Traveling to Malaysia is definitely a worthwhile decision. The journey to Malaysia should start from Kuala Lumpur. The center point of the country and capital city is Kuala Lumpur. There are all kinds of amenities here, like the other modern cities of the world.
The best thing to do is to start from Kuala Lumpur to see the sights of the center region in the country.
Center City
1. Kuala Lumpur
2. Selangor
3. Putrajaya
By staying in Kuala Lumpur, you can easily see the sights of the cities located in the center of the country. You might have to stay up three nights to visit Kuala Lumpur and its surroundings.
20 best places in the center region where you should visit!
1. Petronas Tower (KLCC)
2. Menara KL Tower
3. National Museum
4. Batu Caves
5. Bird Park
6. Aquaria KLCC
7. Sunway Lagoon
8. Little India
9. Sultan Abdul Samad Building
10. Bukit Bintang
11. National Science Centre
12. Genting Highlands
13. Putrajaya Bridge
14. Malaysian National Zoo
15. National Mosque of Malaysia
16. Kuala Lumpur City Gallery
17. National Monument
18. China Town
19. KL Forest Eco Park
20. Old Istana Negara
How to reach your hotel from Kuala Lumpur
The most used international airport in Malaysia is KLIA and KLIA 2.Mainly KLIA is the major airport where KLIA 2 only used for flights from Asia Regions. Both airport in Sepang district of Selangor and around 55km far away from Kuala Lumpur. The distance between two terminals is 2.5km. You have multiple ways to reach your hotel from airport.
Train
The airport train is 15 minutes consecutive to the peak hour and 20 minutes during off peak hour. To get on the train go straight to first floor from the airport KLIA or KLIA 2.Usually it takes 28 minutes from KLIA and 33 minutes from KLIA 2 to arrive in KL Sentral and the ticket price is RM55.There are few quick stops on the way of journey.
Bus
Bus is the affordable and comfortable option if you are solo traveler. Usually it takes 45 minutes to 50 minutes from the airport to the KL Sentral if there is no traffic. Bus station on the 2nd floor in KLIA and 1st floor in the KLIA 2.you need to buy the ticket before boarding. Normally Aerobus and Skybus head to the KL Sentral and the ticket price is RM 11.
Taxi
After getting to the airport, you can book a taxi by grab apps. There are multiple options in the apps and you can choose as your needs. The fare cost is fixed RM65 but it is only for economy ride (not applicable for grab car plus, premium and 6-seater).Usually you can go directly to your hotel by RM65 if your hotel not in Rawang, Kuala Selangor and Genting Highlands.
Airport taxi is more expensive than grab car. Usually, to get on taxi wait at door 3 or door 4 on 1st floor in the KLIA and at door 5 on 2nd floor in the KLIA2.
Where to stay
Bukit Bintang is the hub for travelers. To travel around the Kuala Lumpur City you need to choose a hotel in proper location. Travelers usually like to stay near Bukit Bintang. There are many hotels around Bukit Bintang with different price range. Jalan Alo also the busiest place for nightlife .Actually it is closely located with Bukit Bintang. Some budget hotels are available there. But it is not important that you have to stay in center .You can also stay 3-4 km far from Bukit Bintang for cheap and comfortable hotel in your budget. It doesn’t affect your trip much because Transport system is so accessible and affordable. Basically Chinatown, Paser Seni, Chowkit and Masjid Jamek also near to Bukit Bintang and usually 2-3USD fare cost by grab car. Some travelers like to stay there due to comfortable hotel in budget price.
How to get around Kuala Lumpur
Train
The better way to get around the city is train.it is the most affordable even faster. The train service starts at 6am morning and close 12am at night. You can visit most of the tourist places by train. There are few train service available such as Lrt, Mrt, Monorail, KTM and ERL. To change your route follow the interchange stations and the train route map. Most of the time train station available in walking distance. Follow your navigator. Buy a touch n Go card to access train and Bus. You can access LRT,MRT,Monorail and rapidKL bus by same card.
Bus
RapidKL operating the bus service around the country. The fare cost is so cheap. You can go anywhere within the city by .30-1USD. Some tourist bus called GOKL are operating their free service around the center. GOKL bus commonly used to visit some tourist places such as Bukit Bintang, Chinatown, KLCC and shopping mall. RapidKL buses cover all train station. So you can get train station by bus if it is far from your hotel. Bus operating their service 6am-11pm.
Taxi
Taxi is the only way to get around after closing train and bus service. Use the grab car app to book your ride. It is safe for you. Ride on taxi without booking by apps can be risky for you. Some drivers has bad intension. Follow the off peak hours due to traffic if you want to visit places by taxi. It will save your money and time.
What where to Eat and Drink
In Malaysia you can eat a variety of foods. If you are a foodie, Malaysia is a great place for you to taste a variety of foods from multi ethic groups.
Since there are a lot of Chinese communities and Indians who live here, you can eat Chinese and Indian food here besides Malaysian traditional food. It is said that Penang is most famous for their traditional foods and it’s so delicious that if you haven’t eaten you will miss something in your life.
Indian, Chinese and Malay restaurants is available anywhere through the country, and the food here is cheap compared to other restaurants. Besides, here you will find all the country cuisine famous for its food in the world. Restaurants that are available in other Asian countries and Western dishes in general are usually a bit pricey than the local dishes.
The national dish of Malaysia is Nasi Lemak(Streamed Rice,Fried Chicken,Fried Dry fish,Boiled egg and sweet curry).At local restaurants, Nasi Lemmak price is RM5-RM7(1.5-2USD).This is more expensive in high grade restaurants. Actually not only Nasi Lemak, all types of food are expensive in high grade restaurant. The common and famous scene is the stall of street food around the country. The street foods are very tasty and they make them in a clean way. There are some places in the country that are famous and crowded for street foods.
Nasi goreng is another popular food that is very delicious to all people and price is reasonable. Nasi goreng is available at all restaurants. It’s basically fried rice with vegetable, lamb, chicken and dry fish. Price is RM5-RM8 (1.5-2USD).
Mamak restaurant is one of the best cuisine (South Indian Cuisine) in Malaysia. They serve south Indian food as well as Malay food. The main thing is that here you will find different types of food and prices are not high.
Mamak restaurants are everywhere in the country and are comparatively high number. If you don’t have enough budget for food, then Mama’s restaurants are the biggest option for you. Mamak Restaurant food is delicious and tourists love to eat. You can eat roti cennai,chapati and Maggi noodles here for breakfast. Price is RM2-4RM.
In fact, you can find also many international band’s outlets such as KFC, McDonald, Burger King and Subway.
Malaysia is the great place for street food. You should try whenever you are in Kuala Lumpur. There are few famous places for street food in Kuala Lumpur.
Jalan Alor
Jalan Alor is the busiest place for tourist. It is closely located with Bukit Bintang and changkat. There are many stalls of multicultural food. Sometimes price is expensive.
Hutong Lot 10
This is as like food court at the basement of Lot 10 shopping mall. The mall located beside bukit bintang traffic signal. There are around 35 stalls and the various type of food from multicultur.Chili Crab,soong kee Beef noodle and kim lian kee are the most delicious and recommended dish .Sometimes you have to wait to get your table. Most of the tourist eat in this place due to huge variety of food.
Money Saving Tips
Save money as much as possible! The city can be expensive or cheaper depend on you in some cases. Actually Trip in Malaysia not expensive if you know some tips.
1. Hotel
Choose your hotel near center or train station. You will find many budget hotels near Bukit Bintang or you can choose hotel 3-5 km far from center if it is near any train station. Most of the time, Hotels far from center offer better services and facilities in low price. So try to choose hotel and book earlier.
2. Transportation
To save money always ride on public transport. The service of public transport is very good especially train. To visit in the city use free bus named GOKL. They cover most of the tourist places. Never use regular taxi (red color) and blue taxi (expensive).Doesn’t matter it is metered or non-metered. If you need private transport, I will recommend to use grab car for taxi especially during off peak hours. On the peak hours sometimes it is so expensive due to high demand and traffic. During peak hour try to use train.it will be cheaper and quicker.
3. Food
Basically foods are cheap at food court or local restaurant. Street food also cheap and delicious in some places.
You will be great fan of food court or street food if you try once. Actually food court and street food are famous in Malaysia historically. There are huge varieties of food .Definitely you will wish to try different dishes but you need many days to try all types of dishes. Foods from multicultural background in food court and place of street food. Food court is better than street food in most of the cases except Jalan Alo.Eat at Mamak restaurant (south Indian cuisine) to save your money.
How to Stay Safe in Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia is secured country for tourist. Crime rarely happened with tourist. But you should know some safety issues before you travel there.
Taxi driver can be risky for you. Sometimes they drive on non-necessary route to increase bill of meter. Even you can be hijacked by taxi driver. So try to avoid regular taxi. Always book your taxi from grab car.
Kuala Lumpur is so safe for tourist especially around the center.it doesn’t matter what time at night. If you walk at night time, try to avoid stranger who wants to talk with you. Always use main road or coward road and avoid dark alleys when you walk. Keep eyes on surroundings. Keep your jewelry and valuable things in hotel room. Wearing jewelry sometimes not safe due to coward tourist place and some bad biker who will swipe your jewelry easily. Be careful about pick pocket. Sometimes happen in the city.
What to Pack for Kuala Lumpur
Perfect Back pack is important for your trip. You can choose backpack size in 45-50L.Weather not cold here, so you don’t need to pack any winter clothes or other things. Just bring the thing as you feel relax for traveling and your daily necessaries.
Most of the travel do mistake that they bring many things when they come. For this their luggage getting heavy and fully filled and they can’t shopping due to overweight.
Don’t bring unnecessary things, Cosmetic and Clothes here cheap than other countries. Bargain the price when you buy something except band outlets, or fixed price shop.
