KL is now one of the fastest growing metropolis in the region, with a rich blend of races from all around the world. The total population of inner KL and greater Klang Valley stands at 8.4 million people (2009) KL is the seat of the Parliament of Malaysia and is also where Istana Negara (Royal Palace) – the official residence of the Yang Di Pertuan Agong (King or Malaysia) is located. Kuala Lumpur enjoys an all year round tropical climate with an average heat of 23C to 35 C. Bahasa Malaysia is the official language here, although English, Chinese and Indian are also widely used. The recent statics on the percentages of races that make up KL came up, and we thought might be interesting, Malays 38%, Chinese 42%, Indian 10% and Foreigners 9%. Branded with the iconic slogan ‘Malaysia Truly Asia’, KL has been synonymous with the glorified labels of “Petronas Twin Towers”, KLIA and KL Formula One (Although it may be heavily overshadowed by the Singapore Night Formula One Race). Having us vouch that KL is the best representative to the slogan ‘Truly Asia ‘would be very bias, but KL with its flush mix of hawker food, cultural museums, tropical parks and skyscraping structures , definitely makes it a stopover worth including into your travels. Some Facts on Kuala Lumpur:
Flights: KL has 3 international airports. 1) KL International Airport (KLIA) serves most international and domestic airlines. 2) Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) is a budget terminal and serves as the main hub for Air Asia. 3) Sultan Abdul Aziz Airport (Subang Airport) serves the budget airlines Firefly. From KLIA to KL City (KL Sentral, KL’s transportation hub) Train from KLIA to KL Town (KL Sentral)There is only a train line linking KLIA to town. The other two airports do not have train lines: : KLIA express takes 28 minutes nonstop to KL Sentral Cost RM 35/person/ One way. KLIA Transit is another train that runs to the city. It has stops in between but usually takes around 45 minutes. The train will also reach Kl Sentral. Cost the same from KLIA to KL Sentral. Unless you want to stop on one of the other stops in between then only we see a reason to take the KL Transit. For rates, fares and stops please check >> KLIA Trains Public Busses to KL town (Check out their website) Taxis from KLIA to KL Sentral are abundant. Budget taxis to KL downtown costs around RM 75 one way/ taxi for a budget taxi. Takes less than one hour to get to town depending on traffic. Click here for more info From LCCT to KL Sentral you can either grab a taxi, or a bus for RM 8 (Eurobus)/ RM 9 (Sky bus). For more info check out >> LCCT to KL Sentral By Bus to KL There are a few bus stations in KL. Chinatown’s Puduraya Bus Station handles most long-distance buses to Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. ** Aeroliner, Plusliner, Konsortium and Transnational busses are the most reliable**, Anything other than this, can be very nasty. Watch out for touts, that claim to sell you these tickets but actually sell you a ticket for another express bus. They will always tell you, it is the same express bus. It isnt! However, buses to Kota Bahru, Kuala Terengganu and the jetty for the Perhentian Islands leave from the Putra Bus Station on Jln Tun Ismail, and buses to Kuala Lipis, Jerantut and Temerloh leave from the Pekeliling Bus Station at Titiwangsa. If you’re travelling to Singapore and want to avoid the crowd at Puduraya, Aeroline (6258 8800;) runs six services daily (adult/child from RM80/50, five hours) from outside the Corus Hotel on Jln Ampang, just east of KLCC, using comfortable, air-conditioned double-decker coaches. Plusliner/NICE (2272 1586) runs a similar premier service from outside the Old KL Train Station on Jln Sultan Hishamuddin. There are around eight daily buses to Singapore (adult/child RM80/60) and six daily buses to Penang (five hours) – NICE coaches cost RM27/13.50, Plusliner coaches cost RM58/43. By Train to KL All trains will stop finally at KL Sentral. Stopping here gives you a better chance to interchange to whatever transportation you prefer. KL Sentral station is the national hub of the KTM (Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad; 2267 1200; info office 10am-7pm, ticket office 7am-10pm) railway system, which extends through Malaysia into Thailand and Singapore. You can buy tickets in advance at the station or get the handy ticket delivery service (2267 1200; 8.30am-5pm Mon-Sat) to speed the ticket to your hotel room for RM4. Services run daily to Singapore, Butterworth (for Georgetown, Penang) and Hat Yai (connecting with trains to Bangkok and other parts of Thailand). KTMB also runs the Komuter service around KL. Getting Around KL Getting around KL can be a bummer as we previously wrote above. Although it is connected with plenty of MRT, Monorial, Bus and Taxi combinations, lack of integration between them and the fact that most taxis refuse to run on the meter makes getting around somewhat harder. Train For train lines and bus route check out >>> Train Lines Rapid Kl is the most trust worthy operator here in KL. Taxis – there isn’t a real running rate because rates fluctuate according to the traffic conditions and also the time (after midnight, a surcharge is applicable). Once you get into a meter taxi, the running rate should start at RM3. Then it starts to jump. (We have heard in cases, where even taking a meter taxi, the meters are tempered with, so the fare jumps periodically). In this case, there isn’t much you can do. But if the they start charging you a crazy rate, then we suggest you head over to the tourist police for help. Here are some handy taxi numbers you can jot down |
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