There’s not much to be had in Malaysia that isn’t better made somewhere else (batik, for example). But Peter Hoe is a pure Malaysian original, and his two boutiques unite the best of both contemporary and laid-back fashion and design. The first, called Evolution and located across from Central Market to catch tourist traffic, is crammed with his flowery shirts. The second, called Beyond,  [ Read More ]

Jim Zuckerman / Alamy The choice is yours: An hour south or a bit further north? Malaysia’s future or its past? Putrajaya or Fraser’s Hill? The latter definitely requires a private car, and often patience, to access a mountain road that only allows traffic in one direction at a time. Once the primary hill station where Britons sought out cool air, bird-watching and golf, Bukit Fraser, as the Malays prefer  [ Read More ]

  Arriving Being 50 km away, K.L.’s superb international airport is, unfortunately, convenient for nowhere but palm-oil plantations. However, the high-speed train link into town is one of the most efficient, and least crowded, in Asia. It’s also cheaper, faster and more comfortable than a taxi, so don’t be taken in by persistent touts. Upon arrival at the downtown Sentral train station, you buy coupons for onward taxis, which takes  [ Read More ]

You can walk, or jog, to the Kuala Lumpur City Centre development, and carry your shopping bags back without need of a taxi. You can ogle the glowing, cloud-piercing thrust of the Petronas Twin Towers at night from the rooftop pool or popular bar. You can get a high-tech room at an unpretentious price and the brightly lit buffets go way beyond standard congealing stews and pasta stations. What the  [ Read More ]

Casa Productions / CORBIS By design or lack of populace, Kuala Lumpur is Asia’s green capital, where monkeys scamper close to skyscrapers and the occasional boa constrictor slithers across six-lane traffic. Centered around a colonial inheritance of ordered landscaping and dominated by palm-lined freeways, K.L. offers room to breathe and to contemplate the meeting of cultures. And meet they do, with Malays, Chinese and Tamils augmented by an annual Arabian  [ Read More ]