Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
298
anything abo ve the cost of the meal.
Although most tourist goods (such as
crafts, camera equipment, spor ts equip-
ment, cosmetics, and select small elec-
tronic items) ar e tax-fr ee, a small, scaled
tax is issued on various other goods such as
clothing, shoes, and accessories that y ou'd
buy in the larger shopping malls and
department stores.
TELEPHONE
See “Staying Connected”
in “P lanning Your Trip to M alaysia,”
p. 206.
TIME
Malaysia is 8 hours ahead of
toilets. Coin collectors sit outside almost
every public facility, taking RM.20 (6¢/4p)
per person, RM.30 (9¢/5p) if y ou want
paper. O nce inside, y ou'll find that y our
money doesn't go for cleaning crews. Pub-
lic toilets are pure filth. They smell horri-
ble and the floors ar e always an inch deep
with stagnant water. While most toilets are
of the “squatty-potty” variety (a por celain
bowl set into the floor), ev en if you find a
seat-style toilet bowl, locals typically place
their feet on the seat to squat. The best
toilets ar e in hotels, upmar ket shopping
malls, and restaurants.
USEFUL PHONE NUMBERS
S ee “Use-
ful P hone N umbers” in “S ingapore F ast
Facts,” p. 294.
WATER
Water in Kuala Lumpur is sup-
posed to be potable, but most locals boil
the water before drinking it—and if that 's
not a tip-off, I don't know what is. I advise
against drinking the tap water anywhere in
Malaysia. Hotels will supply bottled water
in y our r oom. I f they charge y ou for it,
expect inflated prices, especially for pr e-
mium impor ted water . A 1.5-liter bottle
goes for RM7 (US$2.05/£1.25) in a hotel
minibar, but RM2 (60¢/35p) at 7-Eleven.
Greenwich M ean Time, 16 hours ahead
of U.S. Pacific Standard Time, 13 ahead of
Eastern S tandard Time, and 2 hours
behind S ydney. It is in the same z one as
Singapore. There is no daylight saving
time.
TIPPING
People her e don 't r eally tip ,
but you might want to giv e your bellhop
something. In a nicer hotel, at least RM2
(60¢/35p) per bag should be fine. I n a
budget hotel, they'll probably be shocked.
TOILETS
To find a public toilet, ask for
the
tandas.
In M alay,
lelaki
is male and
perempuan
is female. B e prepared for pay
B
2
AIRLINE & HOTEL WEBSITES
MAJOR AIRLINES THAT SERVICE KUALA LUMPUR
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
AirAsia
www.airasia.com
Cathay Pacific
www.cathaypacific.com
China Airlines
www.china-airlines.com
EgyptAir
www.egyptair.com
Emirates Airlines
www.emirates.com
Japan Airlines
www.jal.co.jp
Jetstar (Valuair)
www.jetstar.com
www.valuair.com
KLM
www.klm.com
Korean Air
www.koreanair.com
Lufthansa
www.lufthansa.com
