I have to confess that while I have always been a fan of dance as a participatory sport, the idea of watching a live dance performance fills me with absolute horror. Others may see poetry in motion. I, however, would much rather watch paint dry. Still, it takes all sorts, and I am more than … read the full post

One of the quirkiest, and to my mind charming, legacies of the British Empire are the hill stations dotted round South and Southeast Asia. Chosen for their cool climates, and endowed with an architecture redolent of “home”, they provided a welcome respite from the realities of living in the tropics. Once independence came to the … read the full post

Up until a few decades ago, Kuala Lumpur had a Chinese majority, and it was only very recently that Malays became the city’s largest single community. Even today, most of central KL feels much more Chinese than it does Malay, which probably comes as a big surprise for any visitor expecting a conservative city dominated … read the full post

Shopping is not just a popular pastime in Kuala Lumpur, for many people it has reached the status of a religion. Shiny new malls open with alarming regularity, providing yet another place to worship the god of consumerism. And despite offering virtually nothing original, they seem full of happy customers, even before the paint is … read the full post

While Chinatowns are all round the world, Little Indias are rather rarer. Except in Kuala Lumpur that is, which as of last year, has not one but two of them. Or not, depending on whether the area in central KL, which has been known as Little India for decades, has been officially stripped of its title. … read the full post

Most independent travellers coming to Kuala Lumpur are probably unaware that one of Asia’s largest entertainment and gambling complexes is less than a hour by bus from central KL. Located at about 1,700 metres above sea level, Resorts World Genting is a modern reworking of the colonial hill station concept. While places like Cameron Highlands … read the full post

As I may have mentioned before, Malaysians like their food. It’s one of the few things which cuts across all the main ethnic groups in the country. One big difference between the races though, is that while fantastic Chinese and Indian food is easily accessible to tourists, good Malay cooking is far more difficult to … read the full post

For a city so in love with new high-rise buildings, not to mention motor vehicles, Kuala Lumpur is surprisingly green. Not in an eco-friendly sense, although that is improving slowly, but in terms of how much vegetation there is in among all the concrete. It is also well served by public open green spaces, most … read the full post

Tea drinking has been part of Malaysian life for hundreds of years, although exactly when the habit started is unclear. The most likely explanation is that it was brought to the country by traders from China. The word for tea in Malay is teh, derived from Hokkien, the dialect spoken in the Chinese province of … read the full post

Anyone wandering round Kuala Lumpur could be forgiven for thinking it’s one big construction site. Everywhere you look, a new shopping centre or high-rise building is taking shape. A good deal of this frenetic building activity is understandable, as KL’s growing population needs places to live, work and shop. Unfortunately, much of the city’s remaining … read the full post