Up until the Pyrrhic War, which lead to their absorption into the Roman Republic, Magna Grecia (lit. "Greater Greece") was a series of powerful Greek settlements and cities in southern Italy and Paestum (Poseidonia during this ancient Greek times) was one of them.

Located 3 hours south of Naples via a regional train that continues down the Costa Cilentana, it was a satisfying daytrip that I took one ordinary week-end last June. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed - the sight was amazing and, for a while, I thought I was in Greece.

Going to Paestum is like going to Greece... without leaving Italy! 

Emerging as one of the stronger ASEAN capitals, Kuala Lumpur, along with its neighbor Singapore, has been praised for being one of those functional and "the system is working" type of cities which balance steady economic growth with infrastructure development for the people. KL offers a balanced and attractive working environment, positive enough to draw foreigners not just to invest in KL but to actually work and base themselves in KL. The comparison to KL (and Singapore) by my own city, Manila, often ends in shaking heads and puzzlement - how could such growth have been possible and how Manila could "catch up".

For me, this is all "meaningless" in the travel-culture sense and I knew nothing and expected nothing from KL, except that I saw it as a place that's probably similar to Singapore but with "more culture per capita". A long-layover last December allowed me to see if this is so...