[vimeo:50922066]
Just found this nice little time-lapse video of Kuala Lumpur by day and night, which gives me the opportunity to present my personal theory of how to rank Southeast Asia's capitals.
If I rank the four Southeast Asian capitals I have visited on an order/chaos index, Singapore obviously ranks highest for order, followed by KL, Bangkok and Jakarta at the bottom (I have never been to Manila, but suspect it would be more chaotic than Jakarta). 'Order', on this definition, is not just safety and low crime, but general functionality and ease of getting around for foreigners.
When I cross-reference that ranking with the fun and excitement of each place, Bangkok comes out as my winner. It maintains the variety, liveliness and messiness that I suspect Singapore and KL used to have in larger doses, yet the place is surprisingly easy to get around on public transport. The food, of course, is superb.
My acquaintance with each city is relatively brief, so let me know where I have gone wrong on blogeditor@lowyinstitute.org or on our Facebook page.