Kuala Lumpur
KL is a strange place. The first thing everyone says is "well, its not Singapore". Which is true. Those of you who have been to Singapore will understand what I mean. For two places so close and culturally related, they are completely different.
A bit of history is necessary to understand it. KL was originally a tin-mining outpost (to this day it is famous for its pewter). It became a major port for the region, trading metals and spice. Ever heard of the East India Trading Company? Well, this is the east indies. So it was an extremly wealthy port with a big mix of European cultures. At different times it was controlled by the Malays, Hindus (Indians), Arabs, Dutch, Portugese, Japanese and British. Exactly 50 years ago, the Malaysia declared its independence from Britain, and the new Malaysian flag was raised in Dataran Merdeka (literally, Independence Square). Today there is a 100m flagpole there.
Today, KL is a mix of about 70% native Malays, with the rest split between Chinese and Indians. The Chinese work hard, often exploiting the Malays, and are very wealthy. The government backs the Malays, providing them with generous social security. So the Malays dont have to work hard, and usually have mid-level jobs. The Inidians are treated like dirt, and have all of the lowest jobs. So the three racial groups are very clearly segregated. And they all hate each other.
It would be one of the few places left in the world with such a strong racial segregation. These are not generalisations - they guy cleaning the sewers will always be indian, and the up-market malls are filled exclusively with chinese. Of course, the government is only making it worse. Putrajaya (more on there later) is inhabited soley by Malays, since they are the only people the goverment permits to work in the civil service. The national religion is actually Islam, which is surprising. There is a lot of Arab influences. Most of the women wear the Islamic Hijab (head scarves). But there are also Hindu, Confuscious, Buddhist and Christian temples everywhere. It is a pretty crazy place.
Malaysia has only been independent for 50 years, so it is a very young nation. Unfortunately, it does show where democracy can fall down. They were too premature in setting up a type of government a large, stable country might use (like Australia or the US). There is a lack of planning and infrastructure, not to mention the racial tension. I have heard it described as being an "almost" country. The government "almost" works. The infrastructure is "almost" finished. So definitely an odd place.
Its actually quite a small city, about 4 million in the whole greater-KL area (only about twice the size of Brisbane). Everything is within walking distance, its no big deal if you get stranded without transport. You can just walk back to the hotel. But they are pushing hard to be recognised as an international "metropolis", as they like to call it. There is a bit of oil money around, they have large deposits of oil and gas on the Indonesian continental shelf (owned by Petronas). So they are trying desperately to be recognised on the world stage, perhaps a bit before their time (imagine Brisbane trying to be like Hong Kong or New York).
Hence the construction of the Petronas Towers, the icon of Malaysia. You dont have to be a fan of tall buildings to be amazed by these towers. There is nothing even close to their height in KL (except for the KL Tower - more later). They are without a doubt the most beautiful buildings in the world. Their cladding is glass and stainless steel, a very unusual (and expensive) choice. But it means that the towers are incredibly shiny, and you can see their gleam from anywhere in the city. The pictures never show it well, but they are quite different to your average skyscraper.
And, of course, they are BIG. When completed in 1998, they were the first and second tallest in the world (now surpassed only by Taipei 101). 88 floors, 452m to the spire. At their base is a 4 story fancy shopping mall and HUGE museum on the petroleum industry (very interesting). But the most famous feature of the Petronas Towers is the skybridge. It is a two-storey high bridge linking the skylobbies on the 41 and 42 floors. Pretty amazing view from up there. Especially when you look down to the tiny people below, and realise there isnt anything under your feet.
But, for an even better view, you can go up the KL Tower. This is one of those pointless supposedly-for-communication towers, like the one in Sydney or the CN Tower in Canada. The KL Tower is about the third tallest I think, after the CN tower and one in Russia (much bigger than Sydney's). However, it is built on a hill, so its top is actually higher than that of the Petronas Towers. Plus the observation deck is much higher than the skybridge. There is a great audio guide they give you, which is handy. A lot of places are hard to identify from that high up.
One last place of interest is the Batu caves, about 15km out of the city. This is a sacred Hindu site, with lots of temples and shrines inside. Every year during the big Hindu festival (whatever its called), there is a huge procession from one of the main temples in the city out to the caves. We were there about a week after the festival, and they were still cleaning up. But still a pretty incredible place.
Putrajaya
We actually visited Putrajaya before going to Taiwan, during a 10hr stopover in Malaysia. It is quite close to the airport. It was basically to fill in time, but ended up being one of the highlights of the trip. Putrajaya is an artifical city (like Canberra), constructed by the government as the Federal Administration Center. It is not the capital, the parliment remains in KL. But all of the civil service are based here. Now, if you are picturing quaint little Canberra, you have the wring idea. I dont know if they have an innefficiant government, or they just like to show off. But the buildings are HUGE. The sheer scale of the place is incredible. Its basically Canberra on steroids. I would recommend having a look on Google Earth (its to the south west of KL) to see the geometric patterns everywhere.
Construction began about 15 years ago, but was hit hard by the Asian Economic Crisis. The government had built all of the infrastructure, but no one was moving in. So it was just great swathes of jungle crisscrossed by 8-lane freeways - completely deserted. Construction is finally resuming, the place is really going ahead. But it still has a strange feeling when you get out at the main bus stop, called the Western Transport Terminal, a building the size of an airport terminal.
Still, plenty of nice bridges and a lot of crazy stuff to see. Definately a country showing off. I think it will be a major tourist destination when its finished.
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