Kuala Lumpur Travel Guide

Kuala Lumpur is the largest city in Malaysia, and also serves as the capital of the country. This big city has a population of 6.5 million, and it is a nice and modern city that is perfect for anyone who wants to experience Malaysia and the rest of Southeast Asia. The city is well known for incredibly beautiful parks inside a busy city center, a good nightlife with a lot of exciting people, incredible markets and luxury hotels in another class.

Many people see Kuala Lumpur as one of the best “beginner cities” for westerners who want to travel to Southeast Asia, as this is a modern city that has most of what one is used to from here at home. In this way, the contrasts are not too great as they often are in the other big cities in this region, and you can expect a pretty, tidy and not too noisy city. It serves as an exciting base for exploring the rest of the country, and it is quite a short distance to the city of Singapore which is also worth a visit in itself.

Recommended hotels in Kuala Lumpur

• Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur –Incredibly beautiful and luxurious 5-star hotel that does not cost the shirt according to Norwegian standards. Good facilities such as spa, swimming pool, a number of bars and restaurants, fitness center and two tennis courts. Central location right near the Petronas towers and very good feedback from previous hotel guests.
• Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur-5-star luxury hotel with good facilities and high standard. Fantastic location and top service.
• Shangri-La Hotel – Kuala Lumpur– Luxury hotel with 5 stars at an affordable price.

Hotels in Kuala Lumpur

The big attraction for many is that you can experience one of the world’s cheapest 5-star hotels in Kuala Lumpur. There are in fact decent luxury hotels in several places in the city that can adorn themselves with all five stars, but these cost only a fraction of what you have to pay for these in other parts of the world. For example, you can book a room in a 5-star hotel for around a thousand kroner per night!

You can also eat well and cheaply in Kuala Lumpur, and you get both Malaysian, Chinese and Indian food more or less everywhere in the city. The restaurants are mostly in a row down the popular tourist streets, and where there are no restaurants, there is street food that is cheap, but often as good as the food you get at restaurants.

Travel to Kuala Lumpur

It is usually between 20 and 35 degrees Celsius in Kuala Lumpur and the rest of Malaysia all year round, and you can travel here at any time of the year without having to put on an extra layer of clothing. It is a good distance from the center and to the coast, so remember to book a room in a hotel with a swimming pool if you want to cool off with a bath during your stay.

You will find good shopping opportunities in Kuala Lumpur, whether you prefer large and modern shopping malls or traditional markets where you can buy fresh vegetables and handicrafts. One of the best shopping streets is called Petaling Street and is located in Chinatown. Here you get incredibly good and cheap street food, and everything you could need of both souvenirs and clothes. Just do not forget to bargain, because otherwise you will pay too much. If you prefer a shopping center, you should check out Pavilion KL where there are over 550 different stores in one and the same center!

When you are in Kuala Lumpur, you can also experience the Malaysian jungle without traveling more than 15 minutes away from the city center. There are in fact several huge parks just on the outskirts of the city that have popular tourist trails where you can experience the forest in Malaysia as it should be. It is especially popular to travel to Hutan Lipur, less than 20 minutes away from the city center.

There are several travel companies that sell package tours to Kuala Lumpur, but there is nothing in the way of booking flights and hotels yourself and saving some money at the same time. Admittedly, there are no airlines flying directly from Norway to Kuala Lumpur, and one must expect a stopover on the way down there. The actual flight including the stopover takes anywhere from 16 to 20 hours, so it is a long trip.