Grazia Malaysia Magazine - February 2025

In this issue

Dear Kuala Lumpur,

When I first arrived almost 20 years ago, I was just a young college boy with big dreams to make it in life. Truth be told, it was not love at first sight. It was just okay. You were just there, being KL. With all your monstrous skyscrapers, chaotic traffic, and unpredictable weather, you made it easy to sneer at you with all the flaws you’ve become synonymous with. And then, I moved away. You’d thought anywhere else would be better. When I came back after a protracted period, I saw you with new eyes. Now, I adore you. It was like realising that you’re in love with your best friend. It’s not that you were beautiful with your incredible skyline, imperfect patchwork of suburbs, and endless mismatched passages and alleyways. It’s not the vividly diverse sights, smells, and scenes. It’s the fact that you are an independent city; a thriving, bustling city that always tries to be better. It’s the fact that no one ends up here by accident. They chose to be here. Because you attract the different ones, like me. The ones who never really fit in with their small towns or villages. They come to you, KL, and they find their place here. They’re welcomed and respected. Wherever one might find themselves in your glorious cityscape, they would see that. Oh KL, I am not from you. But you have made me your own. Thank you for shaping me. There’s no place I’d rather be