Kuala Lumpur: the highlights

Julie and I at the National Mosque

I have such great memories from my short birthday break in Kuala Lumpur and I’ve already posted about some of them – the bellisimo birds at the KL BirdPark, the striking architecture – but here are a few highlights from those delicious five days.

Cousin Julie comes too

It was so wonderful to see a familiar face and share some of my explorations of KL with my cousin Julie, who flew up from Singapore for the weekend. Gem that she is, she brought Moet, though we had to drink it lukewarm, and treated me to a superb sushi birthday dinner.

She shares my entrancement with Islamic arts, so was as captivated as I was with the National Mosque, the Moorish influences in the heritage architecture, the Islamic Arts Museum. We walked miles, talked more, and, considering neither of us is that keen on clothes shopping, we shopped well. The sale prices and ‘Auntie’, one very persuasive saleswoman and shop owner, also had a lot to do with our success in that quarter, though Julie may not be thanking me when her next credit card bill comes in!

The turrets of the city railway station

I would've gone hungry without the help of this lovely young woman

Charming people

From the delightful elderly Indian gentleman who walked me from his hotel the ten minutes to my hotel after my taxi from the airport dropped me off at the wrong place and I got a little lost to the young Malaysian girl who helped me select some delicious delicacies at a local foodstall where the menu was incomprehensible, I found the people of Kuala Lumpur heart-warmingly helpful and friendly.

At the Petronas Tower, the smartly dressed guide inquired oh so politely as to my age and then delicately suggested that I would qualify for a senior citizen’s discount if I wanted to go up the tower (I didn’t, as it would’ve meant waiting for 3 hours). The Hop-on Hop-off bus tout relinquished his chair and fetched a cold bottle of water for this red-faced, sweaty tourist, then proceeded to tell me some local history while I waited for the next bus. And, by my third visit, the staff at the Secret Recipe were welcoming me like a long-lost friend and all came over to wish me a very happy birthday when I mentioned the cake was my birthday treat.

South Indian food for breakfast one morning

Colourful culture

I was so glad we chose the Golden Triangle area to stay in. Our budget hotel, the Hotel de’Grand Orchard, though difficult to find initially, was perfectly comfortable and had an inviting rainforest shower, but it was the location I particularly loved.

The mostly Indian Muslim neighbourhood is really colourful, with great street food (even if you're not exactly sure what you're eating!), a nearby market selling everything from traditional Muslin headgear to knock-off brand watches, local streets that transform into a bustling market on a Saturday night, and plentiful shopping at cheap prices. It's an easy walk to the Merdeka Square area, to the Central Market, Chinatown, the National Mosque and National Textile Museum.

Check out the little slice of Kiwiana in a stall at the Central Market

From Chinese temple to Petronas Towers

Convenience and contrast

Kuala Lumpur has all the conveniences of a modern go-ahead city yet still manages to retain its small-community charm. There are huge air-conditioned shopping malls, and an efficient transport system of buses, subway and monorail, plus the KLIE express train to and from the airport – for a completely hassle-free experience with no queues you can even check in for your flight at the city station!

In the central commercial area, skyscrapers and tower blocks loom over the tiny pedestrian, yet I still managed to find a fascinating Chinese Buddhist temple just a city block from the Petronas Towers. Heritage shophouses huddle between concrete and glass office blocks, and a vibrantly coloured Hindu temple sits cheek-by-jowl with Chinese shops and supermarkets. 

As you can no doubt tell, I was enchanted with KL and highly recommend a visit to anyone passing through Asia. And now I can't resist adding a few more architecture shots!

The Royal Palace

The Sri Mahamariamman temple

The Petronas Towers sparkle at night

Kuala Lumpur: the heritage buildings of Merdeka Square

In Merdeka Square, on 31 August 1957, the lowering of the Union Jack brought an end to the British colonial rule of Malaya and the raising of the Malaysian flag marked the proclamation of Malaysia’s independence.

It’s not surprising then that this is a national heritage site and the focus for many other slices of local history.

The square is the big green area in this image, taken from the top of the KL Tower

The square was developed by the Brits in 1884 and used as a venue for social activities, including the odd game of cricket. The flag pole itself, at 100 metres tall and sporting a huge Malaysian flag, is very impressive and supposedly one of the tallest in the world. Malaysians do like their superlatives!

And nearby there’s a Victorian-era fountain, that was apparently brought in from England in pieces and assembled in situ. My guide book tells me it features some lovely Art Nouveau tile work but it’s currently partitioned off for renovation so the tiles weren’t visible. It did have some rather scary looking gargoyle-like creatures, though.

It’s the buildings that most impressed me about this heritage area, so let me take you on a tour around the square, starting on the side of the square that’s bounded by a very busy main thoroughfare. Here we find some government offices that, when built in 1896, functioned as the city’s General Post Office. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a photo of the building's ‘polygonad (I kid you not!) corner stair towers’.

City Theatre

I did get a photo of the adjoining building, the former City Hall. Built in 1896 and now used as the City Theatre, this shows the influence of the local Islamic culture in its curvaceous arches and its chhatris, the dome-shaped pavilions on its roof. It also has a very grand porte-cochere – that roofed structure out front under which carriages would once have been driven.

The former High Court

Next door is the 1909 former High Court building, with more wonderfully curving arches, these with more of a Moorish influence, and its four towers are finished off with lovely black cupolas.

Across a side road, we come to the magnificent Sultan Abdul Samad building, built between 1894 and 1897. It was formerly the home to the Federated Malay States administration, then from 1972 the High and Supreme Courts, and now houses the Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture. My pamphlet says: ‘The first example of Moghul architecture in Malaysia, this elegant symmetrical brick structure features a 41-metre-high clock tower, arched colonnades and stunning copper-covered domes.’

I've included two photos of this building because I just love those copper domes, especially with the Petronas Towers in the background.

On the next city block is the National Textile Museum, built in 1905 and previously the Federated Malay States Railway Station and Selangor Works department. Unfortunately I don’t have an image of the whole of the building as I was focusing on the contrast between those wonderful onion-shaped domes and the modern but equally stunning building in the background. The museum building features alternating stripes of red bricks and white plaster bands, and also shows Islamic influences both in its façade and in those divine domes. Inside are some fascinating displays of the diverse range of textile designs, patterns and materials produced by the broad range of ethnic groups found in Malaysia.

Crossing the main road and continuing in a clockwise direction around the square, we come first to a building that now houses a restaurant but was the home of the Chartered Bank when it was built in 1919. No photo of that, I’m afraid, but I do have the neighbouring building, what is now the KL City Gallery (note the absence of the word art in that title). Built in 1898, it is another example of Moorish style architecture with a large open interior that was purpose-built to house the large printing presses from its days as the Government Printing Office. Today that space is home to a shop, selling all types of local souvenirs but featuring, in particular, products made of intricately carved and assembled wood veneers. The photo display in an adjoining room was interesting, and the scale model of the central city in an upstairs room was very photogenic and provided an excellent city overview (see below).

One of the City Library's domes

In the corner next to the City Gallery is the City Library. You can see the entire building in my first image as this shot only shows one of its glorious domes. This 1989 building was built to emulate the older buildings that surround it and includes under its roof an auditorium and conference hall, as well as the library itself.

Moving around to the long side of the square facing the road, we find the most bizarre group of buildings, of black-and-white mock-Tudor design with a fake half-timber façade. Built in 1884, these now house the Royal Selangkor Club, an institution that harks back to the days of English gentlemen’s clubs and still bans women from its Long Bar. I could say that I refuse to post a photo of the building in protest against this discrimination but the truth is that I just found the buildings ugly and didn’t take any shots of them.

The scale model of the city inside the City Gallery