Malaysia Info Guide
for Locals & Visitors

The capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, called by everybody in Malaysia with it's nickname "KL", rose to worldwide fame in 1996 when its Petronas Twin Towers, standing 451.9 meters high. surpassed the Sears Tower of Chicago as the world's tallest office building. Kuala Lumpur is more than just a city with a great edifice. Excellent landscaping and planned conservation of its green lungs has made it a "Garden City of Lights", one of its most delightful features.

Kuala Lumpur is a melting pot of cultures as manifested in the magnificent minarets of mosques, church spires, Chinese pagodas, and Indian temples. Despite the rapid pace of progress its architecture of the past has been preserved with modern skyscrapers and quaint colonial shophouses jostling for attention. Chic cafes, fine restaurants and hawker stalls thrive alongside each other, offering a spread of local and international delights. Home to IT-savvy entrepreneurs, international financiers. and craftsmen who make pewter, batik and other handicrafts entirely by hand. Kuala Lumpur is a visitor-friendly city where the smiles and warmth of its people are a part of Asian culture.

Kuala Lumpur is also important to Malaysia's tourism as it is the main gateway to other parts of the country. Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, a domestic airport thirty minutes away by road, has air links to many major towns in East and West Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang is one hour drive away. KLIA is served by more than 40 international airlines.

Port Klang, a popular port-of-call for cruise liners, is only 40 km away by road. By rail, Kuala Lumpur is linked northward to Thailand and southward to Singapore. The famous Eastern & Oriental Express, a luxury train service, makes a round trip from Singapore through Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok..

IT and multimedia companies located in this 15-by-50 km (9-by 30 mile) zone are given a world-class environment to conduct their business.

Visitors to Kuala Lumpur will be introduced to a world of discoveries, action and excitement. Sights to be feasted range from colonial houses to dazzling skyscrapers and exotic tropical gardens. Shopping can take place in air-conditioned malls, vibrant night bazaars and hawker stalls. The range of goods obtainable is mind-boggling, from Iranian carpets to Italian designer clothes to US-made computer software to local handicrafts.

Eating, a major Malaysian pastime, can be enjoyed in posh restaurants, fan-ventilated coffee shops, food courts, or even alfresco food stalls. Kuala Lumpur's nightlife is exciting, never sterile; sexy but never obscene.

So take your time to pub crawl or enjoy the cabarets, discos, karaoke lounges and nightclubs. .

A historic city, a shopper's city, a sightseer's city, a green city, a gourmet's city, a business city - Kuala Lumpur is a city extraordinaire.