Kuala Lumpur is the largest city in Malaysia, boasting a population of more than 1.3 million people. The locals call it simply “KL,” and Kuala Lumpur can rightfully claim to be the cultural center of Malaysia, with an ethnically diverse population that includes Malays, Indians and Chinese.

Old meets new without clashing and modern skyscrapers sit cheek-by-jowl with old-fashioned cultural centers. KL is also the seat of the Malaysian parliament and was once home to the federal government, which has since moved. The official residence of the King of Malaysia is here and GaWC rates it as the only global city in Malaysia.

KL sits at the confluence of two major rivers – the Klang and Gombak and the literal translation from Malay is “muddy confluence,” a term not widely used in advertising brochures. Thanks to it’s sheltered position in the Klang valley, KL has a year-lomh equatorial climate which is warm and sunny, although also a relativelky high amount of rainfall, particularly in eth Monsoon season between September and April, when she lives up to her name, experiencing many floods.

As well as being a cultural center, KL is also the commercial hub of Malaysia and is home to much of the country’s finance, insurance, real estate, arts and media industries. Tourism also has a strong part to play in KL’s economy, with perhaps the most important aspect being the shopping. People travel from all over Asia just for the shopping and KL boasts more than 60 shopping malls plus numerous areas set aside for open markets where one can purchase local products – particularly textiles, handicrafts and fabrics. The local tourism ministry encourages all retailers to participate in thrice yearly “mega sales,”  which have attracted hundreds of thousands of shoppers and accounts for more than 20% of the total expenditure by tourists. Visitors needing cheap hotels in Kuala Lumpur are well advised to book online for the best prices.

Perhaps one of the most famous structures in Kl is the Petronas Twin Towers, with their distinctive all glass exterior. Until Taipei 101, the Twin Towers were the tallest buildings in the world and required enormous amounts of concrete to build. They reflect the interesting mix of modern and ancient, and were built to resemble ancient motifs found in Islamic art. The Twin Towers can still claim the record for the highest two storey bridge in the world which is 170 meters above ground. Free passes are available for visitors, but are limited to only 1700 passes per day and must be pre-arranged.

Other attractions (apart from the shopping) include the Perdana Lake Gardens near the Parliament building, the National Art Gallery of Malaysia, The Petronas Art Gallery and an interesting Islamic Art Museum which houses more than 7000 Islamic artifacts and a library of Islamic books. There are also three forest reserves within the city - the Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve; the Bukit Sungai Putih Forest Reserve and the Bukit Sungai Besi Forest Reserve. Bukit Nanas, in the heart of the city centre, is one of the oldest virgin forests in the world within a city. These residual forest areas are home to monkeys, tree shrews, squirrels and birds.