Kuala Lumpur, a city of contrasts

By now it is more than fair to write about Kuala Lumpur (KL) as I have been living here for a month already. Nevertheless, I think much will be left unsaid for future posts :)

Kuala Lumpur (translate as "muddy confluence”) has an estimated population of 1.6 and the greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million. Quite bigger than any city I have lived until now heheh.

KL is a very busy city, there is a lot of traffic and even during the night there are many cars on the roads. Also, there are many places opened 24h a day, including street restaurants so you can eat any time you wish to.

It is a very tall city compared to the European cities I have visited and full of contrasts and disparity: in one hand it can be very new and modern and on the other hand, there are many traditional neighborhoods a bit old and dirty.

I’ve seen some nice parks and streets to have some walks but with this heat its hard to find motivation. Therefore, one of the most common things I find here is shopping malls, I mean with this weather, who doesn’t wants to go on a shopping mall once in a while with air-con?

Aside shopping, I found out something that Malay families also do: launch kites :) How nice is that?

Also, it is possible to find a lot of Muslim influence in some buildings, as well as, worship places for Indians and Chinese. Here are some which I have visited:

Batu caves, where there is a Indian Temple inside. At the entrance you can see a statue 43m tall of the God of War.

Inside the caves where a lot of monkeys live, as well as, some other animals...

With my friend and college Nicole with whom I went to visit Batu Caves.

The inside of a Chinese Temple in Chinatown where a worker places incense in the ceiling which gives it a great atmosphere.

Thean Hou Temple, the biggest Chinese Temple in Malaysia with my friend Inês, who is living nearby in Singapore.

Finally, the most important building of KL are the Petronas Towers, these were the world's tallest buildings before being surpassed by Taipei 101. However, the towers are still the tallest twin buildings in the world.

And of course, as any tourist in KL, here you go my picture with the famous towers :)