- Bia hoi - the cheapest beer in the world.
More thoughts on Kuala Lumpur from when I was there in 2005, if you’re interested.
Not been to Hanoi yet (although we’ll be there early next year), but I do like Kuala Lumpur. I find it quite a pleasant little city.
Note: I should point out that when Nehru coined the term “Third World,” he neglected to point out which was the First World and which the Second – the US-led west or the Soviet-led bloc. So First World and Second World has never had any real meaning, although people have always associated the US with the First World and the Soviet Union with the Second.
Vietnam looked extremely cool in the Top Gear road trip episode. Kuala Lumpur on the other hand has always looked like a generic Westernized Asian city to me - like Abu Dhabi or somesuch.
Nehru definitely saw the West as the First World- the capitalist power base that had always existed and would continue to do so. The Communist states were the Second World because they were the “new way” (though not, to Nehru, the right way).
We just watched that Top Gear episode lasy weekend! We thought Hoi An came out looking best. Hanoi looked like just a generic Southeast Asian city.
The First World has generally been identified as the West by people in general, but my old History prof said Nehru never said which was First and which was Second. I’ve not seen anything to prove him wrong. Either way, KL could hardly qualify as Second World, since Malaysia does not belong to the communist bloc.
He went to Harrow and Trinity College. It would have been normal for him to think of the West as the first world.
Maybe so, but he never said. Just sayin’.
Anyway, when is it the OP is going to leave for either city he decides on? Hanoi for us is still several months away, so I suspect he’ll be there or KL before we’re in Hanoi and can give a recommendation.
Another thing about KL, though, is there are some good day trips to be had, such as to the old Dutch city of Melaka, although it’s worth staying overnight there, too. and it’s a pleasant 3-1/2 or 4-hour train ride down to Singapore.
Ah yes, and the Genting Highlands are not too far from KL. Good for a bit of gambling I hear, if you’re into casinos, although we’ve never checked those out.
I live in KL with my family (Brit expat)
KL, safe, easy integration and a very nice place to live, particularly with a young family. From a cost point of view I would suspect it is much more expensive than vietnam.
We knew a young no kids couple who worked for one of the large news wire/financial information companies up in Vietnam before moving to KL, they really enjoyed it, good social life, not all beer and debauchery
Kl will be easy and a little more expensive, Vietnam , probably got more of an edge to it.
Gambling is legal in Australia so it’s not an attraction- that and I’m of the opinion that the best way to win at gambling is to own the casino. 
At this stage it looks like it’ll be January or February for the exchange. I’m angling for KL so I can make side-trips to Malacca, Singapore, and Thailand, but if I end up going to Hanoi I’m sure that’ll be interesting and educational too…
Go to Hanoi. KL is so overdone and westernised, you might as well be in Brisbane!
Go to Vietnam, and when come back, bring pho.
I think I’d rather pay The Who to follow me around and play a particular musical sting whenever I make a witty comment and put my sunglasses on.
Promise you’ll try that snake blood vodka stuff!
We won’t be in Vietnam until April. It will be our escape from the dreaded Songkran holiday in Thailand. But Bangkok is only a couple of hours away by air, and that could make for a quick side trip.
As for that Top Gear show, I’m wondering if Halong Bay is what RNATB was thinking of. The guys in the show ended up in Hanoi by mistake after taking the wrong train and then learned they were supposed to finish in Halong, which they spent another day to get to. I suspect the day-long journey to Halong was purely for entertainment value, as our info is it’s only 4 hours from Hanoi by road. That bay does look drop-dead gorgeous, and we already know we’ll be spending a couple of nights on one of the islands, but by all accounts Halong town itself is a shithole. That’s close enough to be a plus for you regarding Hanoi.
Another vote for Hanoi. Everyone should send some time living in the developing world. Just seeing third world living conditions isn’t enough to understand it. You need to make personal friends with people who are trying to make it. After that, the world will make a lot more sense to you.
And you have the rest of your life to live in a westernized city.
I would go to KL, and schedual it around the Formula One Grand Prix. Nice circuit.