The Runcible Architect.: Can't get there from here.

We set out to explore KL on foot, which was our first mistake.... I knew it would be difficult, but sheesh. The newer parts of the city [KL City Center, where the Petronas Towers are] are completely pedestrian unfriendly, if you venture beyond the carefully curated pedestrians zones [parks] and paths [connecting bridges among shopping malls]. Heaven help you if you want to get from Point A to Point B on foot. Buildings are surrounded by mazes of car access roads, taxi stands, service areas, etc, and it is very difficult to find a building's "front door," not to mention trying to cut through the super-mega-blocks around KLCC.

Once we got to Chinatown and Little India, however, the going got smoother. The old fabric of the city [2-3 story shophouses, 5-6 story factories, shops, and apartments] is still very much apparent, if studded with newer hotels and shopping centers. Because the contemporary street is higher than the floor level of the old shophouses, the sidewalks are actually 1-3' lower than the street, and they're covered - it's an area of transition between shops, a shelter from the rain and sun, and most importantly, the sectional transition provides much-needed protection/separation from cars, buses, trucks, and motorbikes for pedestrians.

We didn't bother with the elevated monorails, even though they looked pretty cool - they all required their own tickets, and none of the routes were very useful for us. When we reached our limit of walking, we took taxis ["teksis"], which, despite the official "no haggling" sticker on the side of the cabs, still required negotiation...

I guess this pedestrian unfriendliness stems from the intensity of the climate; it's very hot, and rainstorms happen with barely a moment's notice. Most people jump from air conditioned building to air conditioned car to air conditioned building, and there are very few people walking around outside. But, there's something lost, and when you visit somewhere like Little India, you see what it is: the sweaty crush of people browsing market stalls, the blaring of music over loudspeakers, the smells of street food, and the interaction of thousands of people at once.