Dec 05, 2011 03:59 PM
7310 Views
(Updated Apr 18, 2012 09:16 AM)
I wrote a review earlier for Malaysia which more than 2000 people read. Also I have had my vegetarian friends come from India and struggle to get vegetarian food. So here I am writing about what you can possibly do in and around KL alone especially for food and local travel.
Stay
To enjoy KL you need about 2 days. First when you get down at the airport, take a prepaid mobile phone card. No need to get Matrix etc. from India, just take it at the airport. The brands should be Hotlink(Maxis), Celcom or Digi. The best places to stay at KL are at Corus Hotel(near the Twin Towers - slightly expensive, but not as expensive as India) and Cititel(at Midvalley Megamall - this is within the premises of a mall-an attraction in itself and well connected to local transport and midpriced approx Rs. 3500 per night- highly recommended) or Cititel Express
Local Travel
From KLIA, you need to take the budget prepaid Taxi(about RM 75 -Rs, 1000 to city centre). Don't take the premier ones. If you are travelling alone then take the KLIA Express(RM 35 -Rs.450) to KL Central. and then proceed to your destination by taking a prepaid coupon at the prepaid counter. From LCCT, if you want to save money you can take the bus(RM 8 -about Rs. 120) per person to KL Central(spelt as KL Sentral), then proceed to the destination by taking a prepaid coupon.
To travel within KL, If there are more than 2 people, then it is better to travel by Taxi. To ensure that you are not cheated use a call taxi. The cost is the meter reading+ RM 2. There are two cab companies that are really good SW(26936211, add 03 in front if calling from a mobile) and Citiline(41425566, add 03 in front if calling from a mobile). Avoid the taxis who refuse to use meters or ask you for a flat rate of RM 20, 25 etc. Try the monorail for the fun of it. You can travel from the twin towers to KL Sentral by monorail. The call taxi call centre will ask for your current location and destination and also mobile no(sometimes referred to as'handphone'), hence you need a mobile no. Also one very good option is to take the KL Hop on Hop off bus which takes you to all the major attractions(RM 38 - Rs 500 for 24 hours) https://myhoponhopoff.com/faq.php. Just get in and purchase the ticket.
KL Attractions
If you take the hop on hop off, then most KL attractions are covered. The must see places are KL Bird Park(need about 2-3 hours), Twin Towers with KLCC below it, Aquaria(inside KLCC), the park behind Twin Towers, Central Market, Tugu Negara(National Monument - something like the freedom statue in New Delhi) and Petaling Street(go after 6 PM there and bargain hard. Start from 25% of stated price). For those interested in electronics, you can get great IT products at great prices at Plaza Low Yat. All the places mentioned here are within a radius of about 5-7 kms from the Twin Towers. Go the KL Tower(not Twin Towers) at about dusk(5:45 PM) and see the whole of KL(cost about RM 21 -Rs. 300 per person) just before dark and then after dark when the magnificient lights come on over the city. You can also have a good side view of the Twin Towers. The religiously inclined can take a bus from Central Market to go to Batu Caves and climb the 272 steps there to see the lovely cave temple. A taxi may cost about RM 25 one way as it is a bit out of the city, while bus will cost you less than RM 3 per person. To go to Genting the best option is to buy the bus+cable ticket from KL Sentral and take the bus which leaves every half hour.
Eating -Especially Vegetarian food
Malaysia is a heaven for non-veggies, but this paragraph I am writing mostly for the vegetarians. It is difficult to get'pure' veg restaurants in KL. Even McD etc. don't have vegetarian food. The one that I know of is'Sarvana Bhavan' near Jalan Tun Perak and Bangsar. Another one(highly recommended) is Annalakshmi which is situated at the ground floor of The Temple of Fine Arts in Brickfields. The concept is you eat what you want and pay as you wish, meaning you can pay any amount you want. The cuisine is wide and wonderful(closed on Monday)
The easy fix to this problem is to go the Mamak restaurants(pronounced Mama). They are all around in Malaysia and will have names like Ali Maju, Pelita Nasi Kandar, Nirvana Maju etc. Essentially they are run by Indian Muslims. But you can get vegetarian food there like Rice, Chapati, Naan, vegetables, Dosa, Idli, Daal, Sambhar etc. Also as usual all Indian restaurants will serve vegetarian food. The good places I would suggest would be at Jassal(Brickfields) and Indian Kitchen(Bangsar). Else if you are at KLCC(Twin Towers) go to the food court called Signatures and the first two shops on the left serve Indian cuisine and you will get vegetarian food there as well.
Lately, I have found two more great Vegetarian restaurants behind YMCA(near to KL Sentral and Brickfields) called Gandhi and Authentic Chapati Hut(yes that's the name). The latter is a Punjabi Dhabha but serves ONLY vegetarian food and is simply great. It is a bit hard to find. But it is next to Sri Kandaswamy Kovil(possibly that's why it is vegetarian) temple on Jalan Scott. So the tourist attraction is the temple as well as this great place to eat. Their Paneer items are excellent so is the Indian Chinese. The chapatis and parathas are authentic Indian dhaba style.
Folks hope this review helps
