where to go

Founded in the mid-nineteenth century, Kuala Lumpur, or KL as it's popularly known, is the youngest Southeast Asian capital and the most economically successful after Singapore - and it's still growing : building sites abound and the city is awash with stunning examples of modern architecture, not least the famous Petronas Towers and the recently opened Museum of Islamic Arts. It's not one of Malaysia's most charming cities, perhaps : it doesn't have, for example, the narrow alleys, bicycles and mahjong games of Melaka or Kota Bharu or the atmospheric waterfront of Kuching. But it's safe and sociable, and with a population of nearly two million, it's usually exciting in the day and always buzzing with energy at night. From a cultural standpoint, it certainly has enough interesting monuments, galleries, markets and museums to keep visitor busy for at least a week.

Kuala Lumpur began life as a swampy staging post for Chinese tin miners in 1857 - Kuala Lumpur means "muddy estuary" in Malay - and blossomed under the competitive rule of pioneering merchants. But as fights over tin concessions erupted across the country, the British used gunboat diplomacy to settle the Selangor Civil War and the British Resident, Frank Swettenham, took command of Kuala Lumpur, making it the capital of the state and, in 1896, the capital of the Federated Malay States. Swettenham imported British architects from India to design suitably grand buildings, and thousands of Tamil labourers poured in to build them ; development continued steadily trough the first quarter of the twentieth century. The Japanese invaded in December 1941, but although the bombed the city, they missed their main targets. Following the Japanese surrender in September 1945, the British were once more in charge in the capital, but Nationalist demands had replaced the Malay's former acceptance of the colonizers, and Malaysian independence - finally came in 1957.