Talk:Kuala Lumpur/Archive 2003-2012

Stay healthy
"Tap water is not safe in Kuala Lumpur, so it is better to drink bottlled water or use a filter." Tap water IS safe to drink though not recommended as the locals don't customarily drink straight out of a tap.

Tap water is perfectly safe to drink, however it can be discoloured due to rusty pipes. (WT-en) Greenmango 05:58, 7 August 2008 (EDT)

Tap water is safe to drink if you order it boiled from restaurants.(Jason Bepono 15 Dec 11:34 am.)

Here's a chunk deleted from Wikipedia which should be mined: (WT-en) Jpatokal 23:07, 10 Oct 2004 (EDT)

Hotels
All these hotels are very near to the KLCC (KL City Center)
 * Hotel Nikko (rating: ****)
 * Mandarin Oriental (******)
 * Renaissance Kuala Lumpur (*****)
 * Concorde (***, Kuala Lumpur's oldest hotel)
 * Mutiara (***, formerly the Hilton)
 * Shangri La (****, another old hotel)

Hotels in the Bukit Bintang shopping area include:
 * JW Marriot (*****)
 * Parkroyal (****)
 * Dorsett Regency (***)
 * Ritz-Carlton (*****)
 * Century KL (***)

Other notable hotels are:

The Palace of the Golden Horses (******, by far Malaysia's most expensive hotel) Sheraton Imperial (*****, near Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, one of Kuala Lumpur's oldest shopping streets) Legend (****, Jalan Syed Putra, near the Putra World Trade Centre and UMNO Headquarters) Putra Pan Pacific (***, Opposite the Legend)

Shopping Malls

 * Suria KLCC (situated below the Petronas Twin Towers)
 * Sunway Pyramid in the Subang Jaya suburb just outside Kuala Lumpur
 * Berjaya Times Square KL (biggest shopping mall in Asia), which is in close proximity to other malls including Lot 10 and Star Hill.
 * Mid Valley Megamall
 * 1-Utama (located in the Bandar Utama township)

Batu Caves Directions
There were once directions on how to get to the Batu Caves on the Wikipedia page. They have since been taken down, but at one stage popped up again either here or on the Northern Suburbs page. Now they are gone again. If this is a travel guide, why are directions to notable places being removed??? It's not a simple job getting there; if I recall correctly it requires a train ride, then a bus ride, then a taxi just to get there. Could I please have this information back???

Some Comments
Nils here. Just got back from KL. Too lazy and tired to log in or to actually add this stuff to the KL/.my articles. Some comments - sorry if I repeat existing information:

- Money exchanges will usually give better conversion rates on your currency than banks. Minor issue: They don't accept 5 Euro bills for whatever reason.

- Don't even think about living in cheap hotels. You'll have bed companions (I am happy we had a relatively normal hotel - Hotel Nova - but the laziness of the staff (especially housekeeping) was unbelievable). Don't trust hotels' room descriptions or fancy names like "superior room". You'll probably get ripped off. Check with independent third party sources.

- Don't bother with the Petronas Tower skybridge. Very boring, the view isn't that great and you are limited to about 10 minutes up there. Much better view from the KL Tower, although it costs RM25 or so to get up. Consider combining with a stay in restaurant at KL Tower - RM100+ per person, which is still dirt cheap by european/western standards

- KLCC Aquaria is nice but I don't have much experience with aquariums so can't really compare. Fish are fed 3x daily. Sharks are fed at, I believe, Mon, Wed, Friday 3pm. Missed that, but if you go there anyway try to time your visit accordingly.

- Prepaid taxi coupons are still better than getting ripped off. At least you know the guy will take the shortest route possible. Never had a problem with metered taxis not using the meters. Bargaining can get you some pretty cheap rates, but I guess you must know how to bargain. And it probably helps a LOT if a local does the bargaining for you. Generally speaking, for a westerner the taxis are absolutely cheap no matter how you pay. You may have a problem getting someone to drive you to your intended destination if there's a traffic jam in between, and taxi drivers seem not flexible enough to drive around jams (even on meter). Have a map and check for alternate destinations / routes.

- City seems very safe, but then, never ventured into anything looking remotely like a "bad part of town". No pickpocket attempts I am aware of, and I am an obvious tourist.

- Don't buy stuff there. if you live in USA, maybe the horrible warranties will still be comparable to what you get at home. But prices of electronics (for example) were not much lower than in Europe even after counting in a realistic 20% for bargaining. Low Yatt Plaza is a good place to look for electronics, phones, etc. If they don't have it, you probably won't find it. Singapore is 4h away by car if you really care about electronics. Clothes are cheap.

- Restaurants are dirt cheap. Meal for 4 including drinks will be about RM120 in an average place (about 27 Euros).

- Secret Recipe has good cakes

- Not customary to give tipps - 10% service charge added in restaurants etc

- Airport limousine (sort of a somewhat better taxi) is about RM60 for a tour. A real limousine is about RM100 per trip. Didn't know that before, or I would've done that on trip back to airport. Just for kicks. Speaking of Taxis - guest will pay any highway tolls in adition to meter.

- Malaysia has all kinds of laws that only apply to muslims. If you are a liberal western muslim, this may inconvenience you. Either way - keep your mouth shut about religious or political issues. Common sense really.

- Berjaya Times Square KL mall has a small indoor theme park (admission for adults was RM25 I believe) with an indoor roller coaster. Maximum height is about 1.95 meters though.

That's all that comes to my mind immediately. KL is really not a very touristy place. You can probably cover even the minor "attractions" in about a week tops. Consider flying to places like Jakarta, Singapore etc when you are there. Locally-bought air tickets seem to be pretty cheap even on short notice and with regular airlines. If you go to Singapore via bus/train, retain your tickets, because they don't "check you out" when leaving .MY and this may cause problems when you want to go back (so I have been told, didn't try myself).

Getting in by plane
I believe all details on getting to/away from Kuala Lumpur International Airport should be included in Kuala Lumpur's Get in section, and not in the Sepang page. The Sepang page seems to be giving the info as if you are travelling to the district, not to KLIA. Anyhow, details for almost all international airports are given in their respective city pages, not the regional pages where the airport is actually located eg. Changi Airport in the Singapore page, not East Coast; Hong Kong Airport in the Hong Kong page, not in the Outlying Islands page; Stansted and other airports in the London page, not South East (England) page. - slleong 04:09, 27 February 2006 (EST)


 * Yeah, I was of two minds of splitting it myself... but KLIA's a long way from the city and I'd prefer to avoid duplication between the two articles. But plunge forward and let's see what we can do. (WT-en) Jpatokal 23:57, 27 February 2006 (EST)

Taxis
Can we weed this list down to 3-5 numbers (if that)? It's not really one of our goals to list every taxi company... (WT-en) Majnoona 22:41, 5 July 2006 (EDT)

Kuala Lumpur taxi service listing Comfort Cabs             +60 3  62531313 Destination Transport    +60 3  62531313 Maxi Cab SDN BHD         +60 3  62591913 Oriental Radio Teksi     +60 3  26944718 Outstation Taxi          +60 3  20783525 Public Cab               +60 3  62592020 Pudu Teksi               +60 3  92864515 Radio Teksi              +60 3  26936211 Saujana Teksi Bhd        +60 3  21628888 Sunlight Radio Taxi      +60 3  90571111 Tele Taxi                +60 3  91318080 Syarikat Teksi dan Limosin         No. Telefon             No. Faksimili Comfort Corporation                8024 2727               8024 1111 Khidmat Saujana                    4041 9901               4041 9902 WIRA Cab                           4042 2643               2144 3632 New Supercab                       7875 7333               7875 7334 Persatuan Radio Teksi              2144 3630               2693 4926 Public Cab                         6259 2020               6259 2021 Saujana Teksi                      2162 8888               2161 7626 Sri Kuning Transport               4256 2399               4256 2398 Sunlight Radio Taxi                9057 1111               9258 2525 Telecab                            9131 8080               9130 1261 Limosin lapangan terbang           No. Telefon             No. Faksimili Limo KLIA                          9223 8080               9223 8181


 * Comfort's the only one I have on speed dial, so I've added that. (WT-en) Jpatokal 23:24, 5 July 2006 (EDT)

Districting (Aug'04)
This article is slowly starting to become a candidate for splitting up into districts... any takers? (WT-en) Jpatokal 06:00, 14 Aug 2004 (EDT)


 * My only experience of K-L is transitting the airport, but this looks like a very good article which gives a good sense of the city. I've yet to see one as good using the 'huge city template'; probably because the fragmentation makes everything so much harder to find or to piece together a picture of a place. Personally I think it would be a shame to do that to this article unless it becomes a whole lot bigger than it currently is. -- (WT-en) Chris j wood 06:20, 14 Aug 2004 (EDT)

Districting (Sep'06)
So, I don't think this article (or KL itself) is big enough to warrant districting, and even if it is I don't think "Bangsar" will ever make a district from the traveller's point of view (there are no hotels of note there, for one thing). Other opinions are welcome, but let's decide any split here first. (WT-en) Jpatokal 15:24, 11 September 2006 (EDT)


 * Dare I suggest that we try breaking KL up into districts? To start, maybe: 1. City Center and Chinatown (covering Merdeka Square, Petaling Street, Puduraya, Lake gardens and environs) 2. Golden Triangle (Bukit Bintang, Sultan Ismail, Raja Chulan) 3. Tuanku Abdul Rahman (Jln TAR, Chow Kit) 4. Brickfields, Bangsar and MidValley (as named) 5. Northern (not really necessary, but where else to put Batu Caves and Zoo Negara?)(WT-en) Slleong 03:19, 7 November 2007 (EST)

Not sure whether its really necessary for tourists, although the districts suggested by Sileong are good. (WT-en) Greenmango 20:46, 9 November 2007 (EST)


 * Shall go ahead with Project Divide KL. 1. Kuala Lumpur/Central (Dataran merdeka, chinatown, Puduraya, Lake Gardens, Old Railway station, National Museum), 2. Kuala Lumpur/Golden Triangle (Bukit Bintang, Sultan Ismail, KLCC, Raja Chulan, Heritage Row with a bit of stretching, and thus Sheraton Imperial Hotel), 3. Kuala Lumpur/Brickfields (Brickfields, KL Sentral), 4. Kuala Lumpur/Tuanku Abdul Rahman (Jln TAR, Masjid India, Chow Kit, Maju Junction, Medan Tuanku, Tune Hotel), 5. Kuala Lumpur/Bangsar and Midvalley (as named, we'll have to squeeze in Thean Hou Temple here too), 6. Kuala Lumpur/Damansara and Hartamas (as named and all areas west of Jalan Duta until where Petaling Jaya page can take over), 7. Kuala Lumpur/Northern (to cover Batu Caves, Zoo Negara, Setapak for Royal Selangor, Air Panas hot springs etc until Rawang page can take over), 8. Kuala Lumpur/Ampang (and Cheras maybe)(all areas east and southeast of Jalan Tun Razak until Kajang page can take over), 9. Kuala Lumpur/Southern (all areas south of MidValley, for Bukit Jalil stadium, Palace of the Golden Horses, Mines etc until where Kajang and Putrajaya page can take over). Too many for little KL? The suggested districts do put together some areas of similar characteristic eg Heritage Row goes with Golden Triange as a party area, rather than Tuanku Abdul Rahman which feels more like a shopping kinda district. KL Sentral, despite its name, has to go with Brickfields not just because of geography but also because it is the main point of access for Brickfields.- (WT-en) Slleong 12:12, 15 November 2007 (EST)

Districting (Oct 2008)
Hello all, I have been trying to flush out some of the weaker district guides such as Ampang and am running into some difficulties. It seems that all the things to do, and see, places to stay that are inside what I have found to be called Ampang are listed in the City Center section or the Golden Triangle section.Although I understand that this is its own section of the city I am wondering if the area have been divided up too finely to the point where a district is really just a street or two... Comments, Oppions? Please help out. I have no power to change this on my out.(WT-en) Trew 15:13, 2 October 2008 (EDT)Trew

This districting keeps causing problems. I don't like having so many districts for KL and the surroundings, as it is messy and confusing. KL has been divided into so many sections, it would be really confusing for tourists to look at as they won't know the areas. I think a lot of them can be tidied up and merged. (WT-en) Greenmango 23:10, 3 October 2008 (EDT)

Chinese
Rescued from the English article... (WT-en) Jpatokal 11:23, 23 September 2006 (EDT)

独立前，马来西亚是英国的殖民地，经过了许多和平请愿，英殖民地政府最终同意了马来西亚人民的意愿，答应让马来西亚独立，因此马来西亚的首任首相敦姑阿都拉曼（Tunku Abdul Rahman)回到马来西亚，于一九五六年二月十四日在马六甲草场（Padang）向全体人民宣布这好消息，通知人民以便在一年内做好准备，正式宣布独立. 这当年集聚的草场今天已被称为独立广场（Padang Merdeka / Merdeka Square)， Merdeka在马来西亚语里即是独立的意思.

自从独立开始，吉隆坡就被选成为马来西亚的首都，到了一九七二年，吉隆坡才正式升级为“市”，而到了一九七四年，马来西亚联邦政府才正式将吉隆坡市归纳为其直接管辖的区域，因此自一九七四年始，吉隆坡就被称为是联邦直辖区.

Any I centre?
In KL, is there any tourists information centre or an I centre for tourists?


 * Yes there is, and I could've sworn it was there already. Now it is: look for "MTC". (WT-en) Jpatokal 07:49, 16 October 2006 (EDT)

Mass listings deletion
In at least that last round of listings "moves to districts," none of the listings quite made it to the district articles. So the Kuala Lumpur articles now have zero eat listings instead of some 15,000 characters worth. I like the new eat intro, but please don't actually remove listings from the main article until they are firmly planted in the district articles&mdash;otherwise a KL traveler consulting Wikivoyage at present will think we have no content. --(WT-en) Peter Talk 12:42, 20 November 2007 (EST)


 * Sorry, just noticed this entry. In my zeal to move things, I have made the mistake of removing things first instead of putting them in at the district pages (cant't think out of he box). Will change the modus operandi and start filling district pages first before removing from main page. Most eat listings were back in the district pages about 12 hours later, except for those in outlying districts.(WT-en) Slleong 00:37, 4 December 2007 (EST)

Line across content box and picture
Can anyone fix the district header line which is running across the content box and picture? Or am I seeing things?(WT-en) Slleong 02:23, 7 December 2007 (EST)

Status of this article
Sadly, it has to go down to usable from guide. For a huge city template article, guide status requires that all of the district articles are at least usable. A few here are not. There is not much work required if someone wants to put the effort in. --(WT-en) Burmesedays 08:59, 4 February 2010 (EST)

Swedish Embassy has moved
The Swedish Embassy has recently moved. I don't have the exact new address but I've been there. It's in the Bank of China building, Jalan Ampang, on the 8th floor.

Map of KL transport
Your map of KL Rapid transport is outdated. The KTM Komuter lines have been extended recently. I've updated. You can use it, if you want. There is a map of the Area 1 busses as well. here... -- (WT-en) DerFussi 14:59, 24 March 2011 (EDT)

Couchsurfing duping?
What sort of duping happens with couchsurfing? I'm supposed to go to KL this weekend and a couchsurfer is hosting me.

By duping, is it meant the poker type? Then that is easy to avoid: don't play poker. Or is it meant robbery at a gun/knife-point?123.136.64.14 02:11, 10 August 2011 (EDT)

Food tours -- Food Tour Malaysia
I have moved this detail here as it appears to be at odds with current WT policy on Tour listings.--(WT-en) felix 08:40, 6 March 2012 (EST)

For food adventure, check out Food Tour Malaysia. They are operated by food adventurers, like gourmet Indiana Joneses, threshing through the concrete jungles of KL. They organize excursions to popular and not so popular (sometimes notorious) local food fare within the cities of Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur. Currently, they are #1 on Tripadvisor (Things To Do in Kuala Lumpur) and are pioneers to food tours in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Outdated travel information to/from lcct
some of the info on this page is outdated. For one, on the star shuttle bus, no longer serve direct line to subang jaya KTM station. check on this page might be needed on some of the info.i can can only change what i know. so can someone else update it