Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

Rebel Boy

I'm going to Kuala Lumpur in late Oct early November for a few days on my way home from Ozzie to break the journey. Do many on here know if its a good city, what are good hotels or hostels to stay at, is it safe for a solo traveller and is it expensive? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

9_Iron

I've visited KL (as it's known locally) three times in the past 18 months.

If you'll pardon the cliché, I'd call it a city of contrasts: on the one hand, you have some of the most spectacular skyscrapers in the world (e.g. the Petronas Towers), luxurious 5-star hotels and fantastic shopping malls with all the best Western brands on show. On the other, there is quite a lot of overt poverty in the city, both people and places, often found just around the corner from the aforementioned wealth.

There are some great sights around the city, but your best best is to check a KL tourist guide, as I couldn't do justice to them here.

If you're planning a stopover, there are probably a few things to know:
- There is an excellent rail-link to/from the airport: the express to KL Sentral costs about €8 one way and takes under 30 mins. From KL Sentral, you can connect to the local tram/train lines. Taxis are dirt cheap (as long as you take a "regular" red cab, rather than the "executive" blue cab), and would probably be your best bet for getting around.
- English is widely spoken and most signage is in both Bahasa Malaysia and English.
- I'd suggest you take a look at TripAdvisor or Expedia to get a feel for hotel/hostel options: standards can be a bit mixed and my experience is that 4-star in KL would pass for 3-star in Dublin. However, 5-star hotels can be affordable, especially if you book ahead.
- Food is cheap, especially if you eat in local restaurants. It is also superb, with a mix of ethnic Malay, Indian and Chinese influences.
- Drink is not cheap, as it's a mainly Muslim country. It is freely available, but (outside of Happy Hours), you'll pay similar prices to back home, if not more. Compared to the price of food, that is a serious amount.
Changkat Bukit Bintang is a street of bars/clubs (with a couple of Irish pubs for good measure) and might be worth a few hours of your time
- Safety-wise, for a solo traveller (male presumably, unless your name is a ruse!), I don't think you should have any trouble. Keep your wits about you as you would in any Western city, with the added warning of avoiding public drunkenness (and I'm not talking about 'getting into a fight in Temple Bar level'!). Also, keep an I.D handy, especially if you are out at night/getting a taxi back, as police checks can happen on major routes.
Finally, bring plenty of insect repellent and apply liberally, especially if you're out and about in the evening: the little blighters are everywhere!!!!

Enjoy your trip

Blue Punto

Very much as 9 Iron said KL is a great place .A place I enjoyed earlier this year with my wife and one we will repeat someday hopefully.

Tiger Beer is the beer of choice over there and dont forget to drink plenty of water as you will need it.

A trip to China Town Market is well worth it too .
Rule of thumb in the market ,whatever the price is offer a quater and settle on half the asking price when they say no just walk away and they will chase after you and agree:D