Lumpur