It is the largest and capital city of Malaysia. It is home to the Malaysian Parliament and is home to the Istana Negara Malaysian King. The administrative center is located in Putrajaya and the financial center is in Labuan. Kuala Lumpur is the home to various cultures (China, Malaysian, and Indian). The city has many places of worship catering to the multi-religious population. Islam is practiced primarily by the Malays and the Indian Muslim communities. Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism are practiced mainly among the Chinese. Indians traditionally adhere to Hinduism. Some Chinese and Indians also subscribe to Christianity.
There are two airports – one for international flights (KLIA = Kuala Lumpur International Airport) and the other for domestic flights. Rapid Transit System Public Transport includes three lines (in the underground and above ground). KL Sentral is the main station.
Petronas Twin Towers
Nowadays they occupy the 18th of the highest buildings in the world, but between 1998 and 2004 they were the first in this category. Their height is 452 m. The buildings are connected by a bridge between the 41st and 42nd floors. One tower is fully occupied by Petronas, the other is rented.
Suria and KLCC Park
Suria – The largest shopping center in Malaysia at the foot of the Petronas Twin Towers. There is, for example, an underwater aquarium or a scientific center. Park nearby with paths suitable for jogging or walking with children. In addition, it boasts a built-in light show.
Centrum Kuala Lumpur
After our arrival in Kuala Lumpur, our host’s girlfriend showed Kuala Lumpur center and several interesting places in the weekend. Our journey began at the Central Market, it was originally built by the British in 1888. Due to the great development in the 1970s of the last century, it was planned to destroy the building, but fortunately, it was included in the list of “cultural heritage”. We have seen a lot of stalls and shops on clothing, ceramics, paintings, cosmetics, fruits and lots of other things …
Merdeka Square (Independence Square)
Our journey continued on the square of independence that Malaysia won in 1957. At this point, the first flag of Malaysia was flying.
Sultan Abdul Samad Building
From the square, we went around the Sultan Abdul Samad building. Originally there were the offices of the British Colonial Administration, but it is part of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture now.
Sultan Abdul Samad Jamek Mosque
After crossing the bridge, we continued around Jamek Mosque, one of the oldest in Kuala Lumpur. The name “Jamek” is the equivalent of the Arabic word, meaning a place where people gather to worship. Masjid Jamek served as the main mosque in Kuala Lumpur until the Masjid Negara National Mosque was built in 1965.
Finally, we went to Chinatown, where we could see how they were preparing for New China Year 2018.
Chinese New Year 2018
It is the most important holiday for Chinese, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Singaporean, Korean, and Japanese. This year we celebrated the night from 15.2. until 16.2. and we entered the Dog year. The red color is the typical celebration decoration and symbolizes happiness as well as the mandarins, which are placed in an even number in the dishes around the house. If someone gives someone a mandarin, they have to donate them in even numbers, because the unevenness of the numbers means unhappiness. The family is the important point of celebration – people visited their family even in very far places to celebrate the New Year together.
Batu Caves
It is the most important Hindu sanctuary in Malaysia. In front of large limestone caves, there is a huge golden statue of God Murugan and a total of 272 stairs. A great attraction is a festival at the beginning of February. It’s called “The Festival of Pain”. Some followers of God Murugan pierce their faces and tongue with needles and their back with hooks. They celebrate this festival for three days.
Funny moments in Kuala Lumpur
Finally, I would like to show a few funny moments because everything wasn´t perfect. In both cases the scooter played a major role ….
When we left Batu Caves, there was a huge blow and lightning. We had about 45 minutes to go to the apartment. We quickly drove a scooter and hoped that the storm doesn´t catch us. But we lost our way and the storm caught us. On the first occasion, we hid at one bus stop and waited. The problem (in this area) is that you do not know when a heavy rain will stop and sometimes it will stretch the waiting.
The second case happened to us again on the way. This time, however, it didn´t rain, but in our scooter, the problem is that it doesn´t show the speedometer and even how much you have a petrol. And so it happened that when we drove up the hill (about 2km before the apartment) ….. we didn´t have a petrol. We had luck because one gentleman stopped and filled a petrol to a PET bottle for us 🙂
