Interesting place in Kuala Lumpur: 1) National mosque

There is a lot of places in Kuala Lumpur that very interesting to visit:

National Mosque (Masjid Negara)

Masjid Negara, The National Mosque is a uniquely designed building that embodies a contemporary expression of traditional Islamic art. It’s design is based upon the Grand Mosque in Mecca with 48 small domes and the main dome has the character of a multi fold “semi-opened blue umbrella” that is the roof which symbolises the 5 pillars of Islam and the 13 states of Malaysia. The 73 meter tall minaret has the shape of a “closed blue umbrella”.

The mosque with its very ultra-modern design is situated among 12 hectares of beautiful gardens and is one of the largest in Asia. The location, just opposite the old Kuala Lumpur Railway Station was chosen by the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Hais. The National Mosque was completed in 1965 at a cost of more than RM 10 million.

As with all mosques you are required to take off your shoes (and cover your head if you’re a woman). Make sure you are suitably dressed if you want to go inside. Visitors are advised to observe the rules of dressing and decorum which are listed at the entrance of the National Mosque. Special robes are provided if you are not appropriately attired.Special robes are provided if you are not appropriately attired.

The main dome of the National Mosque is designed in the shape of an 18-point star to represent the 13 states of Malaysia and the five central Pillars of Islam, and has the appearance of a partly opened umbrella roof which symbolizes the aspirations of an independent nation.

As one of Southeast Asia’s largest mosques, its unique modern design embodies a contemporary expression of traditional Islamic art, calligraphy and ornamentation.

Have a quick look at your city map. You’ll notice that the National Mosque is right next to the architecturally fabulous old railway station, and just a short walk to the sprawling Lake Gardens and National Monument. If you have the energy, make a walking tour of it by stringing these attractions together.


You can go by Foot or Taxi
The National Mosque is on Jln Kinabalu, opposite the old Train Station.

Geography, climate and weather in Kuala Lumpur

Here i would like to share about geography, climate and weather in Kuala Lumpur:
The geography of Kuala Lumpur is characterized by a huge valley known as Klang Valley. The valley is bordered by the Titiwangsa Mountains in the east, several minor ranges in the north and the south and the Strait of Malacca in the west. Kuala Lumpur is a Malay term which translates to "muddy confluence" as it is located at the confluence of the Klang and Gombak rivers.

Located in the center of Selangor state, Kuala Lumpur was previously under the rule of Selangor State Government. In 1974, Kuala Lumpur was separated from Selangor to form the first Federal Territory governed directly by the Malaysian Federal Government. Its location on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, which has wider flat land than the east coast, has contributed to its faster development relative to other cities in Malaysia.

The municipality of the city covers an area of 243.65 km2 (94.07 sq mi), with an average elevation of 21.95 m (72.0 ft).
Protected by the Titiwangsa Mountains in the east and Indonesia's Sumatra Island in the west, Kuala Lumpur has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen climate classification Af) which is warm and sunny, along with abundant rainfall, especially during the northeast monsoon season from October to March. Temperatures tend to remain constant. Maximums hover between 31 and 33 °C (88 and 91 °F) and have never exceeded 37 °C (99 °F), while minimums hover between 22 and 23.5 °C (72 and 74 °F) and have never fallen below 19 °C (66 °F). Kuala Lumpur typically receives 2,266 mm (89.2 in) of rain annually; June and July are relatively dry, but even then rainfall typically exceeds 125 mm (5 in) per month.

history of Kuala Lumpur

This is the place where the Kuala Lumpur has named, and i have some info to share with all of you out there.

Kuala Lumpur has its origins in the 1850s, when the Malay Chief of Klang, Raja Abdullah, hired some Chinese labourers to open new and larger tin mines. They landed at the confluence of Sungai Gombak and Sungai Klang (Klang River) to open mines at Ampang. Sungai Gombak was previously known as Sungai Lumpur, which means muddy river. The Original name for this city was "Pengkalan Lumpur", which means bundle of mud. As time passed, the name changed to Kuala Lumpur, which literally means “muddy confluence” in Bahasa Melayu. Later, tin mines were opened at Pudu and Batu. Among the early notable pioneers are Hiu Siew and Liu Ngim Kong.

These mines developed into a trading post which became a frontier town. Early Kuala Lumpur had many problems, including the Selangor Civil War; it was also plagued by diseases and constant fires and floods. Around the 1870s, the Chinese Kapitan of Kuala Lumpur, Yap Ah Loy, emerged as leader, and became responsible for the survival and subsequent systematic growth of this town. He began to develop Kuala Lumpur from a small, obscure settlement into a booming mining town. In 1880, the state capital of Selangor was moved from Klang to the more strategically advantageous Kuala Lumpur.

In 1881, a flood swept through the town following a fire which engulfed it earlier. These successive problems destroyed the town's structures of wood and atap (thatching). As a response, Frank Swettenham, the British Resident of Selangor, required that buildings be constructed of brick and tile. Many of the new brick buildings mirrored those of shop houses in southern China, characterised by "five foot ways" as well as skilled Chinese carpentry work. This resulted in a distinct eclectic shop house architecture typical to this region. A railway line increased accessibility into the growing town. Development intensified in the 1890s, leading to the creation of a Sanitary Board. In 1896, Kuala Lumpur was chosen as the capital of the newly formed Federated Malay States.

A scene during World War II on the streets of Kuala Lumpur. The scene depicts Japanese troops clearing up the streets.

A mixture of different communities settled in various sections of Kuala Lumpur. The Chinese mainly settled around the commercial centre of Market Square, east of the Klang River, and towards Chinatown. The Malays, Indian Chettiars, and Indian Muslims resided along Java Street (now Jalan Tun Perak). The Padang, now known as Merdeka Square, was the center of the British administrative offices.

During World War II, Kuala Lumpur was captured by the Japanese army on January 11, 1942. They occupied the city until August 15, 1945, when the commander in chief of the Japanese Seventh Area Army in Singapore and Malaya, Seishirō Itagaki, surrendered to the British administration following the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Kuala Lumpur grew through the war, the rubber and tin commodity crashes and the Malayan Emergency, during which Malaya was preoccupied with the communist insurgency. In 1957, the Federation of Malaya gained its independence from British rule. Kuala Lumpur remained the capital through the formation of Malaysia on September 16, 1963.

On May 13, 1969, one of the worst race riots in Malaysia took place in Kuala Lumpur. The May 13 Incident was a riot between the Malays and the Chinese, with the former apparently dissatisfied with their socio-political situation at the time. The riot resulted in the deaths of 196 people, and led to a major reform in the country's economic policy to favour the Malays.

Kuala Lumpur later achieved city status in 1972, becoming the first settlement in Malaysia to be granted the status after independence. Later, on February 1, 1974, Kuala Lumpur became a Federal Territory. Kuala Lumpur ceased to be the capital of Selangor in 1978 after the city of Shah Alam was declared as the new state capital.

On 14 May 1990, Kuala Lumpur celebrated 100 years of local authority. The new federal territory of Kuala Lumpur flag and anthem were introduced.

In 1998, another political movement known as Reformasi took place mainly in this city. The movement was a result of the sacking of former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, and resulted in a chain of protests until 1999, where supporters of Anwar Ibrahim took to the streets to demand reforms in the government's administration, among others.

On February 1, 2001, Putrajaya was declared a Federal Territory, as well as the seat of the federal government. The administrative and judicial functions of the government were shifted from Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya. Kuala Lumpur however still retained its legislative function, and remained the home of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King).

my Kuala Lumpur

Here some info that i know to be share with all of you:
Kuala Lumpur is capital city of Malaysia. The city full of history and full with interesting places to visit. located in the center of peninsula Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur (Jawi: كوالا لومڤور; translated as: "muddy confluence," "muddy estuary," and "muddy city"; pronounced /ˈkwɑːləlʊmˈpʊər/ in English; Malay [kwɑlɑlʊmpʊ], locally [kwɑləlʊmpɔ] or even [kɔlɔmpɔ], and often abbreviated as K.L.) is the capital and largest city of Malaysia. The city proper, making up an area of 244 km² (94 sq mi), has an estimated population of 1.6 million in 2006. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million. It is the fastest growing metropolitan region in the country, in terms of population as well as economy.

The geography of Kuala Lumpur is characterized by a huge valley known as Klang Valley. The valley is bordered by the Titiwangsa Mountains in the east, several minor ranges in the north and the south and the Strait of Malacca in the west. Kuala Lumpur is a Malay term which translates to "muddy confluence" as it is located at the confluence of the Klang and Gombak rivers.Located in the center of Selangor state, Kuala Lumpur was previously under the rule of Selangor State Government. In 1974, Kuala Lumpur was separated from Selangor to form the first Federal Territory governed directly by the Malaysian Federal Government. Its location on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, which has wider flat land than the east coast, has contributed to its faster development relative to other cities in Malaysia.The municipality of the city covers an area of 243.65 km² (94.07 sq mi), with an average elevation of 21.95 m (72.0 ft).

Kuala Lumpur also has a mix of different cultures which include Malays, Chinese, Indians, Eurasians, as well as Kadazans, Ibans and other indigenous races from East Malaysia and Peninsula Malaysia.

Kuala Lumpur's rapid development triggered a huge influx of low skill foreign workers from Indonesia, Nepal, Burma, Thailand, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Philippines, and Vietnam into Malaysia, many of these low skill workers enter the country illegally or without proper permits .^[36][37]. However, at the same time there are more than 500,000 Malaysians, of which are mostly professionals and highly skill peoples working or residing abroad.

In the late-18th century, when Europe underwent Industrial Revolution, large groups of Chinese from Fujian and Guangdong in China were brought in to Malaya to work in the booming tin mining industry. The Chinese in Kuala Lumpur speak different dialects but the majority in Kuala Lumpur are of Cantonese descent, and the Hakkas.

Indians form 10% of the population in Kuala Lumpur (as in 2000), mostly practise Hinduism and speak Tamil and other Indian and Pakistani languages such as Urdu, Malayalam, Punjabi, Telugu and Pashtu. Historically, most of the Indians were brought in during the British colonisation of the Malaysia. Their popular festivals are Thaipusam, Deepavali and Pongal.

Islam is practised primarily by the Malays and the Indian Muslim communities. Other major religions are Hinduism (mainly among Indians), Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism (mainly among Chinese) and Christianity. The city has many places of worship catering to the multi-religious population.

Unlike most other Asian cities, driving is the main mode of commuting in Kuala Lumpur. Hence, every part of the city is well connected by highways. As capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur has a comprehensive road network that leads to the rest of Peninsular Malaysia.

In terms of air connectivity, Kuala Lumpur is served by two airports. The main airport, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA)at Sepang, Selangor, which is also the aviation hub of Malaysia, is located about 50 kilometres (31 mi) south of city. The other airport is Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, formerly known as Subang International Airport and served as the main international gateway to Kuala Lumpur from 1965 until KLIA opened in 1998. KLIA connects the city with direct flights to destinations in six continents around the world, and is the main hub for the national carrier, Malaysia Airlines and low cost carrier, AirAsia. KLIA can be reached using the KLIA Ekspres high-speed train service from KL Sentral which takes only twenty-eight minutes, while travelling by car via highway will take about an hour. Air Asia flights do not fly out of KLIA main terminal but from the LCC terminal, which is served by buses from KL Sentral, and is a 20-30 minute taxi ride from the main terminal. As of 2007, Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport is only used for chartered and turboprops flights by airlines such as Firefly and Berjaya Air.

KL Sentral at night.

Public transport on Kuala Lumpur and the rest of the Klang Valley covers a variety of transport modes such as bus, rail and taxi. Despite efforts to promote usage of public transportation, utilisation rates are low as only 16 percent of the population used public transportation in 2006. The rapid transit system in Kuala Lumpur consists of three separate rail systems which meet in the city and extends towards other parts of Klang Valley. The rail systems are RapidKL RAIL, KL Monorail, and KTM Komuter. These lines have either underground or elevated stations around the city. The main rapid transit hub is KL Sentral which facilitates as an interchange station for the rail systems. KL Sentral is also a hub for intercity railway operated by KTM Intercity. It provides rail services to as far as Singapore in the south, and Hat Yai, Thailand, in the north.

Platform of the KLCC LRT station along the Kelana Jaya Line (Putra LRT) in Kuala Lumpur.

The largest public transportation operator in Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley is RapidKL. Since the take over from Intrakota Komposit Sdn Bhd, RapidKL has redrawn the entire bus network of Kuala Lumpur and Klang Valley metropolitan area to increase ridership and improve Kuala Lumpur's public transportation system. The management of RapidKL has adopted the hub and spoke system to provide greater connectivity, and cut down the need of more buses. RapidKL is also the operator of three rapid transit rail lines in Kuala Lumpur, namely Ampang Line, Sri Petaling Line and Kelana Jaya Line.

In Kuala Lumpur, most taxis have distinctive white and red liveries. Kuala Lumpur is one of the major ASEAN city with taxis extensively running on natural gas natural gas vehicle. To hail a taxi, you normally just wait on the street or go to locations called taxi stands. Nevertheless, taxis are known to charge high rates for foreigners. Make sure the driver will use the meter.

Kuala Lumpur is served by Port Klang, located about 64 km (40 mi) southwest of the city. The port is the largest and busiest in the country handling about 6.3 million Twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) of cargo in 2006.