A different sort of Asia…
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 
Wow. Kuala Lumpur is the cleanest, greenest, most well-planned city that either of us have ever been to. The public transport includes buses, light rail, monorail and usable sidewalks (a first for this trip!) and all are flawless, cheap, easy. There is so much green space, from forest reserves to orchid gardens to recreational parks to the incredible KLCC Park which boasts gorgeous tropical landscaping, the best playground ever, a swimming pool, fancy water fountains and an impressive walking paths that include 1200m of rubber track surfacing for the runners – heaven!
Everything is free here. Museums, parks, flower gardens, forest reserves, visiting the Skybridge of the Petronas Towers (formerly the tallest building on earth, now at #2 after Taipei 101) …it’s just an unbelievably pleasant place to be. You still have the all-important masses of food stalls, street markets, and exotic mix of Indians, Malays, Chinese, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and all of their respective dress and places of worship, but overall it doesn’t feel a thing like the developing Asia that we’ve experienced thus far. There is certainly more money, more education and much more diversity – this place is far more progressive and so much more futuristic than anywhere we’ve been in the US. Enjoy the photos!
allisonrae