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(from left) Tourists Stefanie D.Warren, Fiona O'Leary Sloan and<br />
Ham Eun Joo proudly showing that they're about to eat durian<br />
Convergence did the food walking tour<br />
with Mohd Fadly and let’s just say we<br />
were fed well — very well indeed. The<br />
tour kicked off with some cow tongue<br />
soup, rojak (a Malaysian peanut sauce<br />
salad) and went on to try Nasi Lemak<br />
with tempe (fermented soy bean deep<br />
fried with anchovies and peanuts in a<br />
chilli paste), chicken and beef rendang<br />
and begedil (potato patties).<br />
If that wasn’t already enough, the tour<br />
which encompassed stalls and Malay<br />
restaurants around the Kampung Baru<br />
area, saw the tour group trying a classic<br />
Ramly burger, roti pisang (banana<br />
flatbread), satay, sausages filled with<br />
sticky rice, nasi kerabu (rice with fresh<br />
vegetables and fish floss) and laksam,<br />
a Malaysian east coast rice noodles<br />
prepared in a fish broth.<br />
If that has gotten you salivating, perhaps<br />
it’s worth a visit! BackHome KL offers the<br />
food and cultural walk tours at RM80 per<br />
person while the hiking trail is tagged at<br />
RM150 per person.<br />
EAT, PRAY, WALK AND LOVE<br />
Meanwhile, Be Tourist Founder, Erina<br />
Loo, who has been conducting walking<br />
tours with the travel agency since 2010,<br />
says the culture of free walking tours in<br />
the country still has a long way to go.<br />
Loo said Be Tourist initially conducted free<br />
walking tours, but two years later, they<br />
started charging in order to continue doing<br />
what they did best — being tour guides.<br />
"Sustainability factors and the<br />
importance in having experienced and<br />
knowledgeable tour guides led to the<br />
implementation of paid tours. Despite<br />
A stall owner in Kampung Baru<br />
making roti pisang (banana flatbread)<br />
having to start charging, we still get a<br />
fantastic crowd of tourists each year and<br />
the numbers are increasing. The busiest<br />
months are between July and September<br />
as we often get European travellers,<br />
predominantly from the Netherlands,<br />
Germany and the UK."<br />
Loo also said the free concept "just had<br />
to go" as the cost of manpower, food<br />
and training for competent tour guides<br />
was not self-sustainable.<br />
"Walking tours educate and provide<br />
hands-on experience to create lifelong<br />
values. These values will lead to the<br />
appreciation and awareness of protected<br />
and cultural sites in every country before<br />
it gets demolished or fades with time.<br />
Because of these aspects, tourists,<br />
tour operators and tourist guides have<br />
important roles to play by educating<br />
and sustaining a country's cultural and<br />
heritage buildings or events."<br />
However, Loo lamented that competent<br />
tour guides were a rarity. She said, "We<br />
have two full time guides, including me<br />
and one part time guide. All our guides<br />
are well trained to suit the needs of our<br />
Business<br />
guests. Today, it is very tough to find<br />
guides who specialises in culture and<br />
heritage and it has taken a toll in the<br />
aspects of effort and money to find and<br />
train the right personnel."<br />
Be Tourist offers two paid KL walking<br />
tours. The tours are namely KL & Heritage<br />
and KL & Foods. The tours revolve<br />
around cultural and heritage buildings,<br />
the Malay, Indian and Chinese cuisine<br />
and religious sites around the city.<br />
She said, "During the tour, guests will<br />
experience different kinds of street vendor<br />
food that will highlight the uniqueness and<br />
heritage of food and how local vendors still<br />
survive despite the massive development<br />
within Kuala Lumpur."<br />
Stating that the tours follow the concept<br />
of "Eat, Pray, Walk and Love", Loo<br />
said the tours were full of facts, trivia<br />
and fun with guides always ready to<br />
accommodate their customer's needs<br />
and wants.<br />
Apart from KL, Be Tourist also offers<br />
paid tours in Malacca, Ipoh and Penang.<br />
Price varies according to transportation<br />
and location. More information on Be<br />
Tourist walking tours can be found on<br />
their website: www.malaysiaheritage.net<br />
Loo has over 20 years' experience as a<br />
licensed tourist guide in Malaysia. She<br />
is a well-respected instructor, providing<br />
vocational training for youths as well as<br />
specialised training for other guides. She<br />
is the founder of the Malaysian Women<br />
Tourist Guide Association (MWTGA)<br />
and the HOPE Foundation for the<br />
preservation of Malaysian heritage.<br />
DID YOU KNOW IT'S FREE?<br />
KL City Hall offers free walking tours<br />
and this includes the free Dataran<br />
Merdeka Heritage Guided Tour. A<br />
two hour and 30 minutes walk, the<br />
starting point is at the KL City Gallery.<br />
Booking is required as the tours take<br />
place on Monday, Wednesday and<br />
Saturdays only.<br />
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