Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur or KL as everyone calls it is a Modern city with skyscrapers and modern roads and it is very clean. KL has a top-notch bus system and the city is tourist friendly. Their suburbs seem to have a similar building style to Southern California.
Always remember that Malaysia is predominantly Muslim; they are a very open and tolerant people. From what I could see there are no clothing / dress restrictions. I even wore a tank top. Use common sense when dressing.
FOOD: At the Central Market, visit the Secret Recipe Restaurant. They have a wide assortment of western food, Italian, Asian and Western; their take on western is dishes for England and Australia.
McDonalds and a Subway - Hop on Hop Off Bus Stop 18 – Around the corner from the stop.
Royal Selangor Gentlemen’s Club - Hop on hop off Stop 17, while woman can go in to the dining area’s they are still to this day not permitted in the Bar areas.
KL Tower - Berputar Seri Angkasa
It's a revolving restaurant (capacity = 250) and it's located at Level Two of the Tower Head (above the "observation deck"). It serves delicious international and local food above the clouds'. Call well in advance as reservations are required and you have to dress up for this restaurant. (NO Shorts and T-Shirts)
Tours:
Recommending your first stop be to the City Gallery in Downtown KL they run a variety of free walking tours and you can book tours through them as well they open at 9am.
History and Heritage walking tour 9:30a – 12pm M, W, SA Free you visit 11 sites on the tour Sign up at City Center Gallery. Dataran Merdeka Area. Make sure you bring plenty of water and a wet cloth to stay cool as the walk is long and hot.
Outside the City Gallery is a small soda/water vender and seating.
Batu Cave Hindu:
Batu Cave was built in 1891 and is a limestone hill that has a series of caves and cave temples in Gombak, Selangor, Malaysia. It takes its name from the Sungai Batu, which flows past the hill and also it is the tenth limestone hill from Ampang
272-step stairway leading up to the Temple Cave are steep steps, Woman have to wear either long pants or they will rent you a Wrap for five (5) MYR, you will get 2 MYR back when you return the wrap. Men can wear most thing NO Tank tops.
This is a very nice Hindi Indian temple and a must see, just be aware the stairs are steep; by the time I got to the top my calf’s felt like jelly and hurt for four days; there is no place to sit when you reach the top of the stairs. There are a hand full of little shops for souvenirs and food and drinks; there is also a moneychanger. Also, be aware do not show the monkey’s any food or water going up or down the stairs. Be especially careful on the stairs as the Monkey’s find trash and leave it on the stars making for a potential fall. Use the handrail going up and down the stairs, but make sure not to put your hand near your face as the monkeys have been all over the area.
Batu Cave Pewter: This is just a sales floor where they sell high-end well-made pewter and black onyx items. This is a very nice place to shop to get gifts for the family. Just be aware if you use your credit card there will be a 3% fee added.
Handy Craft Center and Cultural Complex: – Nice complex with rich history. But don’t go on a holiday as none of the local artists are there and its empty.
Bingtang Walk – is well-regarded as Kuala Lumpur’s trendiest shopping and entertainment district, offering everything from sleek shopping centers and five-star hotels to all-day restaurants and vibrant nightclubs.
Plenty of high end fashion stores such as, Gucci, Prada, Rolex etc.
KL Tower: The tower opened July 23, 1996, The KL Tower is a 421m high telecommunications and broadcasting tower which actually appears to be taller than the Petronas Towers, because it is built on a hill.
Amidst the city of Kuala Lumpur stands the Menara Kuala Lumpur at 515m above sea level. Buy your ticket from the Hop of Hop off driver it will only cost 45MYR if you get it at the front door it will be 56 MYR, this ticket only gets you to level 56 where the observation deck is locate. The front desk will ask you if you want to purchase the higher floor tickets for an additional 59 MYR per person. Level 56 is the observation the glass and steel beams obstruct you from getting that awesome shot of the city and Petronas Towers.
When taking pictures through glass the picture is distorted or you see your reflection at night. During the day or twilight, you can get decent pictures of the cityscape. There are plenty of little shops and they even take your picture which you can purchase. No Tripods are allowed.
NOTE: If you a Pro or Semi-Pro Photographer it is probably a good idea to pay the extra money for the higher level to get a great skyscape shot.
When you are ready to leave go down stairs and across from the Valet there is a taxi stand it should cost $30-40 MYR for a ride.
Transportation:
Hop on Hop off Bus:
You can get a ticket which is good for 24hours on the bus they cost 56MYR. This is essentially a tour but it stops at 23 different tourist locations around the city. The bus comes around about every 30-40 minutes; you can get on and off as many times as you want with in the 24 hour time frame. It is a double decker bus with an open top on most of the buses. The open area on the top is going to be where you get the best view. Bus tends to fill up and can be hard to get a seat between 3pm – 7pm and their last pick up at each site is 7pm. If you can get a seat on the top, the view is much nicer and you can take great pictures.
Taxi Drivers use NVG to fuel their taxis. The cost $12 MYR and gets you 200KM; which is $2.90 for 125 miles. The Taxi drivers have a separate tank in their trunk, which is, resembles a large propane tank and they add the fuel via a port in the engine compartment.
Natural gas vehicle (NGV) is an alternative fuel vehicle that uses compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a cleaner alternative to other fossil fuels. Natural gas vehicles should not be confused with vehicles powered by propane (LPG), which is a fuel with a fundamentally different composition. Worldwide, there were 22.7 million NGVs by 2015; led by China (4.44 million) .The Asia-Pacific region leads the world with 6.8 million vehicles,
Hostel: Agosto Guest House:
You have to leave a 50,000 MYR deposit that is returned at check out if nothing is damaged.
This hostel is in a great location in the China town area, located one block over from the Train and bus station.
There is a Texas Chicken on one block and a KFC on another block and a 7-11 right next store and plenty of Chinese restaurants in the area.
My first impression of the hostel is that it is run down. I believe all the positive feedback is from their other property they just moved from in June 2016. The rooms are clean, I had a single room and the mattress was thin and hard as was the pillow.
My real issue was with the bathrooms you showered and went to the bathroom in the same space. Imagine putting a toilet in your shower that is what it was like; and their areas are for both men and woman and provide no privacy. Bathrooms are not well maintained and one of them had a sink almost hanging off the wall. Next, they turn the air conditioning off from 11am to 6pm, now you still have the fans in your rooms and they do a good job of keeping you cool. You are also not allowed to wear shoes, slippers or flip flops past the entrance stairs. Do not expect to find any paper towels for wiping your hands you have to use toilet paper.
Tour desk- The Hostleworld.com website indicates they have one but they do not. They have some brochures, and if you ask questions, the men who run it do not speak the best English.
Towel- if you do not bring your own it will cost you 3 MYR.
Computer – If you need to use their computer it’s not free like other places it will cost 3 MYR. Their WIFI is decent, but can be intermittent; you are not going to do “work” on this WIFI.
This is ok for one or two night, but there are plenty of other Hostel’s within walking distance.
Transportation:
There are NO customs forms to fill out at this airport.
Find the Taxi stand on the second floor and pay Appx $70 MYR for a taxi to down town this is a one-person fee, taxi driver pay’s all tolls. The Ride is approximately 1 hour.
Flying Asia Air:
If you are departing KL via Asia air, they are located at terminal 2 they have this terminal to themselves. Visit Terminal 1 for all other airlines.
Air Port Amenities & Security:
Security seemed to have no issues with bringing water bottles through the security gate and on to the air plan.
Before you go through to the secure area, there are the following shops. Baskin Robbins, KFC, Subway, McDonalds, few local eateries and a few high-end duty free shops. Once you pass through the security screening area there is a small coffee shop similar to a Starbucks. Generally, you will see a sign with Local Currency exchange rate to other International Currency exchange rates posted.
Bathrooms in the airport are extremely clean, you will notice echo friendly western style toilets and also there are the Asian floor toilet available.
