Coffee shop stories from Kuala Lumpur

Night skyline of KLs sky-scrapers...
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Kuala Lumpur has always held a place in my heart since I first backpacked my way over here in 2004. A small city of some one million people, it oozes southeast asian cosmopolitan sophistication through its highrises, botanical gardens, markets and quaint eateries serving up everything from roti canai to gado gado, washed down with green tea frappacinos, fruit lassis and tiger beer. Small wonder that I find myself coming back here every time I visit this region, just to hang out and enjoy the place.

KL's bustling and extravagant Suria district...
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KL is a city of diversity – perhaps more diversity, at times, than might be found in many modern western cities. Here you’ll find large communities of Malay, Chinese, Indians, Eurasians as well as a healthy expat western community. In an urban style that appears to follow the lead of Singapore, English has become unofficially official, being regarded as an essential linguistic meeting point that has long been an integral part of Malaysia’s relative economic success in the region. 

KL is a city of diversity – perhaps more diversity, at times, than might be found in many modern western cities.

The twin towers at night...
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With an open heart, a smattering of Bahasa Melayu (although a bit of Chinese or Tamil wouldn’t hurt either!) and a willingness to ‘go native,’ it’s possible to start to feel like a local here after only a short stay of a few days. If you are willing to wander down alleys and sit on plastic kindergarten chairs at local food stalls, then you can really begin to see this place through the eyes of a local KL’er. So it was, that we found ourselves one day, sitting and sipping sweet iced-black coffee while chatting with a man who began with a warm, friendly smile and the usual exchange of traveller questions. It turned out that he was a high-flying engineer who had, by his mid-40s, worked all over the world and acquired an open-mindedness that made me feel insular by contrast. Like most Malaysians, he was fiercely proud of the multiculturalism which is ensrhined in their constitution, and we both agreed that it’s countries like Malaysia that show the rest of the world that most Muslims are moderate, tolerant, peaceful and open-minded. Of course, it became clear to me that his attitudes similarly reflected Islam’s annoyance with western assumptions, which he summed up so neatly.

Street food ala KL
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“In the 70s I used to travel everywhere. People were proud to have Malaysians as guests in their country; proud of our independence from the British and proud of our success as a small nation. Now, whenever I travel overseas, I am met with suspicion, frowns, interrogative questions and strict visa requirements. Why? Because I am a citizen of an Islamic country.”

This year, Malaysia celebrates 50 years of independence as a peaceful and prosperous country, rich in diversity and blessed with a warm-hearted people; without war, nuclear testing or race riots in that time. Maybe if western media stopped the tunnel-vision focus on this rhetorically-driven ‘war on terrorism’ and considered the beauty to be found in countries like Malaysia, then we could truly move on from our petty grievances.