I encountered a pleasant surprise during my stay at the Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur: just minutes away on foot is KL’s vibrant Chinatown neighborhood.

Chinatown Kuala Lumpur, A Cool Neighborhood Worth Visiting

When you arrive at the Park Hyatt, you feel like you are in a very urban, almost sterile area. Look around and you don’t see much. In fact, I wondered whether I’d have to take a taxi to go anywhere if I wanted to leave the property.

I searched out coffee, as I always do, and found there was a specialty coffee shop called Kaffee 16 within walking distance, so after settling in my room, I set out to find it.

Crossing the hotel entrance, I hopped over a guardrail and turned left on a road going west. Two blocks later, I found myself in Chinatown:

What a cool, bustling neighborhood. I’ve been to Bukit Bingeing several times and enjoyed that (minus that one massage) but I had no idea this neighborhood even existed…it’s on the other side of town.

Malaysia is such a rich mix of Malay, Chinese, and Indian cultures and this Chinatown had several döner kebab places (meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie), where I ended up eating dinner…I had a beef shawarma wrap and a falafel wrap. Malaysia has so many great food options and if you like Middle Eastern food, as I do, there are so many places…you can even get mansaf and knafeh, two of my favorite dishes in the world.

Chinatown is centered on Petaling Street, which you can picture as one street stall after spread out over a grid of several alleys and blocks. Like so many Chinatowns, you can get virtually any knock-off goods here…think Louis Vuitton bags, Mont Blanc pens, Rolex watches, Gucci sunglasses, etc.

I used to LOVE stuff like this…over the years and in so many countries, I’ve bartered for Rolex watches or Rayban sunglasses. But you know something? The fake sunglasses can damage your eyes without UV protection and the watches may look nice, but they are not built with Swiss engineering and generally do not keep great time. I’ve moved beyond the “fake” stage in life. In fact, I’d rather wear no brand at all on my clothing than be the pretentious logo-conscious middle-class traveler.

Anyway, if you want fake goods in KL, Chinatown is the place to find them…

And when I was done, it was just a short walk around the corner back up to the hotel, which again felt like a whole different world.

What fun!

I’m sharing about my whirlwind trip through Asia.

Get Daily Updates

Join our mailing list for a daily summary of posts! We never sell your info.

SUBSCRIBE!

You have Successfully Subscribed!