Best short-haul holiday destinations: Kuala Lumpur

The bottom line Eight hours and 30 mins from Melbourne (6310 km); eight hours and 50 mins from Sydney (6581 km) with a two-hour time difference (AEST) between Melbourne and Sydney.

Why go This greatly underrated foodie heaven provides a quintessential South-East Asian city experience at a bargain price.

Duration of stay Four days.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.Credit: iStock

See + do The world’s tallest twin towers, the Petronas Twin Towers (petronastwintowers.com.my) is Kuala Lumpur’s most iconic symbol, and the one photo opportunity every visitor needs to tick off. For best views without having to dodge traffic, position yourself in the expansive KLCC gardens behind the shopping mall, before heading to SkyBar at Traders Hotel (shangri-la.com) to watch the sunset fountain show and the towers dazzling under their crystalline illumination. After taking in the colour and chaos of Chinatown, retreat to the nearby REXKL (rexkl.com), a repurposed cinema that now serves as an arts, culture and community hub, with gallery space, a food hall and bar, boutiques and the quirky BookXCess, its maze-like multi-level bookshelves with peek-a-boo holes a magnet for Instagrammers. Nearby, the art deco Central Market (centralmarket.com.my) is a great place to pick up souvenirs, handicrafts or the colourful fashion and homewares of Nala Designs inspired by Malaysia’s melting pot of cultures. If you are craving green space, head to the KL Forest Eco Park, the only remaining patch of tropical rainforest in the city. Don’t expect to escape the heat under the shady canopy, however – the humidity can be stultifying.

Pull up a plastic chair … Street restaurant Jalan Alor in heart of Kuala Lumpur.Credit: iStock

Eat + drink All hail the hawker markets of Kuala Lumpur. Pull up a plastic chair and gorge on the wonderful cornucopia that is Malaysian street food - delicious, spicy and cheaper than chips. While Jalan Alor is the most legendary strip for roadside dining, there are stalls all over the city, from Chinatown’s Petaling Street to the traditional, tourist-free enclave of Kampung Baru. Need to escape the heat? Head to Hutong Lot 10 Heritage Food Village, where you can find popular hawker dishes under one air-conditioned roof. Sample signature dishes passed down through generations at the Chow Kit Kitchen and Bar (thechowkit.com); or explore KL’s growing cocktail scene at cool Chinatown bars such as PS150 (ps150.my) - hidden behind a weathered shopfront on Petaling Streeet – or Penrose, sneaking on to Asia’s 50 Best Bars of 2023 list.

Stay “Great value without scrimping on style” is the mantra at The Chow Kit (thechowkit.com), an Ormond Hotel located in the traditional neighbourhood of Chow Kit a few kilometres from the city centre. You can secure a room here for under $100; or for even greater value, sister hotel Momo’s (stayatmomos.com), located next door, has minimalist designer pod rooms available for less than $40 a night.

Malaysia’s Batu Cave.Credit: iStock

Detour One of the most popular Hindu shrines outside of India – and a well-promoted though worthwhile tourist attraction – Batu Caves is built into a dramatic, forest-clad karst cave crawling with macaques prone to swiping cameras and sunglasses from hapless tourists. Only 15 kilometres from KL and easily accessed by public transport or Grab (Malaysia’s version of Uber), the site is a riot of colour and activity: after being greeted by the 43-metre shiny gold statue of Murugan, climb the 272 rainbow steps into the main cave, where a century-old shrine is illuminated by sun streaming through a hole in the roof.

Essentials AirAsia offers no-frills flights to KL from Sydney and Melbourne. Australian passport holders do not have to apply for a visa before travelling to Malaysia. KL is hot and humid all year, and is wettest from October to December. See malaysia.travel