Some tips/advices for your stay at Kuala Lampur and it would have helped me save a lot if I knew about this before hand. One person’s mistake should definitely be another person’s learning, so here are my tips/advices to save a lot and enjoy a lot in Kuala Lampur.
1. Uber vs Taxi
Local Kuala Lampur taxis, pic via Google
Do not travel by the normal taxi’s, they charge you the double amount for the same ride (chor hain saare ke saare :p). You would find local taxis available at every knock and corner but I would strongly recommend you to download the Uber app and travel ONLY through that. UBER takes time but they charge you a lesser amount.
2. Travel Insurance
Please DO get your travel Insurance done. Medical aid abroad is quiet expensive and for smallest check up you could easily end up spending 50-100$.
Also travel insurance takes care of lost baggage. I was very hesitant on purchasing one, I did it at last minute on insistence by a dear friend i.e. Buds aka Raunak Pathak. He is a Travel Consultant and I highly recommend his services+advices. (You can connect with him at Wanderbird Holidays.)
Malaysian Airlines lost my bag and they were least helpful in the whole process (yes I’ll be doing a blog on the same!). The fact that I have travel Insurance is keeping me a little secure.
3. Online Visa
Do not get visa done from a Travel Agent for Malaysia. You can directly apply for an e-visa which is around INR 1500 and you get it within 3 hours. We went through a Travel Agent and we ended up spending double the amount I.e. INR 3000 and got our visa after a week. You can check out our blog on how to get Visa here.
4. Being Muslim
Kuala Lampur is quiet a liberal country until you are Muslim. One night, we were coming back (around 3 AM) after partying and we were a group of friends. Yes we were all drinking but we were all in a cab. The cops stopped our car cause of our Indian/Pakisthani appearance and started interrogating the boys, “Are you Muslim?”
The cab driver was sweet, he told us, he’ll talk to the cops and we should leave without looking back. The whole incident just killed the happy buzz of the night spent and we just walked back to the hotel. Luckily the hotel was nearby, else walking in a 6 inch heel after partying the whole night could be quiet a task (:p)
5. Do not stay at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
DoubleTree by Hilton, pic via Google
We decided to stay in DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, Intermark Complex. Despite doing a group booking (through a travel agent), we were all allotted 3 different floors for 3 rooms. The best part about a trip is that you can enter your friends room whenever you want and chill with them. We spoke to the management at the time of check-in and they told us they’ll look into the same and shift us on the same floor by evening.
Nothing happened by evening and we didn’t want to spoil our night because of this (they had already spoilt our afternoon). We told one of our friends to get ready in our room (which was on a different floor). She in a bathrobe, holding her dress in one hand and makeup in the other hand, got locked in the lift for 15 minutes. There was no help/assistance from the hotels end, finally she landed on the ground floor i.e. lobby. We thought Hilton can’t spoil our stay further but wait for it, the hotel management had different plans!
My friend went to the reception (in a bathrobe) to tell the management about the whole incident (with dress and makeup in her hand). The management told her you can’t access your friends floor, the room key only allows to access your own floor. Obviously we were pissed off+infuriated that why was this not conveyed to us when we told them that we are a group and we want rooms on the same floor.
The boys got involved and they screamed on the manager for all the unnecessary inconvenience. The manager threatened us by saying, “I am a local and you should not mess with me!” That statement just left us stunned+baffled, what if he did something stupid which could jeopardize our stay/health. PLEASE DO NOT STAY HERE! UNPROFESSIONALISM BEYOND WORDS!
6. Do check out whiskeys at Intermark Complex
The only good thing that happened by staying at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel was that we got to see the Intermark Complex. The hotel was inside a mall and the mall had a “liquor shop” which stocked premium malts and whiskies (stuff you won’t even find at the duty free).
If you are a whiskey lover, do head to the basement where there is a grocery store. In the grocery store, you would find premium malts like Nikka etc. Its a whiskey lover’s heaven!
7. Save money and stay in a Penthouse!
Casa Residency, pic via Google
We were two group of friends who flew to Kuala lamper. While one stayed at Double Tree by Hilton Hotel (dumb decision), the other decided to stay at the Penthouse. We were paying close to INR 5,500 per room i.e. 2750/person and the other group got a 3 room studio at INR 4000 a night i.e. 700/person (and they could easily make other people stay on their couch too). Well if you are paying a premium amount for a hotel, you expect a premium behavior or attitude from the staff whereas DoubleTree by Hilton decided to ruin our stay and manager decided to threaten us.
I realized on the trip, we hardly spent any time in the room, majorly it was used to sleep+get ready. None of us was ever in a condition to wake up for breakfast (:p) or use facilities like steam/sauna/gym. Only and only if you are on a honeymoon; I would recommend a hotel, else go in for a penthouse, its cost-effective and it comes with a pool and a spa (and all your friends are in one apartment, 24×7 fun). You even get to chill with the locals who tell you all the REAL places to visit and you get to know the city better.
Penthouse where my friends stayed at: Casa Residency (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)
I have done a blog on places to visit in Kuala Lampur, you can check it out here. Let me know how you find my suggestions in the comment section and if you have your own tips/advices, please feel free to share with us! 🙂
