Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur's Little India. Brickfields is a district just southwest of the city centre, widely known as the Little India of Kuala Lumpur for its concentration of Indian temples, shops and restaurants. Its name recalls the brick kilns that once operated here, supplying material to rebuild the city after floods and fires in its early decades, when the area was a workers' settlement close to the railway.

A vividly multicultural quarter. The main streets are lined with garland and sari sellers, banana-leaf restaurants, sweet shops and stalls of spices and flowers, and the whole area is enlivened by colourful arches, decorated pavements and murals installed to celebrate its heritage. Alongside Hindu temples stand the Buddhist Maha Vihara, churches and mosques, reflecting a long-standing mix of Tamil, Chinese, Malay and other communities living side by side.

A transport gateway too. Brickfields sits beside KL Sentral, the country's largest transport hub, which links intercity trains, commuter lines, the airport express and city rail. This has brought modern towers and hotels to its edges, yet the older core retains its low shophouses and neighbourhood feel, making the contrast between the two especially sharp. Hindu temples, a Buddhist monastery and Christian churches stand within a few blocks of one another, and the pavements are studded with colourful mosaic murals celebrating the area's Tamil heritage and its railway past.

Visiting. The district is a short walk from KL Sentral station, and there is no charge to explore its streets. It is most atmospheric in the late afternoon and evening, and it comes fully alive during the Deepavali festival, when lights, stalls and decorations fill the area. Come for a banana-leaf meal and Indian sweets, and wander the temple-dotted lanes to sample one of the city's most distinctive cultural neighbourhoods.