A friend of mine wants me to come visit him in Kuala Lumpur this spring.

I'm pretty reluctant given that the country is chock full of muSLIMES.

On the other hand, it would be a bit of an adventure.



With my luck I'd probably pick up some fucked up tropical disease and die.

It's quite pretty there.  Sure, there are Muslims there; one would be hard pressed to find a country without them at all these days.  Heck, I was in Venice and (1) there were mosques and (2) there were Chinese restaurants.  Malaysia is no different.

Anyway, the people are very nice, and regardless what their outgoing PM keeps saying about us Amurricans, the people love us.  I never met anyone "on the street" that outwardly displayed any issue with whitefolk.  Remember, they're close to Australia, and recieve many, many foreigners a year visiting the resorts there.  I'd pick Tioman (in Malaysia) over Bali any day personally.

Kuala Lumpur is just a big city.  And like any big city, has its pros and cons.  It's a congested and crowded concrete jungle with some strategically placed trees.  The food is wonderful, however.  You can get most anything you want in Kuala Lumpur.  Fast food?  McD's and the Colonel are everywhere.  Steaks?  Plenty of "western" steakhouses around.  They even have Chili's and TGI Fridays, so no, if you're worried about food, KL is not one of those places to have this worry.

If you want to venture into the local cuisine, I suggest you go to one of the countless 5-star Hotels.  They serve the authentic local cuisines as well, but at western prices.  The benefit there is the hygene is guaranteed.  It's hit-or-miss at the local food stalls although the latter is quite a bit cheaper.  My wife didn't take too well to one dish she tried from a food stall.  Nothing serious, just an upset tummy, but it scared us both for a whole day (now where do you find pharmacies, and what do they call them ... oh!  they're called Farmasi's!!)

I'd say go for it.  You will have a good time.  If anything, you might be a bit disappointed it's not as "backward" or "exotic" as you'd expect it to be.

Lots of hot women there.  I'd go in a second.

GunLvr

I've lived in Malaysia (for short periods of time) my parents lived there for five years - it's really nice.  The weather is awwesome and the people are great and very friendly.  

We lived south of K.L. close to a town called Kluang.  We would go to K.L maybe once a month, but spent more time in Singapore.  If you get a chance, defnintely spend a day or two in Singapore (maybe fly through there and get a long lay-over).

While it is a muslim country, a big chunk of the population (almost half?) is chinese, and a big segment is indian as well.



Just don't bring any drugs!!  Death penalty, period!  When I was there, two British tourists were sentenced to death for having hash on them.

My family came from Malaysia and I still have relatives living there.  It would be best to check out local laws cos some of their laws are pretty weird, as it is a muslim country.

If you wanna eat local, eat at the hawker stalls.  The food can be great but the hygiene is horrendous and it takes a while for your digestive system to get used to the water and that.  IIRC some places used drain water.  

Watch your pockets as there are many thieves who target westerners.  Some places you gotta watch yourself but its mostly safe (well i feel safe anyway but I go with my relatives).  I have heard many stories of robberies etc.

Pack insect repellant cos of malaria and denghi(sp) fever, and theres heaps of mozzies.

IIRC death penalty regarding drugs only concerns their importation.  I know one of my cousins does drugs and nobody there is worried about being caught or being executed or anything.

BTW, corruption is rife.  I have heard stories regarding bribes being paid to the police and customs agencies etc.

There are many muslims but the majority are peaceful.  One of my uncles and his wife are muslim and are some of the nicest people i have ever met.  There are also christians there of course, but they arent that common.

O yeah and in some places(generally lower income areas, not some parts of the city) you should find lotsa people being nice to you cos white men are usually associated with money (applies to some people, not all).

Generally the people are nice, although I get treated crap sometimes cos im a westernised asian (seen as a traitor by some)

I've heard that "no spitting and littering laws pretty tough.

Prostitution is legal there and NO you can't get a BJ.....It's against the law. You figure.

I was in KL for several days on business a couple of months ago. The city is pretty much as some here have described it. My own experience there this time was unfortunately tainted. While checking out the Petronas Towers I walked into the mall that is below them. Decided to take a look at a souvenir stand. Saw a t-shirt for sale that said 'Petronas Towers - the World's Only Twin Towers.'

Seeing that kind of upset me, to say the least, but if you have the chance I would go - especially if you intend to use the trip to check out some other (and, IMHO, better) places in the region, starting with Singapore which is about a 1 hr flight away. (I always have a good time in Singapore... [:D]) Bangkok is also just a short flight from KL, as is just about all of SE Asia.

If you're gonna cross the Pacific - and you truly appreciate just how massive it is as you count off the hours - you've got to make it count. Good luck and have fun if you go.

(BTW, this is my first post, but I am a long time lurker. I am an American living and working in Hong Kong who misses his MT6731 - and his SIGs, and HKs....etc etc - on a daily basis. Reading ARFCOM really helps - thanks!)

I was there in September.  I spend 6 months a year in Asia, mostly in Thailand, but visit around a bit.  Don't sweat the Muslim thing.  The vast majority of Malays like Americans.  English is almost universal and Malay food is great (if you have a taste for hot like I do).

Kuala Lumpur is an amazing city with an incredible skyline.  If you go, you owe it to yourself to take a 2 hour flight to Bangkok too.  Send me IM if you do visit Thailand and I will share info.

KL is pretty safe and nice.  I was there two weekends ago, had a great time.  You'll want to cruise to Singapore too, it's 3 hours by car or 45 mins by air.

i found some decent looking info here too

http://travel.state.gov/travel_warnings.html#m

and what you guys are saying sounds right in line with what my friend is telling me.


i'd have to do some serious damage to the credit card to buy the plane ticket though



i'll have to remember to leave my crack cocain at home, mandatory death penalty for posessing a couple grams!



re hookers: he told me you can "get an hour with a good looking girl for like $50" ... tempting, but no whores for me

Red,
I'll be leaving for Singapore and Kuala Lumpur on Dec. 1st. for two weeks.

I just spent the last 3 days getting shots. Hep A, Hep B, Typhoid, blah, blah...I feel like a germ-laden pin cushion.  

Looking forward to the trip though.

By the way..plane ticket was $1350.00 (Cathay Pacific). Good thing company paid [:)]

Wow.  I must be cheap.  My last airfare roudntrip from Phoenix to Bangkok was around $850.  That was on EVA Deluxe Economy which is pretty close to business class seats (and tolerable for most people).

Still, a lot of money.  If you go to that part of the world, you owe it to yourself to see more than one place.  Singapore IS cool.  And Thailand is a must visit.  Only about 2 hours by air.   Bali Indonesia is cool but of course we all remember the bombing there.  The good news is hotels have rooms and they are cheap.