What's it like to live in a far-off place most of us see only on a vacation? Foreign Correspondence is an interview with someone who lives in a spot you may want to visit.

Richard Good, 23, is an attorney with a consulting firm in Charlotte. He lived in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, for a decade. He left in 2006.

Q. Kuala Lumpur conjures very different images. It is the site of Petronas Towers - the tallest twin buildings in the world; it is also in the center of the Malay Peninsula, which is covered with jungle.

A. Kuala Lumpur is in the Klang Valley; the best thing to compare the city to is its neighbor, Bangkok, Thailand. Bangkok is massive, sprawling and ugly. Kuala Lumpur is smaller, picturesque and surrounded by mountains you can see on a clear day.

It's only an hour inland from the coast, so a lot of people go on beach outings to a place called Langkawi, an island in the (Indian Ocean's) Andaman Sea. It's only 45 minutes or an hour by plane from Kuala Lumpur.

Q. What was it like growing up in Kuala Lumpur?

A. Different, but a great experience. Instead of living in a suburban neighborhood, you could walk by construction projects in a downtown that was the capital of a rapidly developing country. It was exciting because it was changing all the time, though it was annoying that the roads seemed to change every week. Aside from the high level of traffic, it was fantastic.

In 1997, Malaysia was a developing country, but it had a prime minister, Mahatir, who had an ambitious vision for the country to be developed by 2020. Over the years I lived there, Malaysia was rapidly transformed beyond recognition. Kuala Lumpur was formerly a place with not much going on - not even a movie theater. When I left, the twin Petronas Towers were briefly the world's tallest building.

The country has jungle, pristine beaches and is ridiculously cheap. It's very fun. Everybody speaks English, along with Malay, as their first language. The weather is pretty much the same every day - 90 degrees and sunny.

Q. Who visits Kuala Lumpur?

A. Australians: It's five hours from Perth by air. Nowadays, many Englishmen, too. It's quite far - a 14-hour flight - but they're drawn by the great exchange rate and the value. You can stay at the Mandarin Oriental hotel for $100 or $120 per night. That's opulence at a remarkably low price.

There are a lot of Asian visitors because of the good shopping. Under the twin towers is a big shopping mall called Kuala Lumpur City Centre. It's one of Asia's premiere shopping malls and a place where many expats hang out.

Q. What's the food like?

A. There are three types of cuisine, reflecting the three ethnic groups. There's Indian - which was transported from India's Tamil area hundreds of years ago when the British brought Indians in as laborers. The second is Chinese. Hundreds of years back, many migrated to Malaya to work in the tin mines; Chinese are now prominent in business. The third food is from the majority population, Malay. Their food is like Indonesian; they share a common ancestry. The food is a unique amalgamation. It's coconut-based with curry. It's not very seafood-y because Malays are Muslim, and seafood is not big in their day-to-day diet.

They do a great dish for breakfast called roti, which is like a grilled, handmade flatbread you dip in bowls of curry. It's funny, but that remains one of my greatest cravings.

Malaysians love beef and chicken, especially fried chicken. They're obsessed with KFC, which is the most popular fast food chain. I think Bojangles would do quite well there.

Q. How close to the city is the jungle?

A. If you drive out of Kuala Lumpur for an hour, you're in the middle of it. Where I used to live, there were monkeys in the back garden. They'd throw things - limes and other fruit - at the dog. There are also cobras and these lizards called monitors that look like Komodo dragons. Very scary looking.

Q. Is eco-tourism big?

A. Seems a lot of people are doing that. The big national park in the middle of the peninsula is called Taman Negara. For those of the jungle/hiking persuasion who don't mind snakes and the occasional mosquito - there's no malaria there, by the way - the jungle has loads of stuff.

Q. Your favorite beach?

A. It's gotta be on Langkawi, the island I was telling you about. There's a great resort called the Andaman, a low-rise hotel hidden at the beginning of a rain forest. There's a perfect white, powdery beach where you can laze around with cocktails or tea. You can relax, go sea kayaking or snorkeling - all for a reasonable price.

You can get there from Kuala Lumpur on Air Asia, a low-cost airline that's like Southwest, only cheaper. It's $5 one-way from Kuala Lumpur to the island; it takes an hour on a new Airbus. The whole weekend at Langkawi can cost you a couple hundred bucks if you want to go luxurious.

Know someone who lives in an interesting city or country who would like to give us the inside line on visiting there? E-mail, in English, jbordsen@charlotteobserver.com.