Kuala Lumpur Hotels

A city that has grown from humble beginnings,¡¨Kuala Lumpur¡¨ means ¡§Muddy Convergence¡¨. This is the name given by the first settlement of tin prospectors in the late 1860¡¦s, due to the area being situated where the Kelang and Gombak rivers meet. The area soon became a boomtown of miners and fortune seekers who were not afraid of getting their hands muddied in their quest for riches!

KL rapidly prospered and by the late 1800¡¦s became up market and prosperous. So much so that the central government was relocated to Kuala Lumpur from Klang. The town however had its bad times- in 1881 the entire town was destroyed by fire and a subsequent flood. This was followed by a building boom and in due time hard work paid off when the city became the capital of the newly formed Federated Malay States in 1896.

Kuala Lumpur is an exciting fusion of many cultures and has passed through the rulership of different countries including British rule in 1913 and an influx of immigrants such as the Indian and Chinese peoples. Adversity struck with the onset of WWII and the Japanese invasion of British Malaya. During this dark period many of Kuala Lumpur's Chinese population were tortured or killed. Many Indians were put to work on Burma's 'Death Railway'. After the war the British temporarily returned to Kuala Lumpur whereupon Malaysia declared its independence in 1957 in Dataran Merdeka (Freedom Square). The city officially became the independent Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur when it was ceded by the sultan of Selangor state in 1974.

The mixture of modern and colonial richness of Kuala Lumpur has great appeal and the city is currently the most populous and prosperous city in Malaysia.