Guide to Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur

by Hosh
Malaysia's capital city, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore are very similar places, in terms of the booming economy and skyscrapers dominating the city area, but there are a few places still worth a visit here.

Petronas Twin Towers First and foremost is the Petronas Twin Towers, which was once the tallest building in the world, until Taiwan came up with their own 1O1, and now Dubai also in the picture with their still-under-construction tower building. Here, long queues are always forming from 8.30am onwards for the free passes up the tower viewing gallery. But be warned that they would only issue around 800 free passes per day for the guided tour, so make sure to reach there early. The guided tour will take visitors all the way up to the sky bridge on the 41st floor.

I was there early queuing in the morning but the timing for my guided tour was scheduled in the afternoon due to the high demand for the free passes. So a good way would be to shop at the mega Suria KLCC shopping mall just next to it while waiting for your scheduled timing up the tower. You can pay a visit to the Petrosains over there, a discovery centre about petroleum manufacturing. At Petrosains, visitors will start with a ride in the dark which covers details on oil manufacture and the science of it.

At a dizzying height of 458 meters, Petronas Twin Towers, a pair of 88-storey buildings, is the best place to take in the view of Kuala Lumpur. There is also the Philharmonic Theater, which surrounds one with wonderful music from the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra.

Menara Kuala Lumpur Another icon representative of KL is the Kuala Lumpur Tower (Menara Kuala Lumpur). Located on a hill called Bukit Nanas, this tower has an observatory platform which is easily accessible by high speed lifts. Taking the lifts up clocks less than a minute, and the view from the observatory tower is spectacular. You can get a bird's eye view of the Twin Tower and other magnificent buildings nearby. There's also a very cosy, revolving restaurant at the top of the tower, offering excellent buffet and great service for a reasonable price. Live music, excellent food, splendid views of the city, this is the place to be in. You might even be able to see Genting Highlands on a fine day!

Sunway Lagoon Sunway Lagoon is probably one the best integrated resorts in Malaysia. Within the holiday resort itself is a shopping complex with over 300 shops, an amazingly large lagoon, an Extreme park, Zoo, archery range, bowling alley and a water theme park. Alongside the shopping mall and the resort is a first-class hotel. Several restaurants offer excellent cuisine as well. It's self sufficient, and indeed a well-worth trip to make.

Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Mosque In Shah Alam (about 45 minutes from KL) lies one of the largest mosques in South-east Asia, the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Mosque (In Malay: Masjid Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz). This impressive building is often nicknamed the "Blue Mosque", for its blue aluminum dome covered with verses from the Quran. It is huge and magnificent, and surrounded by the great lake of Shah Alam in the center of Shah Alam town. It incorporates modern architectural style with Malay architecture in its design.

Batu Caves About 13 km north of KL is the Batu Caves, a place of worship for the Hindus. Large and imposing, it consists of three main caves and a number of smaller ones. The caves are made of limestone and discovered in 1892. You've got to climb up a long fairly steep flight of stairs to enter the caves. A comfortable pair of shoes will work wonders. The surreal carvings and paintings on the walls of the caves will impart a sense of spiritual feel to all who enters.

Merdeka Square, Central Market and Chinatown Back to KL city centre, the Merdeka Square houses the tallest flagpole and has an ancient fountain. It is always crowded with tourists and a visit at night would be much cooler. The Merdeka Square is between the majestic Court House and the Selangor Club. The Central Market and Chinatown are also a mere 10 minutes walk away. Chinatown, also known as Petaling Street is one of Kuala Lumpur's most popular tourist destinations. In the evenings, a beehive of stalls comes alive on the streets.

You can easily find a large variety of food ranging from roadside stalls to restaurants in Chinatown, offering plentiful choices from dumpling noodles, claypot chicken rice, bbq chicken wing, seafood to steamboat and more. Though it might get a little difficult to move around due to the crowds, the historical shop houses add to the ambience. This is also the place to get cheap t-shirts, souvenirs and almost any other things, but prices haven risen considerably in recent years due to the tourism effect. Bargaining is highly recommended.

Hotels are considered cheap in this modern city, and good hotel deals can be found almost any time of the year. A holiday trip to this city can be a wonderful experience, not mentioning easy on the pockets.
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