| Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
Hello, thanks for visitng. I'm planning a trek to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in April of 2007 to see the Formula 1 Grand Prix.
This page chronicles my trip. Hope you find the information here useful. You can check out my travel photos on flickr.
Getting There I could not find a direct flight from San Francisco to Kuala Lumpur, so my best (and cheapest) option was to connect in Taipei, Taiwan. The flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Taipei (TPE) was a gruelling 12 hours. Taipei International Airport is nice and comfortable, with free showers, free Internet kiosks and good noodle shops. You will probably arrive on lower level. Don't stay on the lower level, as there is nothing down there (except the showers). Make your way up one level for the restaurants, shops, etc. At first I wanted to stay on the lower level because I didn't want to go through security screening again, but the screening was a breeze. You don't have to take off your shoes, upack your laptop, etc. The flight from Taipei to Kuala Lumpur is another 4 hours. Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) is awesome. I could probably live at KLIA if I had too. Free internet kiosks, free wireless internet, lots of shops, lots of restaurants, a television (LCDs) viewing area, etc. From KLIA I took the KL Express train to KL Sentral for 35 RM (10 USD). It'll take about 30 minutes and is very comfortable, clean, air-conditioned and spacious. KL Sentral is a transport hub, so you have plenty of options from there. If your lodging is along the monorail line you can walk a couple of streets over to the monorail station. The monorail is slow, but like the KL Express, it is comfortable, clean, air-conditioned and spacious. 
Lodging - Hotels, Hostels If you have the money, the JW Marriott in Bukit Bintang/Golden Triangle is very nice. I didn't stay there (I don't have the money), so I can't comment on the actual rooms, but the hotel itself is awesome. The "Feast Village" on the lower level is amazing in decoration and features restaurants ranging from Korean to tapas. I was told by a fellow Yankee that the Agora Hotel down the street is a good value. The Agora is right in the heart of things. You step out the front door and there are street vendors, restaurants, shops, etc. Much more lively than the Marriott, but obviously not as luxurious. Incidentally, the restaurant right across the street from the Agora is very good (Dragon View Restaurant?). It does seem to cater a bit to foreigners (English menu), but the food is nonetheless very tasty. The available vegetables are on display, so you can choose which vegetables you want along with your meal. Impressions Hot. Humid. Polluted. Diverse. Colourful. First, if you don't like heat and humidity, be warned. Kuala Lumpur is very hot and very humid. You will sweat like crazy. Add to this pollution from cars, buses and scooters, and you're in for a treat. Kuala Lumpur builds itself as a modern, Western city. Some parts are indeed very modern, very Western, like the Petromas Twin Tower area. But other areas are dirty, poor and smelly. A study in contrast, as is in most developing countries. 
There is an interesting diversity in Kuala Lumpur. You can literally see 1000s of Muslims praying at the mosque then walk a few blocks over to see Indians making naan in Little India. Then eat very good Chinese food while watching a Malaysian cultural parade. 
Kuala Lumpur is very lively and colourful. Don't bother waking up early, KL doesn't get going until maybe noon. Big shops don't even open until 10 AM, and stay open until 10 PM. Shopping is everywhere in Kuala Lumpur, from the high end boutiques of Louis Vuitton to street hawkers selling made-in-China Rolexes. After shopping you can eat and eat and eat. Even if you are not adventurous enough to eat some of the local offerings for fear of stomache problems, it's still quite a sight. 
Formula 1 The Sepang International Circuit (SIC) is located near the airport, about an hour outside of Kuala Lumpur. There are several ways to get to the track. Many of the higher-end hotels will offer direct shuttle service. Taxis are also plentiful. The "official" way is via the KL Express train followed by bus. From KL Sentral you take the KL Express train (the same one you use for the airport except it makes a few additional stops along the way). Then you take a comfortable bus to the circuit. Total time, about 90 minutes. Getting back may take much longer, with the crowd and waiting. You can buy a 80 RM (20 USD) race day pass that includes the train and bus service, or a 100 RM 3-day pass if you also want to go see practice and qualifying. There is also a circuit shuttle service that will take you around the track to your seats/grandstands. Be warned, the circuit shuttle buses are not as nice and gets extremely crowded. It's a fun experience, though. As one British chap put it, "welcome to Asia, where there are no lines." With other circuits you can roam around, but it seems with Sepang you can only go to your designated seating areas. I don't even think the seating areas are directly connected. I suppose this is to keep people from sneaking around. The central, main area where merchandise is sold, is open to the public and doesn't even require a ticket. It was so hot I ended up just staying in the public area and watching the race in the air-conditioned cafe on their TV. Ciao. |