Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

It's finally time to catch you up on my travels.  My flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was at 12:30am on January 15th.  After having dinner at home, I met up with David, my travel buddy for the trip, and we took the airport shuttle to Incheon Airport.  There, we unexpectedly ran into several other Fulbrights: three who were heading to Australia and two en route to Singapore.  What a small world!  I slept for the entirety of the flight and before I knew it, we had arrived in Kuala Lumpur Airport, as the sun was coming up.  We ate breakfast with our friends and then parted ways.  Then, we took a bus downtown, checked into our hostel, and began exploring.

The first thing that struck me about Malaysia was how ethnically diverse this country is.  The architecture throughout the city is undoubtedly influenced by Malay, Chinese, Arab, and Western culture.  Street signs are often written in 4 languages and just walking around, one hears smatterings of foreign tongues.  After I returned from my trip, I did a little research on the demographics on Malaysia and quickly realized that my observations were spot on.  Malaysia contains speakers of 137 living languages.

Native Malays make up the majority of the Malaysian population at 50.4%, Chinese make up 24.6%, native and indigenous populations 11%, Indians 7.1%, and the remaining population is split among people of European and Middle Eastern descent.  What is most impressive is the fact that all these people can not only coexist peacefully but respect and admire each others' cultures.  If only we could say the same for countries in Central Africa and the Middle East.

Fulbrights in KL Airport

After walking a bit downtown, we headed across town to the Kuala Lumpur Butterfly Park.  The park was somewhat on the smaller side but it contained lush greenery and 6000 butterflies.  It was a nice and peaceful way to start off the day of sight-seeing.

After that, we headed to the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park, which at a whopping 20.9 acres, is the world's largest free flight aviary.  There were so many exotic and beautiful birds just walking around the premises.  It was quite mind-blowing.

The park was absolutely enormous.  It took us a few hours to walk through the whole thing.  The exhibits were very thoughtfully laid out and the landscaping was just superb.  I hope I'll make it back here one day.

Malaysia is not only boasts ethnic diversity, but religious diversity as well.  Islam is the largest and official national religion, with 60.4% of the population.  But nearly 20% identity as Buddhist, nearly 10% as Christian, 6% as Hindu, and a small percentage also practice Confucianism, Taoism, animism, and various folk religions.  On the walk back into town, we passed several notable religious landmarks.

Islamic Center

National Mosque of Malaysia

Islamic Arts Museum

Amazing Skyline

Then, we continued our tour to the historic Kuala Lumpur Railway Station, Central Market, and Chinatown.  Although it is no longer in use, the old railway station is quite stunning; almost reminiscent of a Parliament Building in Western Europe.  One could easily spend an entire day in Central Market, browsing through the stalls that sell traditional crafts, souvenirs, and handmade items.  We continued along to Chinatown, which has some of the best food in Kuala Lumpur.  Restaurants line both sides of the street and there's a ton of energy and life in this neighborhood.  It was a great place to have lunch and just people watch.

After a delicious meal, we moved onto Petaling Street, which is famous for its counterfeit goods and dirt-cheap prices.  As we continued walking, we stumbled across several small, ornate temples, representing every religion that one could imagine.  First was Guan Di Temple, one of the oldest Chinese temples in Kuala Lumpur.  This temple was named after the God of War, China's greatest warrior.  Surrounded by a smokey haze of incense, there was a sense of mystique and tranquility exuding from this place.  I learned that many native Chinese come here to worship Guan Di for protection and to make wishes.

Next, we stumbled upon Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, perhaps the most famous Hindu temple in Malaysia.  Built in 1873, it is also the oldest in Kuala Lumpur.  The temple's most outstanding feature is the elaborate five-tiered tower, which depicts Hindu gods and was sculpted by artisans from southern India.  The colorful and striking artwork was unlike that which I've ever seen before. 

In the evening, we took the monorail to KL Tower, which competes with the nearby Petronas Towers for being the main landmark of Kuala Lumpur.  We were able to go to the top of the tower and get a 360-degree view of the whole city.  With its lively atmosphere and bright lights, Kuala Lumpur is surely a city that never sleeps.

The next day, we visited the world famous Petronas Towers, which were formerly the tallest buildings in the world, until they were surpassed by Taipei 101 in 2004.  But at 452 meters, they still remain the tallest twin buildings ever built.  Unfortunately, we were unaware that elevator is closed on Mondays, so we couldn't go all the way up to the skybridge.  At the time, it was rather disappointing but on the bright side, it gives me a good reason to come back!  Suria KLCC, a lavish, trendy shopping mall is located at the base of the Petronas Towers.  We spent some time walking around there and then in the nearby park.  Pictures do not do justice to this spectacular landmark.  When the sun reflects off the metallic exterior, this structure actually seems to glow from miles away.

Unfortunately, it was soon time to head back to the airport.  On the way, we stopped by Little India, which is super lively and fun.  No matter where you turn, Kuala Lumpur is full of color and energy.  Every neighborhood has a distinct culture and in some ways, I felt like I was transported to several different countries during this short trip.

 

 

Well, that concludes my 48 hours in Kuala Lumpur.  If we had another day there, perhaps it would've been more relaxing and we would've been able to explore the local hangouts.  But that being said, I feel like we saw so many things and really maximized our time there.  All in all, it was a great start to our epic 2 week journey.