A multicultural metropolis
Kuala Lumpur is the cultural and economic centre as well as capital of Malaysia. It is simply called "KL" by most of the inhabitants. In the pulsating metropolis of millions, many different cultures and religions are represented. You can see minarets of the mosques, Christian church towers, Chinese pagodas and Indian temples throughout the city.
Economically and politically, Malaysia is considered one of the most stable countries in Southeast Asia, where the convergence of tradition and modernity, Islam and capitalism is propagated. High-rise buildings (especially in the banking district) dominate the cityscape and are signs of progress the city has made.
Malaysia lies completely in the humid, hot and humid tropics. The country is divided into West Malaysia on the Malay Peninsula and East Malaysia on the island of Borneo. Since it used to be part of the British Kingdom, quite a large number of locals speak English.
Arriving to Malaysia
From Phuket, Thailand I flew with AirAsia very early in the morning to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. A bus finally brought me to Bukit Bintang, the centre of the city. At the Sunshine Bedz Hostel I had booked a bed for 2 nights and should spend New Year there as well. A young woman in hijab welcomed nicely. I went to the opposite shopping mall for lunch in the vegetarian restaurant called Simple Life. I had a dish called Nasi Lemak, a Malay fragrant rice dish cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaf served with egg. It tasted a lot better than it looked.
the Petronas Towers - the highest twin towers in the world
In my room I met the Dutch girl Anke, together we walked to the KLCC Park with the famous Petronas Towers. The Twin Towers, which are connected by a high passageway, are named after the state oil company and are to this day the tallest twin towers in the world.
Together with another German from our hostel and three of his female companions we relaxed a little bit on the grass in the park and enjoyed the short but nice light show in front of the mall.
a city of contrasts
Malaysia is a Muslim country and it amazed me very much to see so many Christmas decorations, which I also know from my home country, like Christmas trees or nutcrackers. When the muezzin called the Muslims to prayer, the contrast between the commercial Petronas Towers and the Christian Christmas trees could not be more extreme.
The country's population is a mix of Malay, Chinese and Indian people. Plus many immigrants from Arab countries, Pakistan etc. So there are also some Buddhists and Hindus. The language is Malay, Latin characters are used.
Confusing cityscape
With the Dutch girl I walked back to the hostel, but we got lost, because the street layout is so strange in Kuala-Lumpar that you quickly lose track in the cobweb-like road jungle. Apart from that, Kuala Lumpur is similarly big as Bangkok, but a little bit better organized and cleaner. And there is not so much noise and scooters on the streets.
Visiting some mosque and the filming location of Crazy Rich Asians
The next day I visited with a Taiwanese woman from my hostel the Jamek Mosque, one of the oldest mosques in the country. I had to put on a long skirt, because the Muslim rules require that the knees have to be covered. We had lunch afterwards in a great Taiwanese vegetarian restaurant.
Later we visited a famous villa that served as a filming location for "Crazy Rich Asians", which was on everyone's lips that year. Personally, I didn't know anything about the film at that time, so the buildings were rather insignificant for me. Afterwards we had problems to order a taxi (Uber), because nobody wanted to drive up the hill where the villa was located. We walked a bit along the highway and stopped a normal taxi, but the taxi wanted so much money that we got out of the car and ordered an uber in a shopping center.
Street food in Jalan Alor Street
In the evening New Year's Eve was coming up. After all I had decided to celebrate this event. Normally I avoid to celebrate New Year's Eve, but it was worth it to enjoy it here!
We rested a little and then had dinner in Jalan Alor Street, where there is a lot of streetfood for a reasonable price. Midnight was already pretty close. It was already after 11 pm and we considered where we wanted to spend the turn of the year. A German Turk knew someone who had a private party on the top floor of a skyscraper, from which you have a view of the Petronas Tower. It doesn't get better than that!
Private New Years Eve Party and club afterwards
At the party there were about 30 people. There was beer, cocktails and food. At exactly midnight I expected a great firework display over the Petronas Towers, but what came was quite disappointing. Almost no fireworks were to be seen. On the one hand because it was quite rainy and on the other hand because simply hardly any fireworks were started.But maybe it's better that way, fireworks only pollute the environment after all.
After the party was slowly coming to an end, we didn't stop there and went to the Novoo Club. I was surprised that in a Muslim country there is a club culture at all. This club was quite different though. Men were NOT allowed on the dance floor, only girls. So most of the people stood at their tables in small groups. I was there with another German and 3 girls from Poland, US and Indonesia. We got into the mood with a Long Island Iced Tea. Around 6 am I reached my hostel. Well, it was certainly a promising start to the year!
Totally tired and in a bad mood to the airport
Only a few hours later I had to check out of my hostel, because my flight to Sandakan, which is on the island of Borneo, was scheduled for the afternoon. My Dutch friend Anke described me as "grumpy Marc". My mood is not too good in a tired state.
First we had to wait forever for the monorail (a railway in which the track consists of a single rail), which was then completely overcrowded. After that we got lost again in Kuala Lumpur. Actually we wanted to go to the airport by bus, but we just couldn't find it. People either didn't know where it departs from or sent us through a huge shopping mall. We did not find it and took the train instead, even though it costs almost twice as much.
Afterwards there was confusion at which of the many Air Asia counters we should queue up. After a while I could finally check in, but then I had to wait longer than planned because my plane was delayed.
Meeting my Vietnamese friend again
After 9 days in Borneo, I came back to Kuala Lumpur, also to meet my Vietnamese friend Uyen, who was travelling in Malaysia at the time. A lot had changed since I last saw her in Europe. Meanwhile she got married to her Iranian boyfriend and was expecting a child from him. Her pregnant body could not be overlooked when I met her in front of the Pavilion Shopping Complex. Her Iranian husband and her brother were also there. We went to eat Iranian food, visited an Indian temple and looked at the many plagiarisms in Chinatown.
The locals love to shop and eat, so you see a lot of street food and huge shopping malls everywhere. You could spend all day going through the air-conditioned malls and try to make a good bargain.
Going out in Kuala Lumpur
On 2 nights I visited the Changkat street with 2 Asian girls, where there are many western style clubs and bars. Although Malaysia is a cheap country, the prices for alcohol are quite high, because the Muslim government of Malaysia adds a huge tax on alcohol in order to curb the alcohol consumption of their people.
Batu Caves - huge colorful stairs lead to a hindu temple
The most beautiful place of Kuala Lumpur is a little outside the city. These are the Batu Caves, a Hindu temple complex inside a cave on a hill. In front of the cave there is a huge golden statue. A lot of colorful stairs lead to the cave. Getting there was not so easy though. According to plan the train goes there about every 20 minutes, but in reality I had to wait more than 1 hour for the train. The temples are also known for the many monkeys that live there. You should be careful with your food, otherwise the cunning monkeys will steal it soon.
Leaving the business city Kuala Lumpur
I left Kuala Lumpur to visit Penang and the Cameron Highlands. After I had to come back to KL for a third time when I went to the South of Malaysia because it's the main transport hub of the country. However, I did not like Kuala Lumpur very much. It is primarily a business city and place you go for shopping. Besides, the cityscape is convoluted and the use of public transport with all the many different types is incomprehensible.
