The Malaysian capital

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Despite having a highly modern centre made up of complex skyscrapers, including the incredible Petronas Towers, KL feels distinctly different to Singapore. Within seconds of leaving the centre, the modern makes way for traditional; it get’s louder, more frantic (vendors shout you over, brandishing their wares in your face, countless masseuses battle for business) and TGI Fridays and Starbucks are replaced with individual street vendors and tiny stalls. It’s a big change from reserved atmosphere of Singapore but made for some great days of exploring and taking in the atmosphere. Seeing the Petronas Towerslight up at night was an incredible sight, made even more special by the regular flashes of lightening we saw above it.

We took the opportunity to visit the KL rainforest too - a section of ancient forest left within the city. We battled our way through the merchants – “Not today”, “No, thank you”, “Another time, maybe” - and made it to the dense, eerily quiet wilderness, where we saw monkeys! Probably the first of many in Asia but it was awesome nonetheless.

A lot of modern, a fair amount of traditional and a rainforest thrown in for good measure… not every city you visit can offer all that!