Kuala Lumpur, mon amour, KL, my beautiful!
Whether old, modern, traditional or high-tech, KL offers a wide variety of faces
The Batu Caves are one of the must-sees of KL, beware of calves, it climbs! and also of monkeys, it pilfers!
Bukit Bintang: Kuala Lumpur’s liveliest neighbourhood
Bukit Bintang is a very attractive, commercial and lively neighbourhood. At the heart of Bukit Bintang (BB in short) is the computer giant mall, Low Yat Plazza. Here you can find everything: computer, telephone, accessories at an Asian price.
At nightfall, one of the streets is closed and turns into a giant restaurant: the Food Street. The entire street is overflowing with tables, chairs, caravans, fruit vendors, skewers, ice cream. Here you can buy your toads and choose them alive to fry them, Yum! It’s extraordinary, even though I’ve been to this town often, this street always surprises me.
Bukit Bintang and KLCC are linked by the Walkway, a suspended footpath. It’s funny to walk these 2 kilometres in this air tunnel well protected from the rain while walking over the streets.
Little China, Little India: Kuala Lumpur, it’s cultural diversity guaranteed!
Little China, the aptly named is, as in almost every major city in the world, the Chinatown. Market, colonial architecture, shops and chinese restaurants of course, everything is chinese, even the big dragon at the entrance of the main street.
Little India, the same as for its Chinese sister. On the concrete of the road, large flowers are painted and the lampposts are Indian-style. We are really somewhere else. The shops offer saris, fabric, Indian food, the only thing missing is the Ambassadors cars to think you are in Delhi.
KL is not a dangerous city, the Bamiputra (the Malaysians) are generally friendly and nice
It is a city full of expatriates. They even celebrate the French week. French films with subtitles, tricolour flags showing Made in France food in supermarkets, books, readings, shows… It is a multicultural, multilingual, multicoloured city.
In Kuala Lumpur, the muezzin’s last call to prayer is more impressive than anywhere else. All the mosques call the faithful with a megaphone. The voices rise in a strange clamour that creates a special atmosphere, both sad and deep.
Ampang was, a few years ago, a very eclectic neighbourhood. Lots of greenery, a few lakes and, above all, old colonial houses in ruins, eaten away by humidity and plants alongside brand-new shopping centres.
There were canals and to get to the metro that brought me to KLCC, I had to take a tiny path across the hill. It was quiet, from my window I could see the Petronas towers.
In Kuala Lumpur it is impossible to be bored for a second
At KL you get a foot, back and leg massage at every corner. We get treated with inflamed suction cups that leave you with ladybird tattoos on your back for a few days.
We go for a walk, we dance salsa, rock or Kizumba in the bar streets of BB (Bukit Bintang). We eat strange things, we go to the huge cinema, we have a drink in a Sky Bar which dominates the city. We visit Chinese temples, the museum of Islamic or historical art, the mosques, the palace of the sultan with its Moorish charm, the bird park in the very very large botanical garden, the aquarium…
For sure, Kuala Lumpur is a city full of life and contrast, it’s a city to fall in love with!
More tips to travel ?
Malaysia’s Little Venice, Malacca
Two hours from Kuala Lumpur, Malacca is a pretty little town perfect for spending a few days and learning about Chinese culture, strolling along the canals and taking a rickshaw ride!
