Kuala Lumpur 2017: Day Trip Budget and Guide || The Great ASEAN Tour
September 25, 2017 |
| photo by @alexis_banga |
Getting there
We flew in from Singapore to Malaysia at 9:10am in the morning and arrived an hour later. You can fly to Kuala Lumpur (a quick Google search says there are 38+ flights per day) or you can also take the bus.
Singapore is actually reeeealllly close to Malaysia. Johor Bahru is 25km away (about an hour's drive), and where the Sanrio Hello Kitty Town (book your tickets via KLOOK here) is at. However, Kuala Lumpur is a bit more up north, and will take you about 5 hours to get there.
I read a blog post detailing the complicated ways you could travel from Singapore to Johor Bahru to Kuala Lumpur but unless you're really stopping by JB (this is what the Malaysian guard at the Singapore Botanic Gardens calls it), it's too much of a hassle.
If you're not up for that, there are several buses that travels straight to KL.
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| KL Sentral Station |
Getting to and from the airport
From KLIA 2, we rode a bus to KL Sentral. You can just ask for directions to where to ride the bus; it's located at the basement.
One way fare only cost us 12 MYR, while riding the KL Ekspres to KL Sentral would have cost us 55 MYR per way! If you're in a major rush, take the train as it cuts the bus travel time in half. The bus ride took us about an hour, while the train is said to take 33 minutes.
If you're traveling with family (young kids or oldies), better get a cab or airport transfer services.
Accommodation
We actually did not spend anything on accommodations in Kuala Lumpur. Mark and Emman, whose flight the next day was at 1pm, were able to get a Couchsurfing host, while Leendolph and I opted to stay at the airport for our 6am flight the next day.I did research on places and areas to stay in Kuala Lumpur, which I'm sure I'll also be able to use some time in the future because AirAsia will be offering Davao to Kuala Lumpur direct flights starting December!
*Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links that allow me to earn a small commission every time you patronize the services I advertise, at no additional cost to you. I can assure you that all products and services I recommend on this blog are those I use and truly believe in.
Where to stay in Kuala Lumpur?
Popular areas for backpacking hostels are Chinatown and Bukit Bintang.
Bukit Bintang is the shopping and entertainment district of Kuala Lumpur and is located near the center of the city so it's easy to go around using public transport.
Some really good options at Bukit Bintang:
Paper Plane Hostel - one of the top rated hostels in KL
Dorms KL 2 - has subway access; affordable and top-rated
Sarang Vacation Homes - best for families, they offer deluxe rooms for two to three-bedroom houses for 6, top rated.
Other places to stay:
KL Sentral
If you want easy access to the train, or need to go to the airport but don't want to sleep at an airport hotel, you can stay at the KL Sentral area. There's a good mix of both budget and mid-range options.
Aloft Kuala Lumpur Sentral - luxury option; 100 meters away from KL Sentral
City Central Hotel - mid-range option
PODs The Backpackers Home and Cafe - hostel
*Tip: Sometimes, it pays to be prudent in checking hotel prices. There are times that there isn't a huge difference in hostel prices and mid-range hotels. Because of that, I was able to get us some good places to stay in the other countries.
If you want easy access to the train, or need to go to the airport but don't want to sleep at an airport hotel, you can stay at the KL Sentral area. There's a good mix of both budget and mid-range options.
Aloft Kuala Lumpur Sentral - luxury option; 100 meters away from KL Sentral
City Central Hotel - mid-range option
PODs The Backpackers Home and Cafe - hostel
*Tip: Sometimes, it pays to be prudent in checking hotel prices. There are times that there isn't a huge difference in hostel prices and mid-range hotels. Because of that, I was able to get us some good places to stay in the other countries.
KLCC area (Luxury Options)
KLCC stands for Kuala Lumpur City Center. It is the heart of the city where the popular (luxury) chain hotels are located. When you step outside the KLCC station, the Petronas Towers are just there. This area doesn't have many budget options though and is suited to those looking for a sophisticated nightlife.
Mandarin Oriental - Kuala Lumpur
Grand Hyatt - Kuala Lumpur
Shangri-La Hotel - Kuala Lumpur
I noticed that many of the options suggested by Booking.com in Kuala Lumpur were apartments or serviced apartments. Again, if you're traveling with family, this is probably the best option.
Either that or AirBnB! Sign up with my link to get $40 off your first booking!
Itinerary
Since we only did a day trip, we only got to visit three places:
-Batu Caves
-Petronas Towers
-Central Market
When we arrived at KL Sentral, we had lunch at the mall connected to it, Nu Sentral. After that, we rode a train to Batu Caves. (There is a direct train from KL Sentral that costs 2.6 MYR per way)-Batu Caves
-Petronas Towers
-Central Market
Batu Caves
After efficient Singapore, the train and train station at KL was quite disappointing in comparison. One platform was closed, there were tons of people sitting on the floor and although I knew the trains come every 30mins during non-peak hours, they were another 30 minutes behind schedule. I thought that my friends would leave me when I went to the rest room to pee but they were still there when I came back. (BTW, the restroom at the station is Pilipinas MRT levels kind of gross)
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| Batu Caves (photo c/o my phone camera, which isn't an iPhone. Not too shabby, eh?) |
When we finally rode the train, after passing by the first station, we had to wait another 30minutes at the second station because of some scheduling conflicts (I think they were changing the routes). If you don't want this inconvenience, you can get private transfers and a tour of the Batu Caves via KLOOK.
Batu Caves is a 272-step hike to the top. At first, I was okay with admiring the large statue and didn't want to look like a sweaty pig climbing up the steps, but I thought, I'm here, might as well do it. LOL. And I did it! :)
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| Proud ang lola nyo! :P |
Batu Caves is a FREE attraction, and it took us pretty quick to go through the thing. Thankfully, when we got to the station, a train back to KL Sentral was already waiting.
Petronas Towers
The tallest twin towers in the world, and the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004, the Petronas Towers stand at a cool 1,483 feet tall. Since it was a budget trip, we only took photos. |
| Petronas Towers at around 6pm |
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| Of course I had to get a selfie! |
Later on, someone told us (Mark & Emman's couchsurfing host I think) that it's okay if we didn't get to go up the tower since we have to fall in line for tickets and so many people go to the tower and such. With our trusty friend KLOOK though, we could've just skipped the line. But alas, our budget failed us. LOL.
Central Market
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Other things to do in KL
Came very recommended by Mia. Too bad I didn't hear about this til I got to Hanoi.
This is Malaysia's National Palace that now functions as a museum. Mark wanted to go, but we didn't have enough time.
I've been wanting to go since I saw it on Kryz Uy's blog before! It's an entertainment center/amusement park that was closed for awhile and is now open again.
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This was mentioned in the Crazy Rich Asians book! This is where Nick was supposed to propose to Rachel before his mom and grandmother intercepted him there. As I imagined from the book, the Cameron Highlands is a higher place (like Baguio) with colder weather and lodges for homes. Apparently this is where the tea plantations are! Hope I get to visit soon!
Klook.com
Other tips
Money Exchange
The best rate we got was at KL Sentral for USD to MYR. It's a money exchanger beside the Information desk. It was very close to the actual exchange rate at the time.
Luggage Storage
Leendolph and I left our luggage at the airport because we slept there. The luggage storage area is 24 hours and cost 40 MYR for the big locker. There's also a luggage storage area at KL Sentral (Dr. Locker), which is cheaper and more modern. (They had to scan Emman's face for security purposes!)
Wifi
There are sim cards available in the airport, but if you want to get it cheaper, get your SIM card (airport pickup) from KLOOK.
Bus to and from airport - 24 MYR (roundtrip)
Luggage storage at airport - 20 MYR (it was 40 MYR for a day, but Leendolph & I split)
Lunch at NU Sentral - 10 MYR
Snacks + water - 4 MYR
Dinner at Central Market - 14 MYR (with drinks)
Train fare - 8.2 MYR
*To and from Batu - 5.2 MYR
*other train rides - 3 MYR
Souvenirs - 15 MYR
TOTAL = 95.2 MYR * 12.05 PHP/MYR = 1147.63 PHP
And that wraps up our quick Malaysia stop right there!
I'd love to hear from you!
Don't forget to drop a comment below and share this post to your friends! :)
4 comments
So many cool experiences around the world and Malaysia is no different. Thanks for sharing your experience with us all!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading as well, Bryan! :)
DeleteWow looks so stunning!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
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