Kuala Lumpur

As far as I could see in my travels, unfortunately, only 4 days, Kuala Lumpur is a modern city, efficient, with numerous skyscrapers, trains, metro, and a huge number of taxis and buses.
Everything is new, shiny, this for sure, and only the heath of the tropics and Muslims around remind you of being in Asia.
To get from Kuala Lumpur airport to the hotel I spent over an hour but not for traffic jam but for the enormous distance, the taxi driver sped at over a hundred kilometers an hour.
Compare hotel rates through websites such as Expedia will save time and money.
The cost of living low, and the fact that over 80% is Muslim did not create any special problems.
The city does not offer much, or something special, it really is too global and similar to Singapore but on a larger scale. After two days in Kuala Lumpur did not know what to do, what to visit or what to photograph. While I was bored and wandered I entered the old Chinese market in Petaling Street where I had the opportunity to make some really beautiful photos with people busy at their trades.
The best images and photos always come out when you’re alone with yourself and have plenty of time to act calmly.
Apart from this parenthesis of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this first taste of intrigued me a lot and I want to visit the beautiful nature in the future, cities in the area, especially the large natural parks.

Kuala Lumpur remains the economic and commercial center of the country. Kuala Lumpur is the center of finance, insurance, construction, media and the arts in Malaysia.
Infrastructure development in surrounding areas such as Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, the creation of the Multimedia Super Corridor and the expansion of Port Klang has further strengthened the economic importance of the city.
Kuala Lumpur has its origins in A.D. 1850, when the Malay Chief of Klang, Raja Abdullah, hired some Chinese workers to open new tin mines.
These groups landed at the confluence of Sungai Gombak and Sungai Klang (Klang River) to open important tin mines.
Kuala Lumpur literally means ‘muddy confluence’. These mines created in fact an important trading post, a border city with many problems including the Civil War of Selangor. Kuala Lumpur was also plagued by diseases fires and floods. In 1881, a flood swept through the city and later a fire destroyed what was not previously swallowed.
These events were often linked to poor city structures made of wood and straw. In response, Frank Swettenham, the British Resident of Selangor, required that the buildings were constructed of brick and tiles.
In 1896, Kuala Lumpur was chosen as the capital of the newly formed Federation of Malay States.
During World War II, Kuala Lumpur was captured by the Japanese army in January 11, 1942.
Japanese stayed until surrender Aug. 15, 1945, when the commander in chief surrendered to the British administration after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Posted on April 27, 2007

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