Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur

The capital city of Malaysia is a beautiful metropolis with modern amenities and public facilities. The cityscape is very appealing and has a natural ambience. There is no traffic chaos in this bustling city. A very clean environment where you can see the blue sky clear of smog or haze makes an immediate impression that this city is pollution free. There is no waste (plastic or otherwise) strewn on the roads or in the side drains or open garbage dumps which the stray animals can feast upon. During my week-long stay, I couldn’t spot any stray animals or dogs on the roads or in the streets.

Jamek Mosque at the confluence of rivers Gombak (left) and Klang (right). Wonder how they call these streamlets rivers.

Making a simple comparison with Delhi, one can quickly find out that the area of the NCR (Delhi) is 6 times the area of KL while the population is only 2.6 times. This means that Kuala Lumpur has more people living per unit area than Delhi. KL is crowded but orderly.

I think one big factor in keeping order in a city is the efficacy of its transportation system that includes both the moving traffic and the infrastructure, of course, complemented by a disciplined citizenry. Major roads in the city are multilane. Vehicles stop in their respective lanes and I have not seen people jamming the roads by making six lanes out of three like we do in India. Cycle tracks are painted blue with cycle marks on them and pedestrian paths are raised shoulders all along the multilane (4 or 6) roads.

Public Transportation System

Kuala Lumpur has a robust rail and road public transportation system. There is Mass Rapid Transfer (MRT), Light Metro (LRT), Monorail (Monorel, they call it) KTM Komuter (for commuter) line, and Airport Express (KLIA Metro Line). Then there is Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system and Go KL (the free city bus service with Blue, Purple, and Green service lines for different destinations within the city).

Monorel

During my stay in the city, I availed the metro, the airport express, the monorel, and the Go KL free city bus service. The metro (city as well as the airport express) fares appear much higher as compared to the New Delhi Metro. The free air-conditioned city bus service (Go KL) is remarkable.

From the airport (KLIA) to Kuala Lumpur central (KL Sentral) the nonstop airport metro express charges RM 55 (INR 1100) one way for the 57 Km distance and covers it in 30 minutes. A metered taxi / Grab will charge RM 74 for the same service. The monorail (monorel) will charge RM 3.10 (approx INR 60) from Bukit Nanas to KL Sentral, a distance of about 3.5 Km. However, the KTM Komuter metro will charge RM 2.60 (approx INR 52) for a distance of about 15 Km from KL Sentral to Batu Caves.

I noticed that there are no security checks of X-ray baggage scanners at the metro stations. People are free to check in with their belongings without any restriction. Another remarkable thing is that everyone has to get the tokens from vending machines. Persons manning customer care windows guide you properly. I politely told not to do any photography from the platform. By that time, however, I had already taken a few shots.

Menara Kuala Lumpur (KL Tower)

The Central Market and the Kasturi Walk

The Central Market or Pasar Seni is the traditional market place in KL and from here starts a sort of street walk on a covered and well laid out pedestrian track with hawkers on both sides serving traditional food items, fruit and many other things. I took a 40-minute long walk from the Central Market / Kasturi Walk area to the National Monument (Tugu Negara) about 4 Km away. The temperature was around 35C. They say January happens to be generally the hottest month.

Petronas Twin Towers

Iconic and once the tallest twin towers in the centre of the city is the main attraction in KL. Owned by the Malaysian National Petroleum Corporation – Petroliam Nasional Bhd, that’s how they call it in the Malay language, the towers having 88 floors stand 451 m tall. The towers appear more beautiful at night than in the day.

Batu Caves

On the outskirts, probably the only attraction with a bit of natural attraction in it, Batu Caves are visited by the travellers though they are not that spectacular as a not to be missed spot. The entry fees charged are ridiculously exorbitant. Total entrance fee to all the caves may add up to RM60 which cannot be justified by any standards.

The KL Bird Park

I am personally against packing birds or animals in confined spaces be it a small cage or a bigger netted park like this one in KL. The habitat looks unfriendly and unnatural. The animals / birds living in confinement look unhealthy and inactive.