Kuala Lumpur is the modern, vibrant, inclusive, culturally diverse capital of Malaysia.
KL is a fascinating multiracial blend of people, flavours, cultures, traditions and celebrations.
It is also one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in S. E. Asia.
It is safe, friendly, efficient, affordable and has good Wi-Fi to boot.
There are plenty of parks and green space.
KL is close to the equator so the weather is always some variation of hot and steamy, the temperatures do tend to drop in the evening making it quite pleasant (at least when we were there).
It can rain (a lot) here, especially between April to September.
KL on the surface at least, looks like a pretty good example how a thriving multicultural society functions. I am sure there are under currents below the seeming placid surface.
Kula Lumpur is a city of contrasts
A place where East meets West
Where old meets ultra modern
Some women wear shorts others Burkas – maybe both at the same time?
There are modern sky scrapers and Colonial architecture
Kuala Lumpur is somewhere between being clean and messy.
Multicultural cultural diversity
The city is primarily comprised of 46 % Malays, 43% Chinese, and 10 % Indians.
Most Malays follow Islam. The other major religions are Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, and Daoism. The dual track legal system imposes Syariah Law to Muslims only.
All the major religious holidays are observed and celebrated in Kula Lumpur and there are many festivals to participate and to observe.
There are lots of immigrant workers from other parts of Asia who build this city. KL attracts expats with a wide degree of skill sets from all parts of the globe.
Really good food
One of the big benefits of a hugely multicultural city is the vast variety of cuisines on offer. What would you like for dinner tonight? Malaysian, Indian, Thai, Indonesian, Chinese, Arabic, or Western? Maybe some fusion?
There is a mind boggling array of restaurants, food stalls, bistros, and cafes serving up a cornucopia of flavours. Kuala Lumpur is a foodies paradise.
An architect’s dream
Architects have been turned loose in this relatively young city. KL’s buildings are a blend of Colonial, Asian, Islamic and some very, very modern creations.
The iconic Petronas towers are the tallest twin towers in the world. The second tallest building on the planet, the Merdeka 118, completed in June 2023 is located in the city as well.
Splashy fountains, flashy malls, bioclimatic buildings.
The modern skyline can be viewed as somewhat higgly piggly.
The city is very well lit up at night – one could say it is quite showy.
What you do not see in KL
Armed security guards
Beggars
Predatory taxi drivers
Garbage strewn all over the place
Touts and street hustlers
There are not as many rip offs artists and hasslers as in other parts of Asia.
The People.
On the whole people here tend to smile.
Malays come across as courteous. They don’t seem to really care where you are from, why you are here, or what color your skin happens to be. As a traveler I like that I do not get hassled or have to pay a complexion tax.
The traffic.
Traffic can be obnoxious and in places it seems like one big traffic jam.
There are fleets of ‘grab’ food delivery motorcycles.
There is decent traffic control infrastructure – the drivers – ummmm not so much.
Turn indicators are not used,
pedestrians are ignored,
there is constant honking,
there can be bumper to bumper tailgating,
drivers tend to speed up at yellow lights and,
running reds appears to be a sport here.
Speaking of sports – shopping is a major sport in this town. KL is a city of shopping malls – shop till you drop baby.
The place can be noisy.
KL can be quite noisy, call to prayer is rendered with alacrity.
Festivals are major events here with fireworks during all hours of the day and night – Eid al-Fitr at the end of Ramadan, Chinese New Year, Deepavali etc…
In the downtown section there are plenty of exotic sports cars, they are crude, crass and throaty. These aggressive-sounding cars have exhausts that crack and pop like a Chinese New Years worth of fire crackers tossed into a metal garbage can.
Racing in the streets at all hours of the night seems common.
The city never sleeps.
I get the impression that KL is a city that is going places. It is livable and is attracting money and talent. This is in stark comparison to other countries in Asia where the largest export is their human resources.
PS: We spent 2 weeks in Kuala Lumpur in January 2023
