Kuala Lumpur is amazing. No other place we’ve visited in Southeast Asia feels like KL does. The city itself is huge with 2.1M residents in the city proper with something like 8M in the metro area. The metropolitan area is sprawled out in a way that would feel extremely familiar to anyone who’s been to one of the big cities in the US. Driving from the airport to our hotel felt like I was in Houston … except that everyone was driving on the left.
I’ve gathered some of my initial observations from my first few days here. To me, KL feels far more like the US than Bangkok. For what it’s worth, Bangkok is bigger at 11M in the city and 17 when you include the metropolitan area. The noticeable difference from what I’ve seen is how it’s laid out. I assume that KL grew faster and more recently. The roads, highways and infrastructure feel newer than Bangkok. I will admit, I’ve not used public transit here in KL but I’ve heard that it’s not great, and by contrast downtown Bangkok has fantastic public transit. But once you get a little bit outside of Bangkok’s uber posh downtown shopping areas the city quickly feels older. Being here in downtown KL the horizon is full of modern (looking) highrise apartments and office buildings. The sidewalks are good, and a welcome bit of fresh air after spending last month in Vietnam where sidewalks were either non-existent, or occupied by shops or scooters.
The highways look like what you’d see in any US city and traffic flows similarly (except that they’re on the left). Well spaced, and well marked lanes. Real crosswalks that seem to be mostly honored by drivers, consistent signage, etc. That said, the really odd thing about KL to me is that the city isn’t laid out on a grid. Roads turn and twist through dense skyscrapers in ways that make me wonder, what were they thinking? But, hey, no place is perfect.
Where KL differs dramatically from the US is in its cost of living. I don’t think that KL is affordable to the degree of, say Vietnam, but eating out is a good bit cheaper than in the US. From the top of my head I’d guess that it’s probably like 1/3 – 1/4 the price of eating out in the US.
Short term rentals here (Airbnb) are also quite affordable. I’d bet that the place we’re staying here in a major US city would cost three times this price, and might be smaller.
Since one or both of us will make a more detailed post about medical treatment here I won’t go deep, but I will say that from what we’ve seen, their medical infrastructure is top notch. As good as or better than in the US, but far more affordable.
Another large, and immediate difference you’ll see in KL vs the other countries we’ve visited in Southeast Asia is religion. Malaysia is officially an Islamic country. The country is about 65% muslim. I don’t see tons of shrines or statues of Buddah here. But you do hear the Musilim prayer calls throughout the day and you’ll also see that many women are wearing head scarves. I’ve not really been around enough to say that I see a *lot* of Mosques, but there is a large one down the road from us.
Another difference you’ll see is in the people. Malaysia has a unique distinction in Southeast Asia in that it has a large number of citizens of different races. The main three here are Malay (native people), Chinese, and Indian. There are many ethnic minorities but these three groups are distinctly different and have ancestral ties that are distinct, with Indian and Chinese not being of this region.
The different races here still largely seem to carry their own ethnic personality and traditions. You’ll see Indian women wearing Saree, and many decorations for Chinese new year since that holiday was mostly celebrated by the ethnic Chinese people. From what I’m gathering in my crash course in Malaysian history is that when the country was formed and recognized as an independent, self-governing nation in 1957, a part of gaining their independence from Great Britain involved insuring that the three races would be able to continue to continue with their cultural practices and religions in the new nation. Which, at least to my untrained eye with my limited and short perspective seems to have worked out.
One other observation that I’ve had, which really jumped out at me, is about the weight of random folks on the street. In Thailand and Vietnam, I’m pretty sure that there is no one overweight. Looking around KL, you see quite a spectrum of sizes and shapes. Not as dramatic as my homeland (the US) but starkly different from Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Honestly, if the climate wasn’t so hot with high humidity twelve months out of the year I’d be able to see spending a lot more time here. It definitely warrants a return visit.
