Visiting Kuala Lumpur
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ariel

Original Poster:

423 posts

288 months

Wednesday 21st September 2005
quotequote all
I'm off to Oz:)and have a stopover at KL on the way there and back. I also have a couple of nights in Langkawi. Any ideas/experience of KL? What to do or see. What to buy, if anything.

chilli

17,320 posts

266 months

Wednesday 21st September 2005
quotequote all
KL, a great place. Gotta do the obvious...The Petronas towers. Before you go, look at a picture of them. The walkway that links them together looks as if its about 10ft off the ground....Different story when you're walking accross it!!

chrisgr31

14,276 posts

285 months

Wednesday 21st September 2005
quotequote all
KL things to do include the Petronas Towers but you need to book and I think it is before 10.30 on the day of your visit.

Theres also the KL Tower which there is no need to book and again offers spectacuar views, and the inside of the lobby is amazing.

China Market offers stunning deals on "genuine" brand products Rolexes etc and takes place in the evening. Its also a good place to eat very very very cheaply. We at thereseveral times and excellent food for little money.

There are the Batu Caves on the outskirts of the City which are quite remarkable. These are often done as part of a tour guide and it works quite well, they are far better at this tourism organisation than we are.

I think the local travel company is called Far East Travel or something and they offer all manner of tours, quite good value and some are worth doing.

There is a travel/|Tourist Centre somewhere, its quite near the Petronas Tower suggest you go there and do some planning!

Its a grat city and cheap. Where you staying?

andy mac

73,668 posts

285 months

Wednesday 21st September 2005
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Kualar Lumpar? is that where the Oompah Lumpars come from??

Don

28,378 posts

314 months

Wednesday 21st September 2005
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Second everything chris said.

KL - brilliant city. Not as clean and neat (or safe!) as Singapore but hence a bit less sterile.

The wife and I enjoyed a week there once - walking and taxiing around the city. Very good. I like Malaysia and Malaysians. Less of the "rip off the tourists" culture than in Thailand too.

Definitely eat as local as you can. Batu caves good - you used to be able to get a Pink Bus out there. What a wild ride! The only safety feature was that the conductor stood across the doorway to stop people falling out! The drivers had *real* commitment too!

>> Edited by Don on Wednesday 21st September 17:34

trevorw

2,875 posts

312 months

Wednesday 21st September 2005
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For pictures of Langkawai, I posted up some pictures on this thread As my parents just came back from their last month.

As for whet to do not sure as i didn't go.

Didn't help much did it never mind.

bindit

2,370 posts

295 months

Wednesday 21st September 2005
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ariel said:
I'm off to Ozand have a stopover at KL on the way there and back. I also have a couple of nights in Langkawi. Any ideas/experience of KL? What to do or see. What to buy, if anything.


I purchased several very nice replica watches from China Town this year, the quality is superb. Loads of other good stuff too, well worth a visit.

ariel

Original Poster:

423 posts

288 months

Thursday 22nd September 2005
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Many thanks for your help guys. i'm staying in the Renaissance just a few mins from the Petronas Towers and the Berjaya Resort at Langkawia.

adqt

93 posts

260 months

Thursday 22nd September 2005
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Kuala Lumpur is an amazing city. Spent 5 days there last year during a visit to the Sepang Moto GP. The people are very friendly and we felt pretty safe whilst wandering around at night. Some excellent architecture and quite a history to be found as well. If you need directions or assistance though try one of the elder locals as the younger (under 30) dont learn in english anymore and its very broken.

Langkawi is a beautiful island. very slow pace of life and a nice contrast to KL. Try to take in the cable car as the views are breathtaking and also the Mangrove tour.

Ali

chrisgr31

14,276 posts

285 months

Thursday 22nd September 2005
quotequote all
ariel said:
Many thanks for your help guys. i'm staying in the Renaissance just a few mins from the Petronas Towers and the Berjaya Resort at Langkawia.


Never been to Langkawia but went to Penang which is a nearby island. By the way when are you going hope it is not in the rainy season! We got very wet this time of year!

I stayed in the Mandarin Oriental on both my visits. The first time I went I had flown wih Royal Brunei and had spent several hours at Brunei Airport and had been travelling for around 24 hours so was tired, but couldn;t see the Petronas Towers anywhere! Imagine my surprise when I left the hotel the next day and found they were next door!

evil jack

1,649 posts

258 months

Thursday 22nd September 2005
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I stayed in the Mandarin Oriental (*****) too. £34 a night each. Not bad!!!!

Also, we had dinner out in KL at the hawker stalls. Cost £1.47 for both of us. And that included the taxi back to the hotel.

>> Edited by evil jack on Thursday 22 September 09:37

fido

18,915 posts

285 months

Thursday 22nd September 2005
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haven't been there for years, but my mum is from KL.

yep, hawker stalls are really good (try the green jelly & milk pudding - not sure of it's name).

also visit the islands (Labuan is nice) - ok just read you only have 3 days.

>> Edited by fido on Thursday 22 September 09:39

LRdriver II

1,936 posts

279 months

Thursday 22nd September 2005
quotequote all
I agree, KL is a great city. It is just like Singapore was 20 years ago, hence not as boring and sterile. Still smells and vibes like the orient. Good food, hectic traffic with the hustle'n'bustle...great place!



>> Edited by LRdriver II on Thursday 22 September 09:49

T5-R

434 posts

256 months

Thursday 22nd September 2005
quotequote all
Visited KL for a couple of days in October last year and really enjoyed it! Cleaner and safer than Bangkok, but dirtier and not as safe as Singapore.... so somewhere in the middle.

Petronas towers is just an awesome sight, but they only allow a limited number of visitors up to the skybridge. IIRC you can't actually book it in advance, you just have to queue up first thing in the morning (well before 10:30) and if you happen to get a ticket for that day, then up you go, otherwise you try again the following day. Note: Skybridge is closed on Mondays!

The KL Tower is also worth a visit, but I'd recommend getting a taxi up the hill to the base. We decided to walk there from our hotel (Mandarin Oriental ) and although it wasn't that far to walk, the humidity killed us!

Chinese Night Market is well worth a visit if you fancy getting the "genuine imitation" watches, handbags, clothing, etc... I found most of the stalls all sold the same tat. It gets VERY crowded, so mind your wallet, bags, etc...

From your hotel, you can probably also do guided city tours, in a minibus, which I'd recommend. Did one from the Mandarin and we saw parts of the city we never even thought of seeing. Their LRT system is also a good way to get around.

Watch out for monsoon rains - more powerful than your power shower!

All in all - top city to visit, and I'd definitely go back again.