Observations & Learnings from Kuala Lumpur

1 Walking the streets of Kuala Kubu Bharu, the town where my parents lived and all of my siblings were born brought on all the emotions

2 A bustling, car-orientated city can also love parks. Like its neighbour Singapore, there is greenery everywhere

3 I loved that Diwali decorations adorned hotel lobbies, shopping centres and streets alike and every shop. Even Japanese heavyweights Uniqlo and Muji joined in

4 Another city where there is plenty of room and seating in underground stations. And lots of positive messaging

5 It's a food-sharing place (much like Japan) so less wastage as someone around the table will like what you don't

6 The hand-held shower in toilets is the Malaysian bidet. Available in pretty much every public toilet I visited

7 Turns out there is an even more comfortable hotel than the Kempinski. The Ruma may not have succumbed to the extreme luxury of the heated bathroom wall (how are the bathrobes so warm?!), it offered countless other comforts, topped off by the most attentive staff throughout the hotel

8 They like Debbie Harry too. I loved seeing her face everywhere on the Gucci campaign as I'm very much here for 79-year-old models

9 Turn waste into money: reverse vending machines that will accept plastics in exchange for vouchers to use go the local food delivery service, GRAB

10 So many stores have their in-house coffee shop. We were quite besotted with the Uniqlo one but our coffees need to come with a sit-down so we can carry on breaking our step count records

11 (Masala) chai is disappointingly not available on every street corner as I had imagined (or in our hotel!)

12 People don't like to walk in hot countries. Improving pedestrian mobility in the heat is an area that requires attention

13 Luxury hotels serve dinner buffets. The dinner at the Mandarin Hotel was possibly the best dining experience of the trip. (And this was the day after my birthday afternoon tea at the Grand Hyatt)

14 Like the Singaporeans, Kuala Lumpur loves a light show. Free entertainment is accessible to all.

15 The traditional can be seamlessness blended with modern luxury & sustainability goals. Our hotel was filled with traditional touches such as the welcoming pillars and the stunning traditional dress displayed in the lobby.

They only have full-sized toiletries, the key cards were made of wood and the drinking water provided in the room came in large glass bottles

16 I can go an entire holiday without alcohol. I rarely drink, but I do take advantage of having something with dinner whilst on holiday. I didn’t even glance at it on menus in KL, perhaps because it was so intensely hot 24/7

17 The warmth of the Malaysians will stay with me forever—at least until I return, which I estimate will be within two years.

Finally, I'll never get over losing my mum, but, she's been gone 27 years so I knew that already. To walk the streets my young mum did: priceless ❤️

October 2024