It is a sad fact of travel that tourists are seen as ripe for ripping off by a dedicated band of con artists, whether that be credit card fraud, elaborate gem scams, or even fake charities. However clever these cons are, with a little bit of common sense they are perfectly avoidable. The problem with … read the full post

For many people, the whole point of being in the tropics around now is to escape the depth of the winter back home in Europe and North America. But that does not mean spending the whole time somewhere as steamy as Kuala Lumpur. For a good Goldilocks solution (neither too hot, nor too cold), why not … read the full post

I’m based in Singapore, a tiny place to call home, but with the saving grace of being just a short budget flight to nearly anywhere else in Southeast Asia. While Phuket or Bali are the obvious choices for a quick getaway, during the peak holiday season I prefer somewhere off the beaten track, like Tioman … read the full post

Read any Tourism Malaysia publication, or scan its website, and you could be forgiven for thinking Kuala Lumpur has no public transport to speak of. The phrase “taxis are the most convenient mode of transport” appears with alarming regularity, even when Rapid KL buses, or walking, are viable options. But even Tourism Malaysia could not … read the full post

The early story of Kuala Lumpur is essentially the history of the area now known as Chinatown. It was here that a rough-and-ready tin mining settlement gradually became a proper town. Even today, Chinatown retains probably the strongest sense of living history of any district in KL. A great way to get an idea of … read the full post

When I wrote some months ago that anyone wanting a chilled-out day trip from Kuala Lumpur could do worse than heading to Kuala Selangor, I had no idea what a throbbing, thrill-packed destination it is compared to Pulau Ketam. But even lovely Ketam gets swamped by visitors at certain times of the year. The same … read the full post

It is somewhat hard to appreciate now, but when Kuala Lumpur started life, it was a frontier settlement, deep in the jungle. Of the original 87 miners who landed at the confluence of the Klang and Gombak rivers in 1857, more than two-thirds died within the first year, principally of malaria. But the fortunes that … read the full post

Kuala Lumpur may be one of the more laid back large cities in Asia, but it’s still a long way from being a stress-free place. When the noise and the sheer crush of people get too much, the obvious option is to head to the countryside. But even there, Malaysia’s love affair with motor vehicles … read the full post

In world terms, Kuala Lumpur is a relatively affordable place to visit, but compared to the rest of Southeast Asia, with the notable exception of Singapore, it’s expensive. Accommodation is the biggest single outlay, with the cheapest decent rooms costing upwards of 80 ringgit a night. But many tourist attractions too are seriously overpriced, particularly … read the full post

Ask visitors who the indigenous people of Malaysia are, and I suspect the answer from the overwhelming majority would be “Malay”, which is not surprising given the sustained efforts of Malay nationalists to perpetuate this misconception. Malays have indeed lived in what is now West Malaysia for several hundred years. But when they first arrived, … read the full post