KL is best taken in layers. The colonial core at Merdeka Square with the Moorish-Victorian Sultan Abdul Samad Building, the National Mosque, and the old Railway Station — all within ten minutes' walk of each other. Then the temples and street food of Chinatown around Petaling Street. Then the modern KL of the Petronas Towers, the KLCC park and aquarium, the Skybridge views from up high, and the rival viewpoint at the KL Tower on Bukit Nanas.
The big half-day excursion is Batu Caves, the limestone Hindu shrine 13 km north of the centre. Closer in, the Lake Gardens are 92 hectares of parkland with a bird park, butterfly park, orchid garden, and Islamic Arts Museum on its edge. For something quirkier, the rainbow-painted Sky Mirror at Sasaran or the back-alley murals of Bukit Bintang and Kwai Chai Hong reward an hour's wandering.
Wear light clothes and bring water — the equatorial sun and humidity hit hard, and most days end with a short afternoon thunderstorm.