Saturday, June 15, 2013

Kuala Lumpur as Shopping's Paradise


Kuala Lumpur has numerous shopping malls. Tourists may find it difficult to decide which of them absolute must-visits are and which are the ones that can easily be skipped during their stay in Kuala Lumpur. First off; if you are visiting Kuala Lumpur with the sole purpose of going on a serious shopping spree you should know that there is actually only one place to stay and that is in a hotel around Bukit Bintang. Most of the malls in our top10 are located in this area. Luckily many of the popular 5-star hotels are located in this area, so it should be easy to find proper accommodation. But also budget travelers are able to find accommodation that suits their budget; as there are many guesthouses located in the Changkat Bukit Bintang area (only a 5/10 minute walk from all major shopping malls).

In our list we took multiple factors into account. Not all malls are perhaps interesting for every type of shopper. Some of the great malls are located well outside of Kuala Lumpur, perhaps still very much worth a visit to some, for others probably not worth the hassle.

1.   Pavilion KL


Pavilion was opened in 2007 and has been an instant hit since then. Pavilion offers many nice shops, and caters to the more general type of shopper. There are many luxurious shops, but also enough regular shops. Pavilion has a great food court but also many restaurants and (coffee) bars. Definitely the place to be (visit) for tourists

2.   Plaza Lowyat



Not all tourists will like Lowyat as it is small, crowded and often very noisy. Lowyat is the premier IT, Gadget and Lifestyle mall in Kuala Lumpur. Here you will find hundreds of small shops selling luxurious products like cameras, phones, laptops, tablets and much more. If you are looking for electronic accessories, this is definitely the place to be. Do know that you can only get great discounts after some tough bargaining.


3.   Midvalley Mega Mall & The Gardens



This is the first mall that is not located within the city center of Kuala Lumpur. It means that you have to get into a taxi and travel for a bit first before arriving at one of the biggest and most popular (local) mall in the city. Midvalley is already a few years old. Here you can find many regular shops selling all kinds of products. Midvalley is connected to The Gardens, a luxurious mall (and also one of the prettiest) with many exclusive brands.

4.   Lot10


5.   Fahrenheit88



    Fahrenheit88 is a modern mall near opposite of Pavilion KL. It used to be known as KL Plaza, but the new owner wanted to rename the mall after a huge renovation. Fahrenheit88 has some very nice stores. At the top floor you find Signature IT, a huge IT department store. Fahrenheit88 became one of the places to be among locals because of the huge Uniqlo clothing shop that occupies a few floors.
  
6.   1Utama



Though pretty far away from Kuala Lumpur City Center, 1Utama is a not to be missed shopping mall. After the huge renovation it again it a wonderful place to shop for all kinds of products (and also one of the biggest). There is also a huge Foodrepublic food court, where you can try many local dishes. 1Utama is not really popular among tourists because of the distance from most of the tourist hotels; still it is very much worth a visit.

7.   Sunway Pyramid



Sunway Pyramid is extremely popular among locals that live outside of Kuala Lumpur. It could very well be the most popular mall in Malaysia when looking at absolute amount of monthly visitors. Sunway is more than a shopping mall; it is a huge entertainment complex with numerous bars, restaurants, hundreds of shops, hotels, resorts and even a huge amusement park (and water park). Those that travel with children will probably do them a huge favor by visiting Sunway Pyramid.

8.   The Curve


   
   The Curve is neither the biggest nor the most popular mall in Kuala Lumpur. It is also located pretty far out of the city center. Still it is a nice place to visit. Besides the mall there are many bars and restaurants. Opposite the Curve is Ikano Power Center, where you can find a few flagship stores of popular local and foreign brands. The Curve is especially popular among the local expat community

9.   Berjaya Times Square






















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