Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur (KL), is the capital city and a federal territory of Malaysia. It is the most populous city in the country, covering an area of 243 km²(94 sq mi) with a population of 2,075,600 as of 2024. Greater Kuala Lumpur, which itself includes the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 8.81 million people as of 2024. It is among the fastest growing metropolitan regions in Southeast Asia, in terms of both population and economic development.

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I had no real plans to go there, but a last-minute business trip took me there.

Brickfields

My hotel was at Brickfields, also known as Little India. It has many office buildings, malls and the customary homelessness.

I went during Diwali, so the streets were decorated with lights. Made me feel a bit homely.

I was surprised to see that Kuala Lumpur was extremely green, especially compared to Bangkok.

There were plenty of chic bars nearby to watch the sunset from. We went to a new bar every evening.

Batu Caves

On a day off, I went to Batu Caves which is 13km north of KL. Thankfully, a commuter train takes you there directly from KL Sentral. The place immediately reminded me of my trip to Chennai long ago. Unlike KL city, this place was filthy and unkempt.

It was fun climbing all the steps to the top dodging monkeys along the way. It was not fun taking off my shoes in the temple up top.

Petronas Twin Towers

I spent the rest of my weekend at or near Petronas Twin Towers. The area is littered with rooftop bars with great views of the towers. The ones I went to, are called Roofino and Helipad. The second is literally a restaurant around a helipad.