Asia Travel Guide

The latest attempt to ease KL’s chronic traffic problem is the Light Rail Transit (LRT) system, a 29-kilometre, mostly elevated, metro network. There are two lines. LRT1, also known as Star, runs from Ampang, east of the centre, through the Masjid Jamek hub to Sentul Timur in the north of town and Komonwel in the south. LRT2, aka Putra, has the longest stretch of automated metro in the world runnning from west of the centre to the northeast, intersecting with the Star system at Masjid Jamek. Trains on both lines operate every five to fifteen minutes from 6am to midnight (from 75 sen).

KL city buses run from 6am to midnight. Costs range from 90 sen on the larger, municipal-owned Intrakota buses to 60 sen on the privately run City Liner ones. Fares go up to just above RM2 depending on the length of the journey; for example, you’ll be paying RM2.20 to go to the Batu Caves, which, although outside KL, still comes under the city bus system. If the bus has no conductor, you’ll need the exact change. The main depots are Central Market, the Jalan Sultan Mohammed terminus (opposite Klang bus station), 100m south of the market, and Lebuh Ampang, on the northern edge of Chinatown.

If you’re planning to stay in KL for more than a week it’s worth getting an integrated bus and train card , called Touch And Go, available from the main LRT stations. The minimum price is RM20; each fare is eletronically deducted from the sum on your card when you go through the turnstiles.

Taxi fares start at RM1.50 and rise 30 sen per kilometre. To call a cab, use Comfort Radio Taxi Service (tel 03/733 0507); Koteksi (tel 03/781 5352) or Radio Teksi (tel 03/442 0848). Many taxi drivers can’t speak English, and some don’t know their way around the city, so it’s best to carry a map.

The Komuter train is of limited use in central KL, but is handy for sights outside the city. There are two lines - one from Rawang to Seremban (for Nilai), the other from Sentul to Port Klang (for Sumatra). Both connect at the central KL stations of Putra, Bank Negara and Kuala Lumpur Railway Station. Trains run at least every 30min and tickets start at RM1; a RM5 day ticket (valid Mon-Fri after 9.30am) allows unlimited travel.

Three great religions - Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism - are represented in Malaysia, and they play a vital role in the everyday lives of the population. Some religious festivals are celebrated at home or in the mosque or temple. During Ramadan, Muslims fast during the daytime for a whole month, but others are marked with great spectacle. Most of the festivals have no fixed dates, but change annually according to the lunar calendar.

Festivals of interest to tourists include: Chinese New Year , when Chinese operas and lion and dragon dance troupes perform in the streets (Jan-Feb); Thaipusam , during which entranced Hindu penitents carry elaborate steel arches, attached to their skin by hooks and skewers (especially at KL’s Batu Caves; Jan/Feb); Gawai Dayak , when Sarawak’s Iban and Bidayuk people hold extravagant feasts to mark the end of the harvest, best experienced at the Iban longhouses on the Ai, Skrang and Lemanak rivers near Kuching (June) and in Bidayuh communities around Bau; the Dragon Boat Festival in Penang, Melaka and Kota Kinabalu (June/July); the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts , Yue Lan, when there are many free performances of Chinese opera and wayang, or puppet shows (late Aug); Navarathiri , when Hindu temples devote nine nights to classical dance and music in honour of the deities (Sept-Oct); and the Kota Belud Tamu Besar , Sabah’s biggest annual market, which features cultural performances (Oct/Nov).