As the title suggests, this is going to be a hypothetical trip to my home base (for now) on a shoestring budget excluding air tickets. This would be more suitable for single traveler, couples or groups of friends. As for families, it may not be a good idea to put kids through a lot of walking and excitement in one day. Sorry. It maybe hypothetical, but very much doable!
There are a lot of people who love traveling but don’t have the time to plan a trip abroad and end up paying too much for too little to one of many unreliable tour operators. This trip would be for anybody who is inclined to be a little adventurous by nature and can handle themselves well in most situations like bargaining.
Since most flights from Indian cities would land in KUL between 5:50 AM and 7:30 AM and home bound flights start at 9PM onwards or the next day, your backpacking trip will start and end at the airport.
What to pack?
Change of clothes and a towel (1 should be enough or 2 if u like a shower at the end of the day) not needed if you are flying Airasia. You be stinky all day :)
Money (ofcourse!)
Camera.
passport with a tourist visa for Malaysia.
Anything else you may like for entertainment on the flight.
If you land in KLIA, you can take a shower at the airport! As soon as you land and reach the Terminal, look for a toilet before heading for immigration. They have showers in most toilets before immigration, freshen up if you like to.
After immigration, don’t exit the airport. Ask the information counter where you can find the KLIA Express train to the city. It’s the bottom most level if you take the elevator down. Get a return ticket for MYR 70 (if your return flight is on the same night). Why the train you may ask. That’s because it is the fastest way to reach the city center. The journey takes 30 minutes and there is a train leaving the airport every 25 mins. DO NOT throw away the ticket. You have to use it again when you head back. Otherwise you have to get a ticket for MYR 35 again. No you can’t bend the rules here darling. It’s not India ;-) . Oh you will see my house when you are on the train and you will never know I was watching you staring out the window.
After you get down at the Sentral station, head out and find the taxi counter and get a ticket for KLCC. Yep you are going to the twin towers straight away! It doesn’t take more than 10 minutes even during peak hours. Bask in the glory of the towers and don’t forget to use your camera! Now head into the Suria KLCC mall and explore/shop for anything you like. Since it’s morning, there won’t be a lot of people in there so you can relax for a bit. Oh once in a while they will have a Williams F1 car parked at one of the entrances. So picture time if you get lucky! (the reason for the Williams is coz Petronas is a big sponsor).
Next stop the KL tower. Head out and find one of the taxi counters which have red color taxis. Blue ones are the executive kind and cost 1.5 times more than the budget kind. Ask the guy you need a cab for KL towers. It shouldn’t take no more than 5 minutes. Explore the gardens and the revolving restaurant on top. Eat if you wish too. Pictures are a must! How could you leave without a pic of you with KL skyline in the background?!
Come out and get a cab and ask for Bukit Bintang. Don’t pay more than MYR 20 (even that’s a ripoff, but you gotta live with it anyway). Get down near the beginning of the street (next to the KFC) and start walking in. This is the shopping capital in KUL for tourists. There are 4 huge malls in this street ranging from designer clothes to sex shops (yep they have a couple in BB plaza basement). There are quite a lot of shops on this street where bargaining is mandatory. Go for it. decide on a price and bargain for everything! You must be hungry by now though. Don’t worry, there are more restaurants here than anywhere else in KUL. Choose a cuisine and enjoy your lunch (no don’t bargain here please).
One highlight here is, there is a massive IT mall called Plaza Low Yat. Every malaysian knows this place. Planning to buy a smartphone? head inside and you’ll see hundreds of vendors. Bargaining is the norm again. Ask for upto MYR 200 discount. Explore all shops before zoning in on one. I should let you know that electronics are as cheap as the US in Malaysia. Go ahead buy a laptop or a smartphone. Don’t like it after a month? sell it in India for more price than what you paid for it in Malaysia (Yep laptops and phones are at least INR 10, 000 cheaper here).
Your legs must be killing you by now with all the walking around. You must have noticed all the massage centers too. Nothing wrong in getting a foot massage for a MYR 30 for 30 minutes. Enjoy yourself and reflect on you purchases :)
It should be evening by now. If your flight is at 9 or 10 PM, time to head towards the airport for some duty free shopping. Get to the spot where the taxi dropped you and ask for the monorail station. Get a ticket for MYR 2.60 to KL Sentral. Get in and it’ll drop you off in a station right across the street from the KLIA Express station. It takes around 15 minutes. Hungry again? There is an Indian restaurant named Jasal very close by. Enjoy your garlic naans and samosas and ask the friendly owner anything you like. (personally I don’t go there at all. Heard from other Indians). Now go to the Sentral station, ask your way to the KLIA express terminal and head to the airport (assuming you did not lose the ticket).
If your flight is on the next day, fear not! KL never sleeps! you can shop till 10 PM and head towards Zouk if you like live shows till 3 AM in the morning. Thursdays are comedy nights, Wednesdays ladies night, weekends have really cool live bands. All kinds of drinks available here. If you like to check out KL’s crazy night life, head towards Changkat in Bukit Bintang. Everybody knows the place. There are around 2 dozen bars here. Firangi paani has gay nights on Thursdays. Don’t like relaxing bars? get a cab and ask him to drop you off at beach club or thai club (don’t pay more than MYR 25). This street has one too many night clubs to keep a count on and it’s 5 minutes walk from the twin towers. If you want a cool night pic, head to the towers get a pic and come back for the party! The usual entry rates range from MYR 25 to MYR 60 for which you get a free drink (not so free is it?). Beer costs MYR 17 for a usual carlsberg and tiger is cheaper at MYR 15. If you never had a Tiger, you should try it! Go club hopping if you wish, this place will be alive till 6 AM. You don’t have to drink alcohol to experience these clubs. They have awesome milkshakes in these clubs and the food is undeniably some of the best! . Oh yeah ignore the prostitutes if you are in beach club, thai club or rum jungle. They won’t bother anyone and they are there for people with high libido and a little deep pocket. But nothing wrong in talking to them. Interesting characters in them I may add.
Time to go back? I know you must be too tired, so get a cab to drop you off at the airport. The usual going rate is MYR 150 after 6 AM and more than MYR 200 between 12 AM and 6 AM.
Had fun? See! told you it can be done ;-) . Oh if you are planning on a backpacking trip, buzz me!
P.S The MYR 700 is only for going around and food. You will definitely have at least MYR 100 at the end of the day even after fancy restaurants and executive taxis. All other expenses are extra for you to decide.