Kuala Lumpur

Last weekend (12-14 September), we went to Kuala Lumpur, aka KL, the capital of Malaysia for our first wedding anniversary. KL is an interesting city and has become famous throughout the world for the iconic Petronas twin towers, up to recently the highest buildings in the world (452m). It is impossible to miss the impressive buildings, which dominate the skyline of KL. Interestingly, there is another very tall structure not too far away from it, the KL Tower (Menara KL in the Malay language). From there, you have a great view over the city and the twin towers. KL is a pleasant city with a wide choice of restaurants and shopping malls (including a huge one just next to the Petronas towers) and with a mix of different people: Malay, Chinese, Indian,... Some of you may remember the touristic slogan "Malaysia Truly Asia" to underline this diversity. The majority group in Malaysia are the Malays, who are muslim (this in contrast with Singapore which has a similar ethnic composition but where the Chinese are in the majority). We were in KL during Ramadhan which meant we could not have lunch at the restaurant of the impressive Islamic Arts Museum near the national mosque (not accessible for 'non-muslim tourists'). The wondering monkey and friendly albino snake were present at the Batu caves, a Hindu religious shrine just outside the city. The centre of KL has still some typical colonial-era buildings (Malaya & Singapore were a British colony). To conclude, a word of thanks to Tom's colleague Kin Keong Chan who introduced us to his friend Tuck Weng Chin who guided us around in KL on Saturday. Thank you both!