My visit to Kuala Lumpur 2011

[Pansori]

I had a chance to be in KL once again this year (technically my 3rd and 4th time in KL... although in reality all of my stays were limited to only one night and in the latest situation not even that ). I tried to do my best with the time I had and it's definitely not the last time I was there. Because of AirAisa it is very likely I'll drop in KL many more times in the future



1. Just upon arriving from London on this A340-300 aircraft of AirAsia X. Thanks to AirAsia now many including myself can afford to travel around Asia without a burden to a bank account. It's been voted world's best low-cost carrier in 2009 and 2010 by Skytrax and I would be surprised if it won't be again this year.




2. Near the KLIA LCCT (low cost terminal). Some very decent dining options here from the junk food to some delicious Asian cuisines.



3. This time I took a bus transfer to KL Sentral. It costs 8MYR and takes around one hour. Alternativelly you can take a bus to a nearby train stop and take a train to the same KL Sentral station. Such option is a little more expensive at 12.50 MYR. Still quite affordable and it's more exciting to ride a train. Here we are at a tol plaza (toll checkpoint for motorway). Malaysia has excellent motorways and ordinary roads. Best in SE Asia (except Singapore, of course ).



4. Neighbourhood in KL through a bus window



5. Destination - Bukit Bintang. The dontown shopping, dining and entertainment area. Some good and large shopping malls here (some are VERY huge such as Berjaya Times Square), plenty of good dining options from upmarket restaurants to cheap but delicious street food, bars, massage parlours and everything else one might need for a good night out in town.



6. I've stayed in a hostel which was located just next to this McDonalds. It's called Sunshine Bedz and got very high rating in some booking website. It's cheap, perfectly located, modern, clean, cosmopolitan and staff were very helpful, friendly and nice. Highly recommended for budget travellers seeking a nice place to stay.


7. KL Monorail crosses Bintang. It's a modern-looking monorail train on elevated concrete bridges. It's quite fun to ride but in my opinion Kuala Lumpur should have gone for a proper underground metro or Bangkok style elevated heavy-rail system. Monorail is a little shaky and lacks comfort compared to ordinary rail systems



8. Bintang by night


9. One of many restaurants

[Skyprince]

Cool dude.. Public transport is No.1 problem in KL to me. The country has excellent highway & road system ( I think many of Malaysian highways are among the world's best looking ) but public transport receives little investment.....

Waiting for more. Are u of Lithuanian nationality ?

[Pansori]

Originally Posted by Skyprince

Cool dude.. Public transport is No.1 problem in KL to me. The country has excellent highway & road system ( I think many of Malaysian highways are among the world's best looking ) but public transport receives little investment.....

Waiting for more. Are u of Lithuanian nationality ?

Thanks. More are coming soon.
I am not familiar enough with KL to express my comprehensive opinion about transport but once being in the central areas it does feel like there could be a couple of metro lines here and there. I'm sure it would solve any major traffic problems immediately. And can only agree about the roads. I have ridden a bus from Singapore via KL all the way to border with Thailand in 2006... the NS expressway must be one of the best and most scenic motorways I have seen. And yes I'm from Lithuania. The guy in the hostel I stayed immediately noted that I must had been the first Lithuanian to have stayed in their hostel and that Lithuanians know how to play basketball... That made me feel very pleased because usually saying that I'm from Lithuania while travelling in Asia means pretty much the same as saying I'm from the moon.

[Pansori]

Continued

10. F1 seems like a big thing in Malaysia. Advertisements and media coverage seem very extensive.


11. Petronas Towers, world's tallest skyscrapers 1998-2004. Today they are world's tallest twin-towers


12.


13. 212m high Maxis Tower


14.


15.


16. KL Tower, 421m TV tower with a public observation deck at 276m

[Pansori]

17.


18.


19. Pedestrian bridge


20.


21.

[Skyprince]

Originally Posted by Pansori

Thanks. More are coming soon.
I am not familiar enough with KL to express my comprehensive opinion about transport but once being in the central areas it does feel like there could be a couple of metro lines here and there. I'm sure it would solve any major traffic problems immediately. And can only agree about the roads. I have ridden a bus from Singapore via KL all the way to border with Thailand in 2006... the NS expressway must be one of the best and most scenic motorways I have seen. And yes I'm from Lithuania. The guy in the hostel I stayed immediately noted that I must had been the first Lithuanian to have stayed in their hostel and that Lithuanians know how to play basketball... That made me feel very pleased because usually saying that I'm from Lithuania while travelling in Asia means pretty much the same as saying I'm from the moon.

Malaysian cities are heading toward US-style suburbia society.

I've personally never met anyone from Lithuania ( or from Baltic states ), but anyway if ur coming again to KUL just send me a Private Message. I live in the suburb city of Shah Alam, 30 km away but commuting daily to office , which is located near Menara KL.

Have u been to Ampang Lookout point ? U'll never find it in any guidebooks I guess, but to me this is No.1 tourist place in entire KL.

[buildship]

Pansori, if you have time, try to spend some times drop by Penang, Melaka, Langkawi & even east malaysia Sabah & Sarawak for more fantastic tourism places..

[argory]

Pansori > Very nice, artistic shots and it somewhat shows that you connected with the city. I enjoyed them thoroughly!

[Skyprince]

Oh, and anyway, what do you think about driving standard in KL ?

a friend of mine told me that driving standard in Malaysia is below that of developed Western European countries, above that of Italy & Greece but on par with Baltic states like Latvia . Is that true ?

[Pansori]

Thank you, guys. Glad you like my photos.

@Skyprince
Thanks for your invitation. I will definitely keep this in mind. My knowledge of KL is still very limited and I'll be more than happy to improve it next time which will happen sooner than later . I checked the images of Ampang lookout... it's quite a view there. I guess this is what I must see next time in KL.
As about driving culture. It's hard to tell because I haven't experienced it too much but perhaps yes, it may be comparable to Lithuania judging by how people act on the road. However I must add that drivers in Lithuania are quite horrible (although not all). So perhaps it's somewhat ok but still lots of space for improvement. On the other hand, there are very few countries in the world which have driving culture as good and polite as in Germany, Netherlands, UK and a handful of other European nations.

@buildship
I must say I do feel a little ashamed because despite having been 3 times to Malaysia now and even having crossed it in a bus from South to North I haven't seen the country properly. I've heard about Penang (and even took a photo from the plane once passing by ) and other places but so far haven't been there. But it's more than certain I will make it sooner than later. Malaysia is one of those countries where I'll probably be back again and again so it will happen.

[Pansori]

Continuing with photos

22.


23.


24. Street in Bintang. Lots of restaurants of all cuisines and buzz on the streets


25.


26.


27. Jalan Alor. In the evening this small street becomes a one huge eatery with restaurants "expanding" into the street with plastic tables and chairs. Smells and flavours come from all sides suggesting a variety of delicious food which can be best accompanied by a bottle of Tiger beer, orange juice or simply water. It's also a huge socializing action. This kind of street eating is something that delights me about Malaysian and SE Asian eating culture in general


28. The next day. A Monorail stop from where I'll be off to KL Sentral to catch a train to the airport...

[Pansori]

29. KL Monorail. The system was launched in 2003, has one line which is 8.6km long ith 11 stops, and operating speed of up to 60km/h


30. Interior of a Monorail carriage


31. Next to KL Sentral. Some massive constructions are taking place. KL seems to be packed with construction action these days. It's nice to see so much dynamism and ambition


32. Petronas Towers seen from near to KL Sentral


33.


34.

[Pansori]

35.


36. Near KL Sentral


37. Inside KL Sentral. It i said to be the largest railway station in SE Asia


38. KLIA Ekspres has its dedicated hall which is much less busy and seems more upclass


39. We'll be riding "SE Asia's fastest train". Although I'm pretty sure it means just 160km/h i.e. same as the new Bangkok Airport express. True HSR trains are yet to come to Malaysia and neighboring countries. Perhaps China could give a hand here?

[Zulhelmi]

Nice time in KL u got there! But yeah, as said by other members, you should definitely stop by at other areas in Malaysia to get a whole different perspective about the country.

But then I think some areas in Malaysia are becoming touristy, if you know what i mean. Yet, they are many places unexplored so you should definitely check them out the next time you're in the country. Cheers!

[TYW]

Glad you've enjoyed your trip, Pansori

Hey, did you carry a tripod around the city?? those are good pics!!

[Pansori]

@zulhelmi

I kno I know... I did quite a bit of reading and sa lots of photos in the very same SSC, si I have some idea what Malaysia is all abot. There is no doubt it's one of the most beautiful countries around. Only that I'm always too lazy and indecisive about my holiday plans. But like I said, it's going to happen. I guess renting a car and having some driving fun is an option next time

@TYW
Thanks! I didn't have a tripod but instead tried to find places to place my camera on a stable ground. Not always with great success but as we see it worked sometimes. I don't like using higher ISO but I had to resort to that sometimes as well.

[Pansori]

And some more photos...
40. Waiting for KLIA Ekspres... not too many passengers it seems. Better for me


41. Inside the KLIA Ekspres train. Great interior. The trains are made by Siemens and belong to Desiro family.


42. On the way


43. KL expressways


44. Road infrastructure in Malaysia is impressive to say the least


45. Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). Ranked 9th best airport by Skytrax (although was in higher positions over the past few years... lots of competition these days). Seems like a great airport. However I was destined for KLIA LCCT for my AirAsia flight so I came to KLIA only to have a look around and not catch a flight, hence I didn't see the departures area which, I am sure, is great


46.


47.



That's it for now. At least until the second batch of photos will be ready. Meanwhile I will be exposing some views and impressions from Shenzhen, Guangzhou and that big bad sin-city a.k.a. Bangkok after which I'll be back to KL for some more observations including some views from the plane. For the time being thanks all who took time to watch this and please come back shortly

[Ethaniel83]

great photos

[yatt]

great photos and great KL...

[Pansori]

As promised earlier (i.e. months ago ), the remainder of my photos from KL. I hope noone will mind if I also stick my photos from the plane with some views over Malaysia on the way from Bangkok to KL. Technically I visited KL twice during my holidays... by now technically I've been to KL 4 times, although each time for only one day and each time not having enough time to explore the city properly

48. Penang Island and Butterworth city


49. Taiping city


50.


51.


52.