Kulala Lumpur: A city with two tales

Kuala Lumpur is an interesting place to visit, it has few attractions for the sightseer but it's strange mix of religion, consumerism, business and poverty make wandering around an attraction in itself. The city has two very distinctive sides; the flashy commercialism of the business and shopping district and the scruffy, haphazard neighbourhoods of Little India and Chinatown.

I began my adventure in KL exploring the more 'colourful' side of the city. I stayed my first few nights in a hostel in Chinatown, which provided an excellent base for exploring the area. Wandering through Chinatown and Little India I was hit by noise, crowds, heat and the lingering smell of decaying rubbish, it's very much an attack on the senses, but fun to get caught up in and watch people going about their day-to-day life. I also got a bit hassled in this part of the city, with people offering to sell me everything from taxi rides to blessings, which was tiring after a while.
In these first few 'tourist' days I saw all the major sights of KL- Batu caves, Merkeda Square, The National Museum, The KL tower and the spectacular Petronas Towers. After a few days I had pretty much 'done' KL, but I had an invitation to stay with my friend Sam who is living as an ex-pat in the city, so I jumped at the opportunity to experience the city in this alternative light.

My days staying with Sam were spent indulging in the nicer things the city has to offer- living in a beautiful apartment complex, swimming in a pristine pool, quiz nights in an ex-pat bar, drinking bottles(!) of vodka in ex pat clubs, eating three course meals (Sam is an eating machine) and taking a weekend excursion out of town. It was a huge difference to sweating it out in Chinatown, trying to avoid the touting. It was really good to see things from Sam's point of view, because until I had experienced his lifestyle I couldn't understand why he had decided to live in this city.

The other very cool thing about staying with Sam was that I also got to spend time with his girlfriend, Raza, who is malay. Raza explained a lot about local culture and the Muslim religion that I hadn't previously known. The most interesting insight she shared was that for people who are born Malay, Muslim is a compulsory religion. She explained that Malaysia has a Muslim police force, that work to ensure that Malays are practicing their religion correctly- e.g. no eating during Ramadan, no relations outside of marriage etc, and for those who do not follow these rules penalties such as caning are imposed. The Muslim religion is very widely practiced in Malaysia, and it is common to see women wearing a headscarf or a full burkha, but it is not the exclusive religion of Malaysia and in the mix that is KL people are able to practice varying religions side-by-side.

I have spent a week in KL exploring the extremes that this city has to offer, and I feel that I now have quite a well rounded view of city life, and so it's time to bid farewell to Sam and my new found friends and move onto my next location- The Cameron Highlands!