GO FEEDBACK:For Melanie Asta, an Italian living in Belfast, and her family, Kuala Lumpur proved an exotic city with a cosmopolitan edge
WE DECIDED to travel to Kuala Lumpur after reading a travel guide about the city. At first I was quite sceptical, preferring instead a less urbanised oriental destination. But I was pleasantly surprised at what the Malaysian capital had to offer, and there was plenty.
Departing from Heathrow on a very comfortable Malaysian Airlines flight, the 12-hour journey passed quickly. My nine-year-old-son JohnJoe did not want to disembark when we arrived, thanks to the in-flight video-gaming facilities.
Kuala Lumpur is an intoxicating mix of cultures. Raja, our tour guide on a city trip, highlighted the fact that the three major racial components of modern Malaysia - Hindus, Chinese and Muslims - live, work, marry and die in perfect harmony with each other.
This appeared to be true, as reflected by the multicultural buzz around the streets, which are filled with a colourful array of saris, hijabs, chadors and western clothes.
Malaysian people are extremely friendly. Plenty of selamat datang, or welcomes, await the foreigner, accompanied by warm smiles and much courtesy.
Kuala Lumpur was founded as a village in 1857 by Chinese tin prospectors. Its name means "muddy confluence" of the rivers Klang and Gombak. In 150 years it has developed into one of the most modern cities in Southeast Asia.
It is also a city of contrasts: a striking skyline above your head and dodgy footpaths underneath your feet; luxury hotels in the city centre and mud houses in the suburbs; high-tech jobs and traditional beliefs; sizzling satays on street stalls and western fast food; the perfume of sweet incense and the petrol fumes.
Finding your way around is quite easy. Taxis are ready available and cheap, although their drivers tend to ignore the meters. Kuala Lumpur's metro system, the Monorail, is a fast and reliable service that runs from 6am to midnight, linking the most famous landmarks at a good price.
The old colonial heart of the city is Merdeka Square, or Independence Square, occupied by a huge cricket pitch and clubhouses, souvenirs of past British occupation. A beautiful building in Moorish style, it is today the site of the ministry for culture.
Southeast from here is Chinatown, busy and charming with its narrow alleys and clothes and food stalls. We encountered two very different temples on our visit. The first was the psychedelic Sri Maha Mariamman Hindu temple, with a 22m-high gate tower. Up the road we visited the red-brick Chinese Guan Di temple, home of the god of war and literature.
The central market is the best place to find handicrafts, antiques, batik and sarongs. Farther up, Little India welcomes you with a thousand sweet smells and colours.
West of Chinatown is the National Mosque, or Masjid Negara, a huge and very modern building distinguished by its peculiar star-shaped dome, its 18 points symbolising the 13 states of Malaysia and the five pillars of Islam. It is open to non-Muslims.
No trip to Kuala Lumpur could be finished without visiting the awe-inspiring Petronas Towers. These 88-storey steel monsters are really impressive - from afar, from below, from anywhere. They measure 451.9m and, until recently, were the world's tallest buildings. A sky bridge connects the two towers, and this is the last stop for tourists wanting to admire Kuala Lumpur from above. Tickets sell out pretty fast, so make sure you are in the queue by 8.30am.
Shopping and eating seem to be Malaysians' favourite pastimes. The city abounds in huge shopping centres. Even for a semi-shopalcholic like myself, it was too much to take. The new Pavillion shopping centre is, as the advertising says, stylish, luxurious, chic and cosmopolitan.
Whether from street stalls or from top-class restaurants, Kuala Lumpur's food is fantastic: any kind of cuisine to suit any kind of budget. We tried Chinese, Indian, Lebanese, Egyptian, Malaysian. My son is not really into exotic food, but we found plenty of pizza places and western restaurants, with good food and reasonable prices.
One thing he wanted to try was the fruit, which he was fascinated by. Already an eager eater of mangoes, he was not put off from tasting lychees, dragon fruits and durians. Durians are banned from most hotels because of their very bad smell, but the flesh is delicious, and the fruit is very popular with locals.
As anywhere else in Asia, Kuala Lumpur has plenty of massage parlours and reflexology places. Prices and treatments vary, but they are usually quite reasonable. A good selection can be found along Jalan Bukit Bintang, the heart of commercial Kuala Lumpur.
Like the restaurants, accommodation comes in every form and for every budget. We stayed at the four-star Parkroyal Hotel in the Bukit Bintang shopping area. Rates go from about €40 a night. Breathtaking views and marble bathrooms are some of the features.
All in all, a fantastic holiday. Kuala Lumpur is every bit as exotic as you would expect from an Asian city, yet cosmopolitan enough to satisfy any need.