The clues for the fourth destination are as follows:

• Difficult for Jennifer – 1965: when two countries separated.
• Medium for Alexander – You’ve all been to one of the two countries before but not the other.
• Easy for Charlotte – It might sound like it but koalas do not live here.

Take a moment to venture a guess before scrolling down past the envelope picture to reveal the answer.

The fourth destination is Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia! Because we were already in Southeast Asia (and my internet feeds were showing me ads for Vietnam), the first clue made us think that we were going to Vietnam, which was divided from 1954 to 1975, but the division year did not fit the clue. The second clue eliminated Vietnam (only I have been there before) and Korea (Chris and I have been there before but not the kids). It wasn’t until the third clue referencing “koala” (love the reference to previous Australian destinations on Secret Trip 2.0) that we made the connection to “Koala” Lumpur!

We transited through Singapore from Bali to Malaysia on Singapore Airlines business. We visited the Butterfly Garden and SilverKris Lounge during our short layover at Changi Airport. Immigration at Kuala Lumpur International Airport took longer than expected because Charlotte was not tall enough for the autogate cameras and was too big (two year old limit) for the priority line for the manual counters. An hour and half after arrival, we finally made it onto the KLIA Ekspres to KL Sentral before taking a Grab ride to our hotel the Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur.

The Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur is located on floors the Merdeka 118, the second tallest skyscraper in the world (after the Burj Khalifa in Dubai). We used a certificate for a basic suite upgrade, and then received a further upgrade to a Park Executive Suite with panoramic views of the Kuala Lumpur skyline on the 110th floor upon check in. The floor to ceiling windows in our suite provided unobstructed views of the Petronas Twin Towers, the Exchange 106, and the Kuala Lumpur Tower. We also took advantage of the complimentary breakfast buffet included with Hyatt Globalist status.

Our introduction to the city began with a half day private cultural tour with Vellasamy with pick up from our hotel. We visited a Hindu temple featuring one of the tallest statues of Murugan in the world and climbed up 272 colorful steps into the limestone Batu Caves occupied by local monkeys. We lit incense to pray at the Buddhist Thean Hou Temple, with altars dedicated to Tian Hou Niang Niang, Guan Yin, and Shui Wei Sheng Niang, and walked through a garden featuring the twelve zodiac animals. We learned about the minaret (shaped like a folded umbrella) and star concrete main roof (shaped like an open umbrella) at the National Mosque of Malaysia. At the end of the tour, we were dropped off at the central market near Chinatown to explore the area and grabbed roti from Joy restaurant and hand pulled noodles from Mee Tarik Warisan Asli for lunch.

We also visited KL Bird Park, which is home to more than 3,000 local and foreign birds spanning about 200 different species. We viewed free flying birds in the aviary, peacocks showing off their feathers on the ground, owls sleeping during the daytime, and monkeys playing amongst the trees. Chris fed nectar to the lorikeet parrots. Alexander and Charlotte fed vegetables to the emus and ostriches. After a morning with the birds, we made our way to Pavilion Elite for fried rice at Uncle Roger’s FUIYOH! restaurant.

While the weather was in the 80s, the humidity made it feel much hotter and made it difficult for us to explore outdoors in the afternoons. Each afternoon, we retreated back to our hotel and enjoyed a leisurely swim in the infinity pool located on the 99th floor of the Park Hyatt before dinner.

For our dinners, we sampled the restaurants at the Park Hyatt including Merdeka Grill (western cuisine) and Park Lounge (Asian cuisine) and also ventured over to the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur for a Le Petit Chef dining experience.

Stay tuned as we move on to Secret Trip 2.0 Destination #5!

View other posts in this series:

• A Brief Programming Note: Secret Trip 2.0 Is Here
• Trip Introduction: Secret Trip 2.0 is Back with New Players
• Secret Trip 2.0 Destination #1
  • Another Great Meal at the Delta One Lounge LAX
  • Air France Lounge LAX Review: Great Food, Poor Location
  • Delta One A350-900 LAX-SYD Review: A Long But Great Flight
  • Four Seasons Sydney Review: One of the Best Luxury Hotels for Children
  • Excellent Views and Plenty of Fun: Taronga Zoo Sydney
• Secret Trip 2.0 Destination #2
  • Virgin Australia Lounge SYD: Simple But Easy to Access
  • Virgin Australia 737-700 Business Class Review: Short And Sweet
  • Intercontinental Melbourne Review: A Good Location But Not Luxury
  • Penguin Parade & Moonlit Sanctuary: The Best Melbourne Day Trip
  • Melbourne Day Trip: Puffing Billy & Healesville Sanctuary Review and Highlights
  • Supernormal Melbourne: What We Liked At This Fusion Spot
• Secret Trip 2.0 Destination #3
  • Marhaba Lounge MEL: It’s A Priority Pass Lounge, What More Can You Say?
  • Garuda Indonesia A330-300 Business Class: Excellent Service And The Best Price
  • Andaz Bali Review Part 1: Why We Didn’t Want To Leave This Beautiful Room
  • Andaz Bali Review Part 2: All The Excellent Kid-Friendly Activities
  • Andaz Bali Review Part 3: The Food Is Why We Love This Resort
  • The Ultimate Ubud Day Trip: Culture, Monkeys, and a Fun Swing
  • Need To Wash Clothes In Bali? Check Out Sunrise Coin Laundry
• Secret Trip 2.0 Destination #4 (this post)
  • Tujuwan Lounge DPS Review: Simple But With Great Fruit
  • Singapore Airlines 787-10 Business Class: Good But Not Great
  • Singapore SilverKris Lounge SIN T2 Review: Good But Changi is Better
  • Singapore Airlines 737 MAX 8 Business Class: Good Hardware, Simple
  • Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur Review Part 1: Luxury in One of the World’s Tallest Hotels
  • Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur Review Part 2: We Fell In Love With These Restaurants
  • Batu Caves And More: An Easy Kuala Lumpur Day Trip
  • Le Petit Chef Kuala Lumpur Review: What We Liked About This Gimmick for Kids
• Secret Trip 2.0 Destination #5