Our Asian Adventure - Kuala Lumpur - the weather today (and every day) is hot and humid, and don’t let the monkeys steal your phone

I have to admit that I knew nothing about Kuala Lumpur except that my husband’s cousin lived there for some 14 years, and it wasn’t on my travel radar until same cousin suggested we visit. So, here we are, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, population about 2 million (7 million in the greater metro area) where, it is safe to say, the weather today (and everyday) is hot and humid due to it’s location just north of the equator. The average daily temperature is about 83 degrees Fahrenheit with 80% humidity. There are rain showers almost daily. It’s quite a departure from our Canadian prairie climate.

When we first arrived in downtown Kuala Lumpur by private driver from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport which is about an hour’s drive, my immediate impression was ‘concrete jungle’, but that could not be further from the truth. Kuala Lumpur has so much to offer - you just need to pace yourself due to the omnipresent heat. We left lots for ‘next time’.

Our hotel, the Kuala Lumpur Intercontinental, was situated right in the downtown, only steps from the famous Petronas Towers. I have to give a shout-out. We all agreed this IHG hotel was one of the best we have ever stayed in. No, we do not typically stay in 5-star hotels, but this hotel is priced at about what we would pay for a standard room back home. We were in awe of the kindness of staff, the room size, and the breakfast buffet that catered to the world. On the topic of hotels, I am not sure we have ever seen so many high-rise hotel chains in a city centre as we saw in Kuala Lumpur.

Breakfast collage:

We spent our first day with cousin Ron giving us a personal tour of downtown. What a dream for architects, engineers, and photographers! Don’t be surprised if you get a sore neck from looking up, way up. I am sure there is competition (written or unwritten) to see who can build the biggest and best and tallest skyscraper.

The piece de resistance, though, in downtown Kuala Lumpur is the Petronas Twin Towers, the tallest twin towers in the world, at 452 metres and 88 stories. The towers stand high above the city. The engineering facts are amazing - the towers were designed by an Argentine architect and took over six years to build; a sky bridge connects the towers between the 41st and 42nd floors, not just for looks but also as a safety feature; the antenna spire is 151 feet tall; the steel and glass facade is designed to resemble Islamic art and Muslim religion; it’s been well-tested to withstand wind and weight load. The building’s specs are readily available by a quick online search, and there are some interesting facts - for instance, 500 truckloads of earth were removed each night to make room for the 30 metre below-the-surface dig. And you just might need a map to determine which elevator to use - it’s complicated. Of course, there have been BASE jumping and urban climbing feats, sanctioned or not, and the towers have been featured in movies and television series. It’s a fascinating place worth checking out in real or on line. We joined the tour to the sky bridge and to the observation deck for amazing views of the city.

A view from half way up.

The Petronas Towers, well, ‘tower’ over the 17 acre KLCC Park, KLCC Convention Centre, Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Suria KLCC Mall (the largest in Malaysia). A road race track once ran around the area. Today, it is a place for strolling, high end shopping and eating, people watching, visiting, exercising - and to see and be seen. It’s an oasis amidst the skyscrapers. Nightly, at 8:00, the water fountains in the man-made lake put on a music and light show which is quite spectacular against the highrises and night sky. It’s a carnival atmosphere.

Other notable high-rises include the Kuala Lumpur Tower, a telecommunications tower, at 421 metres, and the Merdeka Tower, an office/mall/hotel complex, at 678 metres.

The Kuala Lumpur Tower is the world’s seventh tallest telecommunications tower:

The Merdeka Tower is the second tallest in the world, but apparently the spire accounts for almost a quarter of the height:

Here’s just a few of the many other Kuala Lumpur high rises:

A great way to see any city is to take a hop on/hop off bus tour to give you an overview of the sights and help you get your geographical bearings. We did just that on ‘day 2’. Kuala Lumpur has two hop on/hop off routes, the red city route and the green garden route. Did I tell you it is hot? If you sit on the top deck, take a hat and lots of sunscreen. Each route takes at least one hour if you don’t stop along the way. The red route, as per it’s ‘city’ name, passes by the majority of stainless steel buildings.

We scouted some areas on the green route that we might want to return to in later March when we have a day-long layover before flying back to Narita, Japan, such as the Central Market/Chinatown, Little India, the National Museum, the National Palace, Perdana Botanic Garden, the KL Bird Park, and the Orchid/Hibiscus Garden. We will have to be selective.

But we also realized that we are just touching the surface of Kuala Lumpur, and there is way more to see than what we will be able to fit in. Next time . . .

Here’s the city’s Hop-on/Hop-off map which gives a great idea of some of the many sights that we did not have a chance to see:

The main ‘terrminal’ for the hop on/hop off is at #1 on the map. This is a great place for a rest, to cool down, replenish the cold liquids, and have a snack before touring the next loop. Your can find any knock off item of clothing or electronics you might not want at this terminal/shopping mall.

Cooling off with “Boost” juice at the bus interchange. It was delicious.

One of the major attractions in Kuala Lumpur is the Batu Caves which we reached by Grab, Malaysia’s version of Uber. The Batu Caves are a series of limestone caves containing Hindu Temples and a 43 metre tall Murugan statue at the entrance. The caves were formed over 400 million years ago. The formations would certainly be of interest to geologists and biologists. There are apparently hundreds of species of plants and insects. One very interesting (but somewhat off-putting) feature are the throngs of long tailed Macaque monkeys who, literally, run all over, eating, stealing, procreating, scratching, yapping . . . . We were warned very clearly not to engage in any way - don’t look at them, don’t feed them, don’t pet them, don’t talk to them. They will steal your water bottle or phone and move on. The cave area is a religious site with hundreds of steep steps (272 to be exact) to reach the main Subramanian Swamhy Temple set in the largest cave. The steps are brightly coloured with different colours representing a particular number of steps. I had to purchase a cheap scarf to tie aroaund my legs as my dress did not fully cover my knees. There are several other temples and shrines on site, as well as an art gallery and museum relating to Hindu mythology. I found the Batu Caves to be a rather strange combination of geology, religion, and commercialism, but I am glad we went. There is much information on line if you wish to research further.

Did you know that Kuala Lumpur has the largest manufacturer and retailer of pewter in the world? Cousin Ron wanted to buy a present for a friend, so we tagged along to the pewter factory with little enthusiasm but then realized the Royal Selangor Pewter Factory tour was just what we wanted. The pewter industry dates to the late 1880’s when tin was discovered in the Klang Valley which also lead to the founding of Kuala Lumpur when Chinese miners started a settlement. (‘Kuala Lumpur’ means “muddy confluence”, the junction of two rivers.) A Chinese man, Yong Koon, started a small business working with tin in 1885 which morphed into the large pewter industry it is today. Pewter is a tin compound hardened with copper and antimony. The business grew from forming small ceremonial and religious objects to vases, beer tankards, and trophies that are shipped worldwide. A delightful worker gave us a tour where we got to see craftspeople at work. The factory employs about 200 craftspersons, and the young female tour guide proudly told us that the majority are women.

I particularly liked this trophy from the 2024 Shanghai Rolex ATP Masters tennis. I did not realize how heavy some of those professional trophies are!

Royal Selangor has the world’s largest pewter beer mug, crafted in 1985. It is 1.987 metres high and could hold 2,796 litres. That’s a lot of beer.

Spontaneously, one of our favourite memories (at least thus far in this adventure) occured at the Royal Selangor Pewter Factory where the whole family ‘jumped on the bus’, so to speak. I’d love to make a poster of this shot. Ron looks like a little boy, the Padgets look like parents, I’m trying to look glam, and Larry is just acting serious, like Larry.

That was how we spent our three days in Kuala Lumpur. It is a city of kindness, cutting-edge modernity, colour, and tradition. We have a one day layover here at the end of March. That will give us one last chance to experience this amazing city - but will still leave lots for ‘next time’. I just might update this post then (or we might simply rest awhile at the beautiful Kuala Lumpur Intercontinental if we are road weary).

Our next stop is Siem Reap, Cambodia. I wonder what we will see there? Thanks for reading.