Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Recommendations

Hello Everyone,

What area is recommended for Hotel recommendations in KL? China Town?????

Any recommendation on a Good Hotel? Almost every hotel on tripadvisor has bad reviews. I am stuck.

I am 46 years looking to pay in the range of $35.00 to $65.00USD/ night. I am after a non-smoking, quiet, clean, central located, and a window room. Modern Idea Situation: book over phone and no credit card in advance.

Why is this so hard?

What should I see in KL?

AirAsia cheapest fare from Bangkok to KL?

Visa requirements for Canadian Citizenship? VOA??

Can you take the train from KL to Singapore? Over night? Visa requirements?

Thanks

Dan

I stayed at & can recommend the 5 Elements Hotel in KL, it's across the street from a big market, (think China Town but?) has all the prerequisite you are looking for, no laundry but a hostel just down the street does so you can drop it off there.

You can book online, I pay no attention to the losers that post reviews on TA, they're mainly high maintenance AI princesses looking for a 5* property at 2* prices.

http://www.agoda.com/asia/malaysia/kual ... hotel.html

The Hop-on-off bus stops in front with a ticket kiosk across the street, I recommend this to get a feel of the city, then you can spend time where you like.

Took train/bus from Bangkok to KL, VOA, train goes to Singapore, not sure the hours as I was just there for 90 day Thai visa, but got VOA in Singapore when I flew in from Bali.

I took the train from Singapore to KL, but there is also an overnight train from BKK to KL.

My honest opinion is don't stay more than a few days 2-3 days in KL. I happened to find it pretty boring. Public transportation isn't great, there is a skyrail but doesn't go to a lot of areas.

You can check out my blog linked below April 2007 and read in detail my experiences in KL.

I also did the hop on hop off bus system. I recommend it as well as you can get around the city...Only issue I found was that depending on the stop, I remembered the bus taking a while to come back to the stop to get you. I also went to a bird aviary...Issue was I got there by taxi and then could not find any taxis at all around and when I did I had to pay 10 USD to get back to my hostel.

My good friend is from KL...he told me no taxi should cost more than 5 USD for any ride. Most should cost between 1.50 USD to 3USD to go around the city so make sure you bargain hard.

The hop on hop off bus does take you to the highlights, if you do not want to take it at least look at the stops it makes and visit them solo.

China town was cool, there is a great buddhist temple there that I checked out...I comment about it in my blog.

Also, there is some nightlife, but watch out for bait and switch drink specials (I tell a story about it in my blog).

Also common in KL are several known scams, mainly one involving playing cards with a "rich" person...you get sucked in and find yourself in way too deep to want to leave (you will win and win and win until one last hand) and then lose it all (it was even on television here in USA). I was approached by someone in china town and he was starting to lay the foundation of this exact scam and I quickly walked away. They will approach you and say "where are you from?" Oh you are from so and so, my sister, wife, girlfriend cousin is moving there can you talk about it for a few minutes, lets go grab a drink." These people develop trust and then you get sucked in. Watch out for it...i know it sounds crazy but I am willing to bet that even guidebooks reference this scam...it is serious...there are many players involved and it is done seemlessly.

I do not know the visa requirements for canadian citizens...i am willing to bet you do not need a visa to enter for 30 or 90 days.

I say go for 2-3 days...I stayed at Hostel 8 about a 15 minute walk from china town...it was solid...

Also if you are interested in gambling you can get a day trip to Genting highlands...i think it is the highest casino and amusement park in the world?? It is pretty cool a bunch of hotels on the perch of a mountain. I went it rained and I went home...i was not let in to the casino because I had flip flops on...make sure you are properly dressed if you go...

I wouldn't stay more than a few days in KL. Other parts of Malaysia are far more rewarding. I liked the Batu caves there, and the Petronas towers, not to mention the chinese food in big open cafeterias!

Theres a bus direct to the Batu caves, and oh, don't feed the monkeys there.

I am going to visit KL in July 2012 and it was great to read the above tip, in particular, about scams in KL. I have had problems with scam taxi drivers in Istanbul... it is good to be prepared.

I think most comments have been made but just to add my bit
Don't stay in KL long, the congestion and pollution with the traffic is not what my idea of a city is about, it's not a good place to stay and we couldn't wait to leave.

I had no problems in KL. AirAsia is cheap from Bangkok to KL. I'm not sure about prices for hotels (my parents paid for that), but the Times Square Mall area was nice--some good restaurants in the area and the monorail was right there.

The Islamic Arts Museum is impressive to see, and it's not far from the bird park, which is worth seeing. A day or two in Malacca is also great--very quiet town with some nice history.

Just to let you guys know that there's a new bus service called the GoKL that services the shopping areas (like Bukit Bintang) and some tourist attractions (like the Central Market where you look for souvenirs or join the Heritage Walk) in Kuala Lumpur.

The buses are free, air conditioned and has free wifi on board.

Skip the taxis around the touristy areas, malls or hotels. They scam locals and tourists at whim.