FREE Things To Do in Kuala Lumpur (Part 1)

Being my normal self (read : slightly bored), I twitted that I wanted to look for stories for my upcoming Kuala Lumpur entries; already having few ideas my after coming back from #VMY2014 KL Fam Trip. I was fortunate that Janggel of Janggeltrekker's Life (Yeah, I call him Janggel) and Farah of ThatSoFarah (No, I don't call her 'That's' Hehhehee... [Get the joke?!]) joined me and we start our hunt at 10:30am.

Our first phase was looking for FREE Things To Do in Kuala Lumpur and this was what we found (and within walking distance of each other too).
Oh yah! Feel free to suggest new or old places, I will be glad to hunt/visit/blog about it, perhaps we can do it together too *smile*.

Dataran Merdeka Undrgrnd (Merdeka Square Undrgrnd/Underground)
This is the nearest to us yet the one forgotten. Often.
We always visit Dataran Merdeka (Merdeka Square) to snap a few photos of the iconic Sultan Abdul Samad Building (1897), Royal Selangor Club (1889), Victorian Fountain (1897), St Mary’s Cathedral (1894) and other surrounding buildings but we ignore what underneath it.

There's a few restaurants, souvenir shops, convenience store located at Dataran Undrgrnd, one cool shop is Metamorphosis where they sell tie-dye clothing which I think worth dropping by to.

It's more fun if you drop by on weekends as they have bazaar or flea market here too, artsy fartsy stuff, food stalls, local designer showcases, collectors items on sale and etc are available. For those thinking that it's a dodgy, dark and gloomy place, well.... it's not. Brightly lighted, clean, white walls (if one might want to know) etc, and the car park is on the same level too (easy peasy).

Dataran Merdeka Undrgrnd (Merdeka Square Undrgrnd/Underground)
Car Park : RM6.00 per entry
Entrance Fee : FREE

Kuala Lumpur City Gallery
Housed in 114 year-old magnificent Mughal architecture building, located next to Dataran Merdeka (Merdeka Square), famous for its red giant size "I *heart* KL" backdrop, Kuala Lumpur City Gallery is set to promote Kuala Lumpur (KL) via its "Newseum" showcasing KL history during its tin mining era back in the 19th century, the largest scale model of Greater Kuala Lumpur and starting point for KL Walking Tour, one that I plan to experience in near future.

Aside from the miniature model of Dataran Merdeka (seen from aerial view), KL City Gallery also shares on how their team of carpenter (ARCH) prepares simple wood veneer gifts.

Now I know the original names.

Kuala Lumpur City Gallery
Address : No. 27, Jalan Raja, Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  
Tel : +603 2698 3333
Email :  klcg@archcollection.com.my
Time : 9:00 am - 6:30 pm (opens daily)
Entrance Fee : FREE

National Textile Museum
National Textile Museum took me by surprise, first I don't even know it exist, secondly it's free and finally it was fantastic. So many things for us locals to learn of our own heritage, here I learnt on Glod embrodery, Telepuk cloth, Scripted Textile and among others. Tucked away in Sultan Abdul Samad building, it is always missed out by visitors but trust me, it's a must visit place if you are spending some time in Dataran Merdeka area. Allow yourself an hour or two here.

What great about this museum is that it provides clear explanation of each textile both in Malay and English. The National Textile Museum are split into 4 galleries :

a) Pohon Budi Gallery - showcases the origin of textile, the beginning of textile production in this region, and the growth of the industry over the centuries.
b) Pelangi Gallery - exhibits selected heritage collections such as the different types of batiks and their growth over the years, collection of the Chinese community and ethnic Sarawakian and Sabahan textile collections.
c) Teluk Berantai Gallery - showcases the richness, fineness and beauty of the Malay heritage collections.
d) Ratna Sari Gallery - showcases a collection of jewelry, personal adornment of the various ethnic groups of Malaysia.

Cloth/textile sample is being showcased, visitors will get to see the material and texture themselves.

National Textile Museum
Address : 26, Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin, Kuala Lumpur
Tel : +603 2694 3455
Time : 9:00 am - 6:00 pm
Entrance Fee : FREE

Royal Malaysian Police Museum
Located in the Police Senior Officers’ Mess building in Perdana Lake Garden, the Royal Malaysian Police Museum interior is more impressive that what you see outside, do not be fooled (like I did). There were 7595 artifacts including the first aircraft of the Police Force, guns confiscated from the Communist Terrorists and May 13, guided time travel of our police force from the Malay Malacca Kingdom, Portuguese, Dutch, British, Japan and Malaya before country independence.


One can drive from Dataran Merdeka (5mins journey) to Perdana Lake Garden or take a short stroll of 20mins or so, yes; its doable *smile*.

One that fascinated me was the clothing division where they walked us thru the police uniform evolution and the different uniforms in Federated Malay States, Unfederated Malay States, Straits Settlements and police force in Sabah and a Sarawak.

This one of the most impressive section, firearm used in robberies, during May13, communist even the one used by Botak Chin.

Royal Malaysian Police Museum
Address : 5 Jalan Perdana, Tasik Perdana, Kuala Lumpur
Tel : +603 2272 5689 
Time : 10:00 am - 6:00 pm (except Monday)
Entrance Fee : FREE

Tun Abdul Razak Memorial
Tun Abdul Razak Memorial was originally the Sri Taman Building which used to be the official residence for Tun Abdul Razak, "Father of Development" (Bapa Pembangunan) and our Second Prime Minister of Malaysia (1970 – 1976). Visitors can find pictures and documents and the personal items belonged to Allahyarham and his families are also exhibited.

The memorial can be divided into 2 sections :

a) Exhibits approximately 650 materials and can be categorized into 3 main groups namely materials, museum materials, and library materials.
b) Exhibits approximately 1580 materials regarding Tun Abdul Razak's involvement and activities while serving as a Minister and as Malaysia's Second Prime Minister.

Tun Abdul Razak Memorial
Address : Sri Taman, Jalan Perdana, Kuala Lumpur. 
Tel:  +603 2693 7740
Time : 10:00 am - 5:30 pm (Tuesday - Thursday), 10:00 am - 12:00 & 3:00 pm - 5:30 pm (Friday), 10:00 am - 5:30 pm (Saturday & Sunday), close on Monday (except for the public holiday and school break) 
Entrance Fee : FREE



Find a day, go rediscover Kuala Lumpur!

A #VMY2014 #KualaLumpur Media Fam Trip in collaboration with #GayaTravel