Kuala Lumpur travel review & recommendations by dare

Kuala Lumpur (thats KL for short) is a modern and dynamic city tied together with many different cultural dynamics. Traditional Malay, Muslim, Indian and Chinese all fuse into a vibrant and varied city.

We stayed at the Coliseum Hotel (circa 1920s) in Little Inda, RM45 per night for a double room with air con. Down stairs is the Coliseum bar and restaurant and next door is the Coliseum Cinema that shows Bollywood flicks. Its fairly basic but full of character.

We visited the Petronal Towers (tickets up to the SkyBridge are free but based on a schedule, so show up early in the morning to get your pick of times and then come back later for your assigned elevator trip) which are a real testiment to the growing prosperity of Malaysia and are also now a cultural icon.

We also saw the Royal Selangor Pewter Factory. Its got a slick tour of the history of petwer working, some of the techniques used by their highly trained staff (the hand working is not easy!) and a quick glance over the factory floor. Its also got the Guiness Book of Records approved Worlds Largest Beer Tankard and much of the inner reception area is tiled with the handprints of Selangor staff who have flourished with the company for over a decade.

The other big highlight was the Batu Caves, giant natural formation made into a Buddhist temple and sporting a giant standing Buddha looking out over KL. There are macaques everywhere.

Little India and China Town have some great eats, among my favourites are the 60sen satay sticks and the 1Ringgit Roti Canai. You really can eat yourself silly in KL.

KL Sentral station brings all city transport into one easy to manage hub and from here you can access the rest of the country at leisure.