Travel Guide to Kuala Lumpur

Location

The main body of Kuala Lumpur is situated on a high bank where the Klang River meets the Gombak River.

Shopping

Handicrafts of local origin range from intricate silver, brass and pewter items to pottery, rattan and wickerwork. You can find pewter figurines, mugs, ashtrays, bottle-openers and much, much more.

Batiks of silk and cotton come in an array of vivid colours. Batik is a fabric printed with intricate designs using molten wax and dyes. The more expensive pieces are painstakingly designed by hand. Kain Songket is a distinctly Malay fabric. It is often made of silk with gold or silver threads woven into the fabric.
Art objects and curio items from the orient vie for attention with carpets and rugs of lustrous silk and fine wool in traditional designs of intricate geometric motifs or patterned in beautiful flowery designs of pastel hues.

There’s ready-to-wear apparel of every design and colour, trendy shoes and handbags. From the fashion centres of the world come designer collections, elegant footwear, exclusive watches, optical items and quality fabrics.
There are a number of different shopping areas:

Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman
The main shopping area along Jalan Tuanku Abd, Rahman, stretches from the Jalan Dang Wangi junction to Jalan Tun Perak.

Jalan Bukit Bintang
Jalan Bukit Bintang, the ’Golden Mile’ of Kuala Lumpur contains ultra-modern shopping and commercial complexes, interspersed with towering international standard hotels.

Petaling Street
Petaling Street and Jalan Bandar are at the hub of Kuala Lumpur’s bustling Chinatown. Shops here offer a variety of textiles, clothes, shoes and handbags at bargain prices. The area is also known for its jewellery shops, with a fascinating variety of fine jewellery items beautifully crafted in gold and set with priceless gemstones.

Fashion and designer boutiques
The emergence of famous names on the Kuala Lumpur shopping scene is a clear indication that prestige shopping is here to stay! The Lot 10 shopping centre designated its entire 4th floor as the ’Prestige floor’, housing exclusive names such as Jaegar, Donna Karan, Nina Ricci and Hanae Mori, to name just a few.

Geography

Kuala Lumpur is situated midway along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, at the confluence of the Klang and Gombek rivers. It is approximately 35 km from the coast and sits at the centre of the Peninsula’s extensive and modern transportation network.

History

During the industrial revolution, on the confluence of two rivers a shanty town grew up. This was the nearest to the tin mines at Ampang that ships could get, so this became the site of Kuala Lumpur. Kuala Lumpur means muddy confluence.

At first Luala Lumpur was like a wild west frontier town with gambling, brothels and riotous behaviour.

The Chinese organised themselves into clans and then triads and lawlessness continued. Out of this chaos, one man was to emerge - Yap A h Loy - the founding father of modern Kuala Lumpur.

Elected as "Kapitan Cina" by the clans, Yap Ah Loy, with the backing of the local Sultan, started developing the town, building hospitals, houses and a prison. He also managed to keep the fighting in check.

The English arrived in 1824 because of a struggle for the throne/. They stayed for the next 137 years

They started by appointing a British Resident for Selangor and Frank Swettenham made Kuala Lumpur his administrative centre. Later, in 1896, when the Federation of Malay States was formed, Kuala Lumpur became its capital.

Kuala Lumpur cleaned up and developed into a respectable town

The early 1940-s saw Kuala Lumpur in Japanese hands but after World War II, the British came back, only to find that things were no longer the same. The locals were clamouring for self-rule.
Malaysia was formed only in 1963, when the states of Sabah and Sarawak on Borneo island, and Singapore, at the southern tip of the peninsula, joined Malaya. KL was then the capital of Selangor. In 1965, Singapore broke away from Malaysia, and in 1974, it was decided that KL be made a Federal Territory. Since then, as the administrative centre of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur has grown into a modern, multi-cultural, multi-racial and multi-national metropolis that is the pride of the nation.

What makes it so special?

The mixture of ‘old and new’ and the unique Muslim modern architecture. Good for shopping and eating out.

Where to visit?

Kuala Lumpur, with all its shiny skyscrapers and modern developments, has a very charming collection of colonial buildings, right in the heart of the city itself.
Merdeka Square has the tallest flagpole in the world and is the site of the independence parade.

Sultan Abdul Samad Building
The Sultan Abdul Samad building nearby on Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin was designed by British architects at the end of the 19th century, and is the most photographed building in Malaysia. It was one of the earliest buildings in Kuala Lumpur to bear the Moorish influence.

The Railway Station
The railway station in Kuala Lumpur sees many, many visitors, but not only because they alight on its platforms. Many who do not come to KL by train make it a point to get to the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station on Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin.

Jalan Ampang
Take a walk along Jalan Ampang and you’ll be taking a walk back in time, all the way to the 1900s. A street of old mansions belonging to the tin tycoons at the turn of the century, these old ancestral homes line the streets in their silent splendour bearing witness to the passage of time

Dayabumi Complex
A skyscraper, 35 storeys high, stands proudly on Jalan Hishamuddin, it was the very first building in KL to boast of the Malaysian-style architecture, that is a unique combination of modern lines and Islamic motifs

Menara Kuala Lumpur
Before the Twin Towers, there was the Menara KL, standing proud on Bukit Nanas. A communications tower, it has the distinction of being a ’one of a kind’ building. It is attention-grabbing, quaint and charming, all at the same time - the reason being its unique spinning top shape.

Petronas Twin Towers and the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC)
The tallest buildings in the world, the Petronas Twin Towers, are a commanding sight. Together with the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC), it symbolises Kuala Lumpur’s, and Malaysia’s, rapid rise as a developed nation.

Excursions

Taman Negara Jungle experience.

3 nights in the jungle with white water rafting £200 including transfers, meals a guide and accommodation

Most popular tours

Full day city tour
City by night