Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Welcome to
Kuala Lumpur
Imagine a city, its skyline punctuated by minarets, Mogul domes
and skyscrapers, its colourful, food-stall-lined streets shaded by
banyan and rain trees.
Asian Cybercity
This is Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia's sultry capital, packed with historic monuments,
steel-clad skyscrapers, lush parks, megasized shopping malls, bustling street markets and
trendy nightspots. Also an essential part of the vibrant mix are incense-wreathed, colour-
fully adorned mosques and temples of the country's Malay, Chinese and Indian communit-
ies. A reverence for these ancient cultures is balanced with a drive to be plugged into the
contemporary world, as evidenced by an exciting contemporary art and design scene and a
buzzing digital economy.
Historical Canvas
Today's KLites are separated by barely a handful of generations from the tenacious Chinese
and Malay tin prospectors who founded the city. By the time the British made it the capital
of Peninsular Malaysia in the late 19th century, KL had only been in existence for a couple
of decades.
Since then, the city has been the scene of history-defining moments for Malaysia. Stadi-
um Merdeka was where, in 1957, the country's first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman
punched his fist seven times in the air and declared independence. And the Petronas Towers
were officially the tallest buildings in the world when they opened in 1998.
Delicious Diversions
Reach for the sky by all means, but also keep a close eye on what's happening closer to the
ground. To fully connect with locals, join them in two of their favourite pastimes: shopping
and eating. Malaysian consumer culture achieves its zenith in KL, where you could spend
all day browsing glitzy air-conditioned malls such as Pavilion KL and Mid Valley
