This is Chinatown, an agreeably rundown assortment of shophouses with a lot more character than the modern city. But you can see this in any city in Asia, so it's not really worth coming to KL for.

Another reason not worth coming to KL for is the Marriott Hotel, where we stayed. That was my first and last time there. The lobby is reasonably grand, and the gym is pretty good, but the rooms are very pedestrian. Also, we suffered through probably the worst buffet breakfast I've ever had. Honestly, I have pretty low expectations of breakfast buffets, mostly rock hard waffles being perpetually heated in serving trays, etc. But this was really gross, and the fact that I remember this ten years later should tell you something. All the luxury hotels cost about the same as a Holiday Inn back in the US, so there's no reason to count your pennies when visiting. By far the best hotel in KL is the Mandarin Oriental. It's located next to the Petronas Towers (which also has the best mall in town if you're into that), the food at their cafe is quite good, and their attempt at high end fusion food (which I think is called Circles?) is usually buzzing and a nice place to spend an evening, although the food misses as often as it hits. Don't be tempted by the Ritz Carlton; although the chain is usually reliable, this one is really pokey and has no redeeming features (other than it's probably the cheapest Ritz on the planet). The Shangri La is also pretty good, a gargantuan hotel that was pretty run down when it was the only game in town. But all the new arrivals made it revamp the place, and it's usually a fun place to stay.

As for Valentine's Day, we ended up with no reservation, forgetting that Asians are just as into this holiday as Westerners are so all the big restaurants were long booked. So we ate at Dome, a chain restaurant in, you guessed it, a mall. Well, the good news is I set low expectations for future Valentine's Days.

5. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Feb '98

What could be more romantic than Valentine's Day in KL? Well, as you may have guessed, pretty much anything. KL vies with Singapore for the most oppressive weather. Despite the fact that the two places hate each other for historical reasons, the two cities are actually pretty interchangeable. In addition to the steamy weather, they both have a striking absence of sightseeing opportunities, and both compensate with an overabundance of malls. The ethnic balance between Chinese and Malays is skewed differently in the two cities, and KL definitely has a Muslim feel to it, chiefly due to the headscarves on most women. Both cities are traditionally very strict and boring, but fluctuate wildly so it's hard to tell what it will be like at any one time. Being gay is illegal in both places, and everything is pretty heavily censored in both, but Singapore has been trying to show its wild side by allowing bars to stay open 24 hours and bringing in gambling. KL was attempting to keep up, and for a while it was a really wild party town, but they've gone back into hibernation recently.

These pics are of the real historical building, which is the train station. And when I say historical, I mean like 100 years old. Malaysia has a couple of old colonial trading centers like Penang and Malacca, but very little of their own history on show architecturally. The train station is one of the only colonial buildings in KL, which wasn't an important trading post. It's done up in a sort of Muslim fantasy style, and it's quite fetching. We somehow managed to spend the weekend without taking any photos of its most famous building, the Petronas Towers, but if you strain your eyes you can just see them poking through the haze in the pic with Somchai in it.