After my breakfast, I then booked a Grab to Perdana Botanical Gardens. The Grab driver arrived a couple of minutes after.
When we were entering the premises, I did not expect it to be big with various areas to visit. There’s Bird Park, Orchid Garden, Botanical Garden, Planetarium and a lot of museums, one of which is the National Museum.
The Grab driver dropped me off at the Bird Park. I asked the staff for the directions to the Botanical Garden. As I was walking, I also checked it with Google Maps. Thinking I was heading right to the Botanical Garden but I ended up in The Orchid Garden (Taman Orkid Kuala Lumpur). Haha!
So, I just took the chance and checked the place. Besides, it’s free!
There were few people when I got there. Some were students which I thought were volunteering to guide the tourists. I roamed around and took some photos.
After that, I checked in Google Maps how to far is the Botanical Garden. I am not really giving up. Haha!
But I still need to walk a couple of meters plus it’s already 11AM and it’s so hot. So, I decided not to push through. Kapoi na jud bes! HAHAHA
I instead went to the National Museum or Muzium Negara. To get there, you need to pass through a sky walk. Thanks to a foreign guy who gave me the direction as I was literally lost.
The museum was huge. There are four galleries namely Early History (Sejarah Awal), Malay Kingdoms (Kerajaan Melayu), Colonial Era (Era Kolonial), and Malaysia Today (Malaysia Kini). There is also a Central Hall. The admission fee is RM5 (Php 65).
It took me about an hour to tour around the museum and I learned a lot of things. From their history to the present. I saw the different people and culture living the country. There were three races: the Malays in Malaysia who are Muslim, speak the Malay language and adhere to Malay customs; the Chinese in Malaysia whether Buddhist, Muslim, Christian or of other beliefs – celebrate traditional Chinese festivals; and the Indians in Malaysia whose large numbers settled in Perak and Selangor, majority are Hindu, a small number of them are Muslims and Christians, and the major festivals they celebrated are Deepavali and Thaipusam.
Also, I learned about the meaning of their National Flag which they called the Glorious Stripes (Jalur Gemilang). It comprises of 14 horizontal red and white stripes of equal width which represent the nation’s 13 States plus one Federal Territory – Kual Lumpur, with a navy blue rectangle at the top left that sits on the fifth red stripe represents the unity of the people, the yellow half-moon or crescent represents the official religion – Islam, and the 14 point star again represents the 13 States and Federal Territory. Yellow symbolizes the Malaysian Royalty.
And a lot more interesting things to learn and know about Malaysia. One of the reasons I love the place is how united the people are despite of their different culture, beliefs and practices.
I really had a great time here and good thing I chose to visit it. I think this is a must when you visit the country.
TIPS!
- If you are planning to go to National Museum, you can take a train to National Museum (Muzium Negara) Station. It is just outside the museum.
- Drop by also at the gardens and parks near the museum.
- Bring bottled water from your hotel or buy ahead from the convenience store. It is more expensive to buy in the park.
- Bring an umbrella or a cap because the walk is kinda long and it’s hot.
- You can Google your way but expect that you will need some help from the people around especially the staff.
- Grab the chances to check the places especially when it’s free.
- Take as many photos as you can. You are not always there and you travel that far.
- Prepare yourself to learn new things.