The name ‘Kuala Lumpur’ is widely thought to be derived from the fact that it is situated at the meeting point of two rivers, Sungai Gombak and Sungai Klang.

When the first settlements descended on the area in the 1800s, they set up tin mining operations that took fruitful advantage of the ore reserves underground.

Aside from being the capital of Malaysia today, KL has been the capital of each of these places at various points of its existence! It was the capital of Selangor in 1880, the Federated Malay States in 1896, the Malayan Union in 1946, Malaya in 1957 and Malaysia in 1963.

Kuala Lumpur was granted its city status on 1 February 1972, greatly cementing its position as the nation’s capital.

Located in the heart of the city and parallel to Jalan Bukit Bintang, Jalan Alor has become the go-to spot to sample a vast and tasty spread of hawker food that is synonymous with crowd-pleasing Malaysian cuisine.

There’s a massive array of retail centres in KL proper and its surrounds, as the city is a veritable shopping paradise. Just three of the largest malls around KL (and in the country, for that matter) – 1Utama, Sunway Pyramid and Berjaya Times Square – sport a combined 1.18 million square metres of gross leasable area! By the way, the made-up Sungei Yang Plaza is really a devious misspelling of a real KL mall, Sungei Wang Plaza.

Taman Tugu is a fun hiking spot near the National Monument, the KL Eco Forest Park is a lush jungle enclave at the base of the KL Tower, and the Perdana Botanical Garden is an elaborate haven for animals and people alike in KL – leaving Taman Bandaraya, which is a housing area in Bangsar, as the odd one out!

There are currently four buildings in the city whose highest points are over this height – the KL Tower (421m/1,381ft), The Exchange 106 (445m/1,460ft), the Petronas Twin Towers (452m/1,483ft), and the under-construction PNB118, which at 644 metres (2,113 feet) is slated to be the world’s second-tallest building once it is completed in the next year or so!

Found right outside the KL City Gallery building, the larger-than-life structure spelling out the affectionate phrase is a magnet for visitors, who can then proceed into the Gallery for a comprehensive and entertaining glimpse of the city’s growth since inception.

With the exception of TTDI Hills, which is a residential area, the other places mentioned are sublime destinations for lively nightlife. There are however some great pickings within TTDI in which to let your hair down after sunset, so have a poke around there if you are so inclined!