Getting There By Air:Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) Tel: (03) 8777 8888.
Website:
www.klia.com.my The award-winning, ultra-modern Kuala Lumpur International Airport (or KLIA), 43km (27 miles) to the south of the city center, is a major gateway to South East Asia. It handles flights for over 40 international carriers, including
Malaysian Airlines, the national carrier. A fast transit train connects the arrival gates with the arrivals hall.
Approximate flight times to Kuala Lumpur: From London is
13 hours; from New York is 20 hours 15 minutes; from Los Angeles is 17 hours 45 minutes; from Toronto is 21 hours 45 minutes and from Sydney is 8 hours.
Airport facilities: These include ATMs, bureaux de change, 24-hour shopping, duty free, restaurants, postal services, tourist information, hotel reservations, car hire (
Budget and
Hertz) medical service, left-luggage and prayer rooms. There is also a transit hotel and a business center.
Transport to the city: The
Express Rail Link (tel: (03) 2267 8000; website:
www.KLIAEkspres.com) connects KLIA with the
KL KAT Terminal at Sentral Station, in the city center. There are two airport services – the
KLIA Ekspres, which covers the journey without stopping, and the
KLIA Transit, which stops en route at Salak Tinggi, Putrajaya/Cyberjaya and Bandar Tasik Selatan. Taxis can be pre-paid in the arrivals area at the airport, with fares depending on the type of vehicle to the city center (journey time – 40 minutes).
Getting There By Road:Roads in Malaysia are generally in good repair and driving standards are higher than in most Asian countries. In general, road routes are simply numbered. Traffic drives on the left and it is compulsory to wear a seatbelt. The speed limits are 60kph (37mph) in the city, 90kph (56mph) on main country roads and 110kph (69mph) on highways and expressways. The minimum age for driving is 21 years (16 years for a motorcycle). A national driving license is required and it is advisable to obtain an International Driving Permit. Without the latter, the Road Transport Department must endorse any national license. Third party automobile liability insurance is compulsory. Drink-driving is an offence that is taken very seriously in Malaysia, and is punished with large fines or imprisonment.
The North-South Highway, which extends from Singapore to the Thai border via Kuala Lumpur, has made driving in Malaysia a relative breeze. Although driving standards are good, Malaysia still has its share of drivers who take risks such as overtaking on blind corners, speeding in heavy rainfall and jumping red traffic lights.
A letter of introduction from a driver’s own automobile association is required to join the
Automobile Association Malaysia (AAM). (tel: (03) 2162 6915; website:
www.autotrade.com.my/aam)
Emergency breakdown service(s): Automobile Association Malaysia (tel: (03) 2161 0808
or 1 800 88 0808 (toll free)).
Plusronda (tel: (03) 2692 0000; website:
www.plus.com.my/plusronda.asp) provide 24-hour emergency telephones, situated every two kilometers on expressways and highways.
Routes to the city: The North-South Expressway Central Link (NSECL), Federal Highway, Shal Alam Expressway and Klang Valley Expressway Highway are the main routes to the city center. Both the NSECL and the federal road Route 1 run from Johor Baru, which is connected via bridge to Singapore in the south, to Kuala Lumpur, as well from Butterworth/Penang into the city center. From Melaka, the federal road Route 5 connects to the Shah Alam and Klang Valley Express Highway into Kuala Lumpur city center.
Approximate driving times to Kuala Lumpur: from Melaka – 2-3 hours; Singapore – 5-6 hours; Butterworth/Penang – 6-7 hours.
Coach services: A large number of companies operate air-conditioned services, including
Transnasional Express (tel: (03) 2070 3300). In most cases, there is no need for travelers to book in advance and passengers simply turn up and get on the next bus. The main terminal,
Puda Raya Bus Station, Jalan Puda Raya (tel: (03) 230 0145), is a hub for services all over Peninsula Malaysia, as well as international services to Singapore (journey time – 7-8 hours) and Thailand (journey time – 12-13 hours). Despite the recent introduction of ‘black boxes’ on Malaysian buses, the local newspapers clearly demonstrate that serious accidents remain a frequent problem and dangerous driving is common.
Services to the east coast of Peninsula Malaysia also leave from
Putra Bus Station, opposite the Putra World Trade Center, and
Pekeliling Bus Station. Banguan MARA Bus Station serves destinations to the south.
Getting There By Rail:Keretapi Tanah Melayu –
KTM (tel: (03) 2267 1200; website:
www.ktmb.com.my) operates the rail services in Peninsula Malaysia. These are fast and efficient, although prone to derailments and land/mudslides on longer journeys.
The
KL Sentral Station (tel: (03) 2730 2000; website:
www.klsentral.com.my), which opened in 2001 and is located 1.5km (1 mile) northwest of the city center, has replaced Kuala Lumpur Railway Station as the city’s main station. Facilities at this high-tech station include ATMs, bureau de change, left-luggage and tourist information. Kuala Lumpur Sentral Station is part of a massive multi-million dollar development, which will incorporate hotels, offices, retail outlets, residential property and recreational facilities by 2010. Intercity trains, apart from the luxurious
Eastern and Oriental Express (website:
www.orient-express.com), no longer stop at Kuala Lumpur Railway Station.
Rail Services: The main routes from Kuala Lumpur are south to Singapore (journey time – 7 hours) and north to Bangkok (journey time – 14 hours 30 minutes) via Butterworth (journey time – 7 hours). It is only possible for travelers to reach Kota Baru on Malaysia’s northeast coast by traveling via Gemas (journey time – 12 hours), southwest of Kuala Lumpur. The world famous
Eastern and Oriental Express (see above) connects KL with Singapore to the south and Bangkok to the north, with the journey as important as the destination and an emphasis on five-star luxury, gourmet food and smooth service.
Getting Around:Public TransportKuala Lumpur has an increasingly fast, efficient and cheap public transport system, overseen by the government-run
Rapid KL, which comprises 56 railway stations and over 90 bus routes. Public transport congestion, not helped by ticket machines that break down with alarming regularity, does not help the situation.
Keretapi Tanah Melayu –
KTM (tel: (03) 2267 1200; website:
www.ktmb.com.my) operates two
KTM Kommuter lines. These
electric trains run from Sentul to Port Klang and Rawang to Seremban. Fares depend on the distance traveled. Each station has an easy-to-use ticket machine.
KTM offers two day
passes, the
Kembara Ticket for unlimited travel within the
KTM network on weekends, school holidays and public holidays and the
Mana Mana Ticket for unlimited travel within the
KTM network during weekdays. These are available from the
KTM vending machines at the stations.
There are also two
Light Railway Transit (LRT) lines in the city, run by
Putra LRT (tel: 1 800 388 228 (toll free in Malaysia from 0830-1730)
or 017 331 7779 (1730-0830); website:
www.putralrt.com.my) and
STAR LRT.
STAR LRT trains run south from Sentul Timur to Sri Petaling and Ampang in the east.
Putra LTR trains run between the Putra Terminal in the northeast of the Lembah Subang Depot on Kuala Lumpur’s western outskirts.
Cityliner (tel: (03) 7982 6904) and
Intrakota (tel: (03) 7727 2727) are two of the main providers of Kuala Lumpur’s comprehensive and highly complex
bus service. Two hundred new buses were ordered by the city in March 2005 to complement the current stock of over 1,000 vehicles.
The
KL Monorail (tel: (03) 2273 1888; website:
www.monorail.com.my) is finally up and running. The monorail serves destinations from Titiwangsa in the north to a stop near Kuala Lumpur’s Sentral Station and also covers destinations in the Golden Triangle.
TaxisTaxis can be pre-booked from
Public Cab (tel: (03) 6259 2020) and
Sunlight Taxis (tel: (03) 9057 5757), or hailed on the street. Taxi ranks are also found throughout the city. Queues at the ranks are especially long during rush hour. During the regular thunderstorms, hailing a taxi in the street is near to impossible.
Driving in the CityDriving in Kuala Lumpur is increasingly becoming as hair-raising as driving in other South East Asian cities is. The roads are in good condition and driving standards are reasonably good, however, the maze of one-way systems in the city center and the large number of fuel-choked traffic jams make patience and a good road map essential requirements.
Car parks are generally located at large hotels and city-center shopping malls. Three central public car parks are
Asia Park on Jalan Bukit Bintang, and the two car parks behind the Dorsett Regency Hotel just off Jalan Imbi.
Car HireA national driving license is required to hire a car in Malaysia, it is also advisable to hold an International Driving Permit. Age limits apply and drivers must usually be at least 23 years old and have held a full driving license for two years.
Major providers include
Avis (tel: (03) 8787 4087; website:
www.avis.com.my) and
Hertz (tel: (03) 8787 4572; website:
www.hertz.com.my).
Bicycle HireKuala Lumpur is not a safe city in which to travel around on two wheels. Road accidents involving bicycles, scooters and motorcycles are very common. The Malaysian tourism promotion board’s official line is that two-wheel transport is not generally available for hire.
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