Selamat Datang ke Malaysia!
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FLASH NEWS: Kuala Lumpur is the Sister City of Chennai!
http://truthdive.com/2010/11/26/chen...ster-city.html
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Selamat Datang ke Malaysia!
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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._Night_HDR.JPG
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FLASH NEWS: Kuala Lumpur is the Sister City of Chennai!
http://truthdive.com/2010/11/26/chen...ster-city.html
So, you are planning a trip to KL - favorite destination of film directors. :lol:
Pre-visit Requirement:
VISA - Not long ago, there was no visa requirement for travel between India and Malaysia (as commonwealth countries). When Indira Gandhi was assasinated, India imposed visa restrictions on several countries, Malaysia being one of them, and naturally Malaysia reciprocated.
VOA (Visa on Arrival) is no longer issued for Indian cistizens and you need to apply for tourist visa at the nearest Malaysian embassy.
On the airplane, you will be provided a card to fill up stating particulars of visit. Have a pen standby in the plane.
At the airport
Depending on your flight, you will be landing at either:
KLIA - Kuala Lumpur International Airport, or
http://www.klia.com.my/
LCCT - Low Cost Carrier Terminal
http://www.lcct.com.my/
Be ready for a long queue at the Immigration as many people flock to KL on a daily basis.
Upon clearing Immigration, collect your luggage and go through the Customs. If you have nothing todeclare, you can use the green lane.
Note: Trafficking drugs to Malaysia carries a mandatory death sentence.
Before you reach the exits of the airport terminals, there will be taxi counters. Please buy your pre-paid tickets here so that you do not get fleeced later. Payment in cash or card is accepted. The distance to KL city is about 45 kms.
From the taxi counter, you can walk out to the exit and decide on your next course of action. There are plenty of places to eat within both airports.
The taxi stands are just outside the Arrival hall and can be identified by signboards and people in queue. Do not worry - you won't have to wait long, as there will be plenty of taxis.
You give your pre-paid ticket to the person in charge and he will direct you to the next taxi that will be waiting and pass a portion of the ticket to the taxi driver.
Once in the taxi, just inform the driver your exact destination. There will be NO exchange of cash here, even for tolls.
Please note that wearing of seat-belts is compulsory.
Nov - thanks - i didn't know that we can get a pre-paid ticket for cabs. I'll let my friend know as she's planning a trip in February 2011.
Would you know how much it costs compared to the shuttle?
Currency
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The currency is Ringgit (RM) and comes in 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100 denominations. 100 sen make up 1 ringgit.
10 ringgit = US$3.17
10 ringgit = INR145
10 ringgit = S$4.18
How do you call the Ringgit in different languages:
Malay - ringgit and sen
Tamil - velli and kaasu
English - dollars and cents
Thus if you go shopping in Little India and say paththu ringgit, he will know that you are a tourist. :D
It is paththu velli. RM3.20 is moonu velli 20 kaasu or just moonu-iruvadhu.
Similarly in English - three dollars 20 cents or just three-twenty
When buying jasmine strings, its mozham 50 kaasu (col: ambadhu-yiaasu).
OK, besides taxis, there are several other ways to travel, but these would be inconvenient if you are a large group or with many bags.Quote:
Originally Posted by NM
Star shuttle airport coach - line 8 at LCCT and platform 6 at KLIA
RM20 per pax
Express rail link (The KLIA Ekspres is a premium non-stop high-speed train service that connects KLIA and the Kuala Lumpur city center. Cruising at a top speed of 160km/h, the journey takes just 28 minutes, operating at 15-minute intervals.)
This one costs RM35 per person.
The rail link is to KL Sentral and from there you need to connect (easily) to your final destination.
Communications
Language will not be a barrier as most people can speak English.
The national language is Malay and it will impress shopkeepers if you speak to them in that language.
Tamil is the lingua franca of all local Malaysian Indians. Tamils comprise the majority of local Malaysian Indians, and this is reflected in shopping, eating, entertainment, etc. Tamils are fiercely proud of thier language and will tell you that the first 24 hour Tamil radio station was in Malaysia and that the first Tamil TV station to be named in Tamil was also from Malaysia. :P
Besides Malay, English and Tamil, several dialects of Chinese such as Mandarin, Cantonese and Hokkien are spoken. You don't have to speak any of these though. :)
Cell Phones
They are called hand-phones here. You can purchase a sim card easily almost everywhere, but will need to register it with your passport. The starting charges are less than 10 RM.
Reloads (or recharges as its known in India) is also fairly easy and available at all nooks and corners, 7-11s, petrol stations, etc.
You can reload for 10, 20, 30, 50 or 100 RM. There is NO charge for incoming calls or messages.
Also the value of the reload will be the same as you have purchased it for, meaning you will get 10 dollars worth of talktime for 10 dollars reload.
Public phones
Are available but hardly anyone uses them nowadays. You will need coins for these phones.
Wi Fi
Is available free in many public places like shopping complexes, restaurants, etc. People sit in Starbucks for hours to no end just by purchasing a cup of coffee. :D
Valuable informations - Thank you so much NOV brother. :D
Good info. I have been to KL twice and the best thing I like there is the food :slurp: (specially the non-veg items). Apart from my home country it is in KL that I have loved and enjoyed food thoroughly.
Thank you friends. The purpose of this series (more countries to follow from other Hubbers) is to have a permanent record of places to visit with helpful tips tailored to our needs.
Others who have visited these places are also welcome to provide thier feedback as divergent experiences will be useful. :)