Malaysia - Kuala Lumpar 1

Kuala Lumpur. Capital of Malaysia. Besides its iconic Petronas Twin Towers, its cultural diversity, and that our friends Kate, James and Krista had lived there, I didn’t know anything about KL. We had 3.5 days to learn more.

We were led by recommendations. The man we’d met on the train insisted we visit Brickfields for the best food. I was hungry so we headed there. A half hour walk in the late afternoon light led us on lovely pedestrian walkways alongside the Klang River for the first part and negotiating multi-lane busy roads for the second.

Dubbed the ‘River of Life’ by tourist signs the Klang is a sorry specimen, stinky, sluggish, and brown. At the confluence of the Klang and Gombak rivers, the Sultan Abdul Samad Jamek mosque is by contrast stunning, from another era with its white onion domes, arches and palm trees.

‘Little India’ in a city - bursting with colour, incense, and spices - tends to be my happy place, and Brickfields was no exception. Here I was especially delighted, first to see urban chickens scratching around, and second to be inside Gandhi’s Vegetarian Restaurant. The freedom to eat anything on the vast menu made my belly truly happy.

Across the road we poked our noses into an intriguing temple, Sree Veera Hanuman, where it’s all about the monkey god. Every inch is decorated to Disneylandesque effect. Bananas, of course, frame the temple entrance. Lilz’s favourite Hindu deity, the divine monkey has immense strength, wisdom, and devotion. He is revered for his role in the epic Ramayana (which we’d seen in the kecak performance on our first day in Indonesia at Uluwatu temple). I liked that his green tail winds its way throughout - appearing from the temple’s ceiling, disappearing around a pillar, and surrounding the tower with 47 coils. That’s a lot of tail!

Ambling back to our hotel we watched flocks of crows fly over to roost as the National Mosque called people to prayer. A pocket of peace descended cancelling the hum of traffic. As we passed Sultan Abdul Samad Jamek mosque again, we found it was now lit by evening blue lights, fountains rising and falling, and artificial mist piped out across the river, in an attempt at a mystic atmosphere.

We rose on Friday ready to follow Kate’s recommendation to visit Chow Kit wet market, one of Malaysia’s largest, selling meat, fish, fruit and veg. The neighbourhood was where Kate had stayed eight years ago. Once a seedy part of town - home to a large red light district and buildings in dire need of repair - it has long been on the up, becoming more modern and gentrified.

We arrived at the market a little late. In hindsight I think this worked out well as the meat and fish market in full swing would have been pretty intense. As it was we got a feel for the market’s size and energy without the crowds. It was raw with powerful smells, cleaver thuds, the sight of carcasses piled up and slumped purple grey innards. Stall holders called to each other as they started to pack up their produce, swilling water to clear the benches. It was a relief to explore the market next door. Row upon row of brightly coloured, textured fruit and vegetables piqued our curiosity. Familiar chillies, limes, tomatoes, and garlic held space with more exotic produce. Pomelo, soursop, snake fruit, mangosteen, banana flower, rambutans. This last one - a round, dark red, spikey fruit we got to taste - a lot like lychee.

The market is not far from the Petronas towers which we walked to, grabbing a late lunch on route. We were trapped after eating, waiting under cover for a heavy storm to subside. It was fun to watch the dramatic lightning show, the thunder obliterating all other sound as it crashed and reverberated around the skyscrapers. A returning Malaysian, on holiday from his now-home in Canada, explained to us how dangerous these storms can be, recounting that a friend of his had died after being struck by lightening.

Waiting out the storm meant we arrived at the Petronas Towers for early evening, seeing them lit up against the black sky. Underneath the twin white shimmer of the towers sits a high end mall, luxury hotels and flash sportcar showrooms. A large fake Christmas tree competed for attention with the rainbow lit fountains as tourists took selfies.

We’d quickly decided against going up them, as it would cost more than £50 each for a ticket. Instead Lilz had booked us in for cocktails in the second tallest tower in the world, Merdeka 118, which opened August 2025. Something to look forward to on our last night in KL!Read more