Kuala Lumpur: A Hidden Gem

Saleem has been living in Thailand since October 2011, where he is teaching English. Beginning in early March he embarked on a backpacking tour of Southeast Asia, where he experienced the different cultures and lifestyles of eight different countries. This blog is a first-hand account of several of those experiences. 

Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia is easily my favorite place so far on this trip. It is an absolutely beautiful city, in what seems to be an equally beautiful country. Before arriving, my expectations were rather low. Our guide book wrote about hostels with cardboard boxes for walls, and other unsavory living conditions for travelers on a budget. Thankfully, everything was just the opposite.

KL is a city unlike any I have seen. The roads are smooth with dark black pavement and perfect yellow painted lines. Nature hugs the concrete infrastructure and futuristic skyscrapers. Trees reach out around bends in the road and greet you after each underpass. Only leaves litter these highways.

A three dollar bus ticket brings us an hour’s drive into the Chinatown district, where we spend two nights. From our fourth floor room: below, fresh fruit stands; above, perfect blue skies.

A major walking street criss-crosses through the heart of Chinatown. Several lanes of vendors hide the pavement, as eager salesmen work their creativity to sell sunglasses, sneakers, bags, and everything else.

Just beyond the majestic Masjid Jamek, with palm trees and minarets pointing to the sky, sits Little India. The taste of bhindi, smell of masala, and the sound of the azaan reminds me of home.

Across the river and the train tracks is the National Masjid (mosque). I always think of masjids as very peaceful places. Places where hundreds, thousands, and even millions share the same concept of silence. This masjid of Malaysia does not contradict, especially with it’s perfect reflection in a pool of water along the perimeter.

A block or two from the masjid is the Islamic Arts Museum. A room full of scaled-down replicas of the world’s most beautiful masjids, leads to other rooms full of impossible calligraphy, elegant metalwork, and the priceless past.

At the end of a winding road, devoid of cars, is the Lake Gardens. A quiet slice of nature in case you are not convinced of KL’s love of green. Only the sounds of water fountains and the rustle of leaves above can be heard from the benches along a running path.

A metro ride away is the famous Petronas Towers, the former tallest towers in the world. At night, from any district in the city, these twin giants can be easily spotted against the blue or black sky.

I believe that Kuala Lumpur is, so far, Southeast Asia’s best kept secret. Malaysia, a majority Muslim country, should be recognized for its progress and the negative stereotypes that don’t exist. It is a city that should be admired for everything that it has. Fantastic people, environment, art, food, culture, architecture, and so much more. I do plan on returning to Malaysia sometime in the future, and next time hopefully I will have more time and the chance to explore the forests outside of KL.