Malaysia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 425

GETTING AROUND
Though the city centre is compact enough to be explored
on foot, KL has an e cient rail system.
Buses The bus you're most likely to use is the Hop On,
Hop Off double-decker bus, which includes 42 sightseeing
stops and has free wi-fi on board. It's useful for getting to
the Lake Gardens and for a general overview of the city.
There are plenty of stops in town, including one by the
tourist centre MATIC.
LRT (Light Rail Transit) KL's reasonably e cient public
transport system (daily 6am-midnight) consists of six train
lines, owned by three different companies: Rapid KL (Kelana
Jaya Line owned by Putraline; Ampang Line & Sri Petaling
Line owned by Starline), KL Monorail and KTM Komuter
(Sentul Port Klang, Rawang Seremban). These are all
inexpensive (fares cost from RM1 upwards, depending on
distance) and cover the city (the Monorail in particular loops
through central KL and the Golden Triangle area) and its
environs well, though connections between different lines
are poor due to inadequate integration. You can buy a ticket
on one LRT line for another owned by a different company,
and the Touch'n Go card (RM10) can be purchased at major
stations and used on all lines bar the airport express train.
KL Sentral train station is the hub not just for long-distance
train travel, but also for most of the LRT lines; the monorail
KL Sentral station is actually a five-minute walk away.
Besides the LRT lines, there are also the KLIA Transit and
KLIA Express, both serving the international airport.
Taxis Fares start at RM3 and rise RM1/km - make sure the
driver uses the meter. Taxis can easily be flagged in the
street, otherwise use recommended companies such as
Comfort Taxi ( T 03 8024 2727), Public Cab ( T 03 6259
2020) and Sunlight Radio Taxi ( T 03 9057 5757). Some
taxi drivers don't speak much English, and some don't
know their way around the city, so it's best to carry a map.

BY BUS
Buses from all over Peninsular Malaysia converge on one of
four bus stations. Pudu Sentral (formerly PuduRaya) bus
station on Jln Pudu (Plaza Rakyat station) serves northern
and western destinations; the vast new Terminal Bersipadu
Selatan (Bandar Tasik Selatan station - connected to four
main train lines) has departures for southern destinations
and Singapore; Putra, near the Putra World Trade Centre
and near the PWTC station on the Ampang and Sri Petaling
Lines (KTM Komuter), has departures for the east coast,
while Pekeliling (Titiwangsa Monorail station) serves
Kuantan and destinations in the interior.
Pudu Sentral destinations Alor Setar (9 daily; 9hr);
Butterworth (every 30min; 7hr); Cameron Highlands
(hourly; 4hr 30min); Ipoh (every 30min; 4hr); Kuala Perlis
(6 daily; 9hr); Lumut (9 daily; 3hr 30min); Mersing (daily;
7hr); Penang (every 30min; 8hr).
Pekeliling destinations

6

Jerantut (12 daily; 3hr 30min);
Kuala Lipis (4 daily; 4hr); Kuantan (5 daily; 5hr).
Putra destinations Kota Bharu (8 daily; 10hr); Kuala

Terengganu (3 daily; 7hr); Kuantan (every 30min; 5hr);
Temerloh (hourly; 3hr).
Terminal Bersipadu Selatan (TBS) destinations Johor
Bahru (hourly; 6hr); Malacca (every 30min; 2hr); Singapore
(10 daily; 8-9hr).

BY TRAIN
Intercity trains all stop at KL Sentral station, from where
you can transfer to Kuala Lumpur's city rail systems: the
LRT and KL Monorail. Intercity trains run to and from KL
Sentral, southwest of the city centre. The website ( W ktmb
.com.my) has up-to-date train timetables. You must book
several days in advance for the most popular sleeper trains
to Singapore or Butterworth.
Destinations Alor Setar (daily; 13hr 10min); Butterworth
(daily; 10hr 40min); Ipoh (daily; 5hr 30min); Johor Bahru
(4 daily; 5hr 30min-8hr); Singapore (4 daily; 7-9hr).

ACCOMMODATION
There are numerous hostels in Chinatown, around the
Pudu Raya bus station and in the Golden Triangle; they
tend to be comparatively priced. There are also a few
budget options near KL Sentral - convenient for onward
travel but less so for walking around and sampling the
nightlife. Many hotels in KL offer dramatic discounts for
on-the-day check-ins.

INFORMATION AND TOURS
Tourist information The biggest information centre is
MATIC (Malaysian Tourist Information Complex) at 109
Jln Ampang (daily 8am-10pm; T 03 9235 4800, W matic
.gov.my or W tourism.gov.my), east of the centre, close to
the junction with Jln Sultan Ismail, which hands out useful
brochures and maps of KL, as well as info on the rest of
Malaysia. There are also branches in the arrivals halls at
KLIA (daily 9am-7pm; T 03 8776 5651) and the Low Cost
Carrier Terminal (daily 9am-7pm; T 03 8775 2518), and
at KL Sentral station (daily 9am-7pm; T 03 2272 5823).
Tours Food Tour Malaysia ( T 01 7616 5090, W foodtour
malaysia.com) offer fantastic “Off the Eaten Track” walking
tours (3hr 30min; RM110), during both the day and at
night - a great way to get acquainted with Malaysia's
variety of cuisines. Highly recommended.

AROUND KL SENTRAL
★

Grid 9 9 Jln Maharajalela T 03 9226 2629, W grid9
hotels.com; map pp.422-423. This great flashpacker joint
with a young and vibrant feel offers clean and comfy
rooms with private bath, a/c and TV, while dorms all have
individual sockets and reading lamps. The pleasant lounge
has colourful beanbags, a flatscreen TV and communal
computers, as well as a pool table. There' s wi-fi thr oughou t
and a little café downstairs. Dorm RM45 , double RM129