Ready to exercise the little Bahasa Melayu I knew, I couldn’t wait to arrive in Malaysia and attempt to converse with the people of this country I had not yet had the chance to visit. But I was slightly disappointed when I arrived and realised that just about everyone in the country’s capital, Kuala Lumpur (or KL as it’s known) speaks plain old, run-of-the-mill English. In fact, I was bowled over by the fact! Obviously I hadn’t done my research.

Yet finding out that English was so widely spoken was a mixed blessing – it was great because I could confidently say that getting things done in Malaysia when it comes to organising events and conferences would be a breeze, however the ironic downside was that ordering mountains of scrumptious food was just way too easy… and hence I came back from the four-day trip looking a bit like a watermelon.

But overindulging on Malaysia’s tempting fusion of Indian, Chinese and traditional Malay-style cuisine aside, I was there to suss out the venues and accommodations suitable for conferences, and find out just how easy and cost-effective it would be to hold an event there.

KL is a mixed bag of silver skyscrapers, warm weather, shopping havens, culture and old-world traditions. It seamlessly brings together a multiplicity of cultures, colourful festivals, exquisite and unique dining options and inexpensive yet oh-so-modern and chic five-star hotels to create an Asian experience like no other.

With a focus on the 40-hectare Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) located the heart of the capital, the famil took us on a journey into some of the newest and shiniest hotels I’ve ever seen, including the contemporary Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur which has 34 floors and 571 guest rooms. This hotel is connected directly to the hugely impressive Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre which truly is state-of-the-art. With two auditoriums, 9710 square metres of exhibition space, 20 meeting rooms and a host of other halls and foyers, there really wouldn’t be much this centre couldn’t take care of.

We visited the Petronas Towers’ skybridge (a great place to have cocktails), bargained and bartered at the Central Markets (and went crazy buying handbags), made our own pewter dishes from scratch at the Royal Selangor Visitor Centre (the perfect team-building activity for groups of about 30), marvelled at the efficient KLIA Ekspres (a train which takes you from the city to the airport in 28 minutes), and gobbled down three-course meals at Lai Po Heen at Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Planters Inn at Crowne Plaza Mutiara and Tamarind Springs (all of these sites are perfect dining options for groups).

There were two occasions on the trip where my stomach churned and gurgled – and it had little to do with the local cuisine I’d sampled. The first was at Aquaria KL, where I saw the biggest and ugliest fish in existence. The second was at the Butterfly House, where some really big bugs turned my smile into a grimace as I came too close to way too many legs, scales and pincers.
Not only was KL a cultural and logistical treat, but wherever we went there were plenty of encounters with friendly and helpful locals who were gracious in their hospitality and generous with their time – a nice touch for any organiser who is looking for ease, simplicity and lots of smiles from a destination.

Jasmine Cook was a guest of Malaysia Airlines, Tourism Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur, and Pacific World.

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