Kampung Baru market by Petronas Towers;
ILLUSTRATION: KERRY HYNDMAN
The most memorable part of the 1999 movie Entrapment was the showstopping scenery. The glowing twin spikes of the Petronas Towers spiralling into the inky night sky imprinted Kuala Lumpur into ilmgoers’ minds as a high-tech city on the up. And it is. Malaysia’s economy has lately been on a skywards trajectory, as have its visitor numbers. They come for the city’s eclectic architecture; for its position as a convenient yet entertaining stopover; and for the amazing international cuisine — traditional Malay cooking, Chinese Hakka, Hokkien and Cantonese food, as well as a fair share of Indian cuisine. It’s this colourful clash of cultures that’s making KL a stand-out Southeast Asian city break.
Batu Caves entrance;