Kuala Lumpur is an Asian tiger that roars: in almost 150 years, it has grown from nothing to a modern, bustling city. Take in its high-flying triumphs from the viewing deck of one of the world's tallest buildings, then dive down to explore its more traditional culture in the back lanes of Chinatown.
It's a modern Asian city of gleaming skyscrapers, but it retains much of the local colour that has been wiped out in other Asian boom-cities such as Singapore. It has plenty of colonial buildings in its centre, a vibrant Chinatown with street vendors and night markets, and a bustling Little India.
When to go
Kuala Lumpur is hot and humid almost all the time. Although there is rain through the year, March to April and September to November are the wettest months. Kuala Lumpur's wide ethnic diversity means that celebrations of one kind or another are usually going on somewhere around the city; these can make transport more crowded than usual. Public holidays are a surprisingly good time to be around, as most locals head for the beaches and hills. In more liberal Kuala Lumpur, Ramadan doesn't pose the same 'where to eat?' problems that affect the more devout Muslim areas on the east coast. (View the Map)
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