#138 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Unfortunately, I had less than 48 hours in Malaysia's capital of Kuala Lumpur. Thankfully, it's quite small and I found I could just about get everything I wanted to see done!

Getting to KL

My first piece of advice is to try plan carefully when you will arrive in KL. I got an early flight from Bangkok and arrived in KL early afternoon on a Monday - and immigration was absolutely madness. I had to wait in line for 1hr40mins, there were hundreds of people in front of me and very little/no information from staff. I think avoid Monday mornings/afternoons as it seemed to be clearing up by the time I finally got through.

So when I finally arrived at my hostel, showered and prepared to go out it was about 5pm and quite late. I made friends with a Spanish girl who was also in KL for the same amount of time as me, and we went out together. First we headed to the Central Market, Chinatown and City Gallery (home of the I <3 KL sign). Thankfully these were all within walking distance of each other and easy to find. There weren't particularly spectacular and we didn't spend a long time, but they were nice and a good place to visit in the late afternoon or early evening before dinner.

Food

Our hostel was located beside the popular Jalan Alor street food street and we ate there, although be careful where you eat as some of the Chinese restaurants have giant menus and are not actually so cheap (and forgot to put in our order, so eventually we left and went somewhere cheaper further down the street). Make sure to watch out for all the durians (well...more like smell out!) too.

Batu Caves

On our second day we headed off to the wonderful Batu caves. It was very cheap and easy to get to, we simply caught one of the regular trains from KL Sentral for only 4ringitts (90c!) return that took about an hour. The train is very clean and modern, and there are even women only carriages! The caves themselves are free to enter and look very remote and exotic despite being so close to the city. It really is an amazing, WOW-factor destination without all the hassle. Perfect!

Best Place for a View

On our way back we visited the famous Petronas Towers. I wasn't eager to actually go up the tower since it was very expensive (85rm/€18), and it turned out tickets were completely sold out for that day by the time we arrived (around 2pm) so if you do want to go up make sure to go early in the morning or get tickets in advance.

We went to the Skybar located at Traders Hotel that night to take photos of the Towers at night. It was quite busy and there were no seats at the window, but we found a couch at the window and sat there and took photos. No staff approached us to take our order, and so we got away without even having to buy a drink. They also weren't strict on dress code - we didn't look bad but we also didn't dress up either!

Although my time in KL was very short, I felt I could still get a good feel for the place and I had a very enjoyable time. I didn't get the opportunity to visit the Islamic Arts Museum but I have read good reviews so I would encourage you to visit there too.

#130 No More Sleeper Trains From KL-SG/SG-KL

As of 19^th May 2016, the timetables have changed and getting the train from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore (or vice-versa) is no longer a viable option.

Unlucky for me, the change was made one day after I finally booked my flights, one arriving into KL and one leaving from SG, which means I need to find another way to get from KL-SG.

You can find more info about the updated timetable here on Seat61: http://www.seat61.com/Malaysia.htm#Train_times

“There are no more overnight sleeping-cars on the Malaysian north-south route. You now need to change at Gemas when travelling from Johor Bahru [Singapore] to KL.”

The new schedule means the train now leaves Kuala Lumpur at 1.22am, and you must get off and switch trains at somewhere called Gemas. You arrive into Gemas at 3.40am but you won’t leave until 4.10am. You’ll arrive into Johur Bahru [Singapore] at 8.10am.

While not impossible to do, the very late departure time and changes in the middle of the night now makes this route a no-go for most people, including me. If you’re still interested, the total trip costs around 52rm (11eur).

The Bus

Since you couldn’t book the sleeper train until one month before departure, I had previously decided to also look up alternative options should I be unable to book online in advance, or the train be fully booked. I could always get a flight, but that would waste time and be more expensive. Thankfully, there’s a bus.

The bus from KL to SG takes around 5 hours (estimates range from 4.5-5.5hrs depending on traffic) and costs range from 30-45sgd (20-29eur), but the average is 37sgd (24eur). Just like with the train, it is more expensive to go from SG to KL, so keep that in mind. It appears you can book the bus much further in advance, at least 3 months, and I have read that they work with foreign credit cards.

Most of the buses appear to be luxurious. There are large, individual, reclining seats with lots of legroom, built-in massage functions, entertainment system and charging point. It is similar to first or business class on an airplane, and totally different from your average bus in most countries! They also provide water, hot drinks and a meal during the journey, and make rest stops for the bathroom along the way.

The first buses leave KL at 7am (arriving around midday) and cost 37sgd (24eur), and the last bus leaves 11.30pm. Since the journey is only around 5 hours, it would mean arriving into SG around 5am, which unless you’re heading straight to the airport I obviously wouldn’t recommend.

The buses from KL usually leave at Berjaya Times Square (a central hub of the city and near many hostels and hotels) and arrive into SG at Golden Mile Complex, a mall which is a 5min walk from Nicholls Highway MRT station so convenient for transfers.

The bus ticketing sites I found are busonlineticket.com  and easybook.com. I have yet to use these sites so I cannot verify their trustworthiness, but easybook seems to be…well…easy to use, but busonlineticket is quite similar, and the times/prices are all the same. You can also book direct from the company, so it might be a better idea to use the aforementioned sites to find the bus you want, and then book it directly from the company.

I have read many reviews online about Transtar Soliataire bus service, and that is also the one that leaves first at 7am, so I will likely get that one. However, I have also read some reviews that said the bus was an hour late. This would be very unfortunate, as I had first planned to take the train and arrive in SG at 9am, and now it will be around 12pm earliest. I have seen mentions of Aeroline, but when I look at the bus options on the ticketing sites it is not one of them, so perhaps it only works SG-KL direction.

While at first I was obviously annoyed my best laid plans have come apart, and that I’ll now have to spend more money on an extra night in a hostel and a more expensive bus ticket, and also that I will be arriving into SG a few hours later than expected, it’s not all bad.

The bus looks like a fun experience, and by Western standards the ticket is very cheap. It’s also easier than trying to figure out the Johur Bahru-Woodlands shuttle, and the new collection and drop-off points are very close to both my hostels in KL and SG.

Basically, I’m just glad I noticed the timetable change now and can figure out the bus and book another night at my hostel. I’m just worried for people who were expecting to get on the sleeper train soon and have not been made aware of the changes.

UPDATE: I took the Transtar bus from KL to SG last week. It was a good bus and good service, the only downside was it took the full 7 hours - we left 7am and arrived 2pm.