Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
By Taxi
You can take special hir ed cars, called
out-
station taxis,
between every city and state
on the peninsula. Rates depend on the dis-
tance you plan to travel. They are fixed and
stated at the beginning of the trip but many
times can be bargained do wn. I n K uala
Lumpur, go to the second lev el of the
Puduraya B us Terminal to find cabs that
will take y ou outside the city , or call the
Kuala L umpur O utstation Taxi S ervice
Station
(
&
03/2078-0213
). A taxi fr om
KL to M elaka will cost y ou approximately
RM150 ($44/£27), KL to Camer on High-
lands RM240 ($70/£43), KL to B utter-
worth or J ohor Bahru RM320 ($93/£58).
Outstation taxi stand locations are included
under each individual city heading in the
AirAsia
(
&
03/8775-4000;
www.air
asia.com) competes with Malaysia Airlines
with incredibly affordable rates. It links all
the countr y's major cities with far es that,
on av erage, r un fr om RM40 and up
199
($12/£7.20)—seriously.
Berjaya Air
(
&
03/2149-3731;
www.
berjaya-air.com) operates a small fleet of
aircraft that ser vices KL to P angkor, Tio-
man, and Redang islands.
Firefly
(
&
03/7845-4543
; www .fire
flyz.com) has a small fleet that ser vices
some peninsular and East Malaysian desti-
nations.
By Train
The
Keretapi Tanah M elayu Berhad
(KTM)
provides train ser vice throughout
peninsular M alaysia. Trains r un fr om
north to south betw een the Thai bor der
and Singapore, with stops including B ut-
terworth (P enang), K uala L umpur, and
Johor B ahru. There is a second line that
branches off at G emas, midway betw een
Johor Bahru and KL, and heads nor theast
to Tempas near K ota B haru. Fares range
from RM70 ($20/£13) for first-class
following chapters. These cars ar e usually
basic older-model sedans.
Also, within each of the smaller cities,
11
feel free to negotiate with unmeter ed taxis
for hourly, half-day, or daily rates. I t's an
excellent way to get ar ound for sightseeing
and shopping without transpor tation has-
sles. Hourly rates are anywhere from RM30
to RM60 ($8.70-$17/£5.40-£11).
By Car
The cities along the west coast of the pen-
insula ar e linked b y the N orth-South
Highway. There are rest areas with toilets,
food outlets, and emergency telephones at
intervals along the way. There is also a toll
that v aries depending on the distance
you're traveling.
Driving along the east coast of Malaysia
is actually much mor e pleasant than driv-
ing along the w est coast. The highway is
narrower and older , but it takes y ou
through oil palm and r ubber plantations,
and the essence of
kampung
Malaysia per-
meates thr oughout. As y ou near villages,
you'll often have to slow down and swerve
past cows and goats, which are really quite
oblivious to oncoming traffic. You have to
between J ohor B ahru and KL, to RM95
($28/£17) for first-class passage betw een
Johor B ahru and B utterworth. Train sta-
tion information is pr ovided for each city
under individual city headings in the fol-
lowing chapters.
By Bus
Malaysia's intercity coach system is exten-
sive and inexpensiv e, but I don 't r eally
recommend it. With the ex ception of
executive coach services between KL, Pen-
ang, and S ingapore, which ar e ex cellent,
standard coaches get dir tier and dir tier
each y ear, maintenance issues ar e a ques-
tion mark, and r oad safety is a r oll of the
dice. Still, if y ou must, for each city co v-
ered, I've listed bus terminal locations, but
scheduling information must be obtained
from the bus company itself.
