Southeast Asian countries of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand is typically the first set of countries Indians visit abroad. I had been to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur as a part of office training. My parents had been to more than 35 countries, but never managed a trip here
We decided to go together when another office conference came in. We could carve out extended weekend to travel within the cities of Singapore, Kuala Lumpur. They would stay at my cousin’s place later for the rest of the week before heading back to India with me again next Friday
We explored package tours but found all of them sub-optimal. We were not so interested in Genting Highlands- a casino mainly, Sentosa island/ Universal studios which felt entertaining for kids. Our interests were on wildlife side, in exploring Mandai zoo complex in Singapore
Bornean rainforests in Malaysia also sounded exciting, but we didn’t have enough time, and packaged tours didn’t cover them. We parked Sepilok, Kinabatangan, Deramakot for next time when we have at least a week just for Borneo
The main sights within Kuala Lumpur, Putrajya, the towers and Batu caves can be covered within 24 hours if you are not visiting Genting highlands. Genting highlands is a casino and tourist trap. We had visited Bana Hills on cable cars in Vietnam, so Genting didn’t feel exciting
How our broad Kuala Lumpur itinerary looked
Day 1
6:45 AM- 1 PM: Bus from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur
1-2 PM: Lunch At MTR
2- 4 PM: Putrajaya Mosque, Iron Mosque, Parliament and bridge
4-5 PM: Transit to Batu caves. Ideal to have KL tower here if it is not raining
5-6 PM: Batu caves
6-7 PM: Transit back to Hotel
Day 2
9-9:30 AM: KL Tower
9:30- 10 AM- Transit to Petronas tower
10:30-11 AM: Transit back to hotel
11- 8 PM: Bus to Singapore
Which bus is the best for Singapore- Kuala Lumpur travel
We did explore flight vs. bus tradeoffs. Fastest travel time between 2 cities is 5 hours, and buses end up taking 7 hours on average in non-peak times
With paranoid travelers like us, flights could also end up taking same end to end time since we arrive 2-3 hours before departure, wait for bags and travel from airport in KL which takes more than an hour. The idea of bus travel was more exciting as we could get to see the countryside on Malaysia side
There are many buses that go almost every hour on either side. The more expensive the tickets, the better seating they provide, and potentially faster travel time as they don’t stop at as many places or keep waiting for late passengers. Some also offer light snacks and water
For a broad sense, these are the categories of buses
• Budget (<25 SGD one way) : Starmart Express, Qistna Express, Cityline, Cosmic Singapore, Star Qistina
• Mid range (25-50 SGD): Super Nice, Billion Stars, Transtar Express, KKKL, Sri Maju, Grassland, Eltabina, Alisan Golden Coach, Top Liner, Konsortium
• Premium (50+SGD) : First Coach, Luxury Coach, Transtar Solitaire, Aeroline
Almost all budget operators had bad reviews. We didn’t bother much about snacks, so decided on mid-range. KKKL among these seemed to have above average reviews, so we decided to go with them. You can book tickets on their site directly or Busonlineticket
The time to travel is not fully under operator control as it depends on immigration queues on that day. It took us 5.5 hours while going and 8 hours while coming back!
From KL to Singapore, you need to pay 1 RM each and get a boarding pass before departure at the Lalaport terminal. Our SIN- KL ticket was priced at $36 on KKKL tours and travels, but return was $20 on KKKL express with identical buses and service. Not sure why- was it timing, bus registration country or something else. The onward ticket mentioned “return” but they clarified that return fare was not included when I checked with customer support. There was a guide during onward journey and it mentioned by regulation on the ticket. You can choose the cheaper alternative by taking afternoon buses past 1 PM as all morning buses were almost twice the price
These buses depart on time. Our driver didn’t wait for 3 missing people and went without them!
We had a good experience overall with KKKL
Airport transfer options in Kuala Lumpur
KLIA Ekspres is usually fastest way to transfer from airport to the city at KL, especially in peak hours with lot of traffic. In non-peak hours, taxis can be equally fast and similar cost if you are in a group of 3+ pax. The tickets are 55 MYR each way, taking 30 minutes. Return tickets were 100 MYR
Buses take much longer, about 90 minutes, and charge 20 MYR
Getting around within Kuala Lumpur
For most locations like Batu caves, KTM Komuter is the best option. For attractions like Petronas Towers, taxis could also be efficient during select hours of the day. Google maps is the best guide to evaluate tradeoffs live
KLIA Expres can be quicker to reach Putrajaya during peak hours
We used Grab within Putrajaya and Bukit Bintang area as it was cheaper usually or marginally expensive only than public transport considering 3 of us
Places we visited in Kuala Lumpur
Putra Mosque: The iconic pink mosque. Women need to wear clothing provided by them to enter, free of cost
Iron mosque: A big tourist trap, can avoid. We had many guides posing with us to get pictures clicked and tick off their guiding checklist for the day
Putra bridge: You can get a good view from Putra Mosque. We also traveling on it while entering Putrajaya
Petronas Towers: Step out not the park after going through Suria KLCC mall to get a good view from the right distance
Batu caves: The wonderful cave-temple dedicated to Lord Murugan amidst karst mountains
KL Tower: For bird’s eye view of the city
Petronas twin towers: For photos only from KLCC park
KL Tower vs Petronas Twin Towers
The iconic Twin towers are obviously under everyone’s wish list. After reading a lot of reviews, we realized that KL Tower might be a better option although Petros Twin Towers are the tallest
• You get to see the Twin Tower in the skyline, although one behind the other without the view of connecting bridge
• The height from where you see is better since KL Tower is on a hill
• It is cheaper (80 MYR) vs 98 MYR for Twin towers
We bought combo tickets for observation deck and sky terrace on Pelago as we had $20 off on purchase of above $50 tickets which made it cheaper. Without promo, only sky deck is sufficient. Observation deck is helpful if it is raining, but honestly, it is better to skip the tower entirely if it is raining
We couldn’t get tickets on Pelago on spot on Sunday evening although the official website seemed to have availability, so book a day in advance if weather is good
Note that the glass box needs additional fee for entry
Immigration
We used the west Johor link while entering Malaysia and Woodlands point while exiting. You need to carry bags during entry into each country. With Indian passport, Singapore side was quick with only scans on automated machines, but Malaysia side was manual. There was no queue at 7:30 AM while entering but we had 30 min queue while coming back. There was a separate queue for senior citizens but family was not allowed there and I had to use the normal queue
Overall experience of Kuala Lumpur trip
We admit that this was a bit rushed, but we couldn’t extend the number days and this was the best way for us to get a quick feel of the Malaysian capital city
You get to see palm plantations along the way, along with coconut and durian plantations. There is definitely a stop midway at Yong Peng to buy food. Note that these places accept only cash, so we couldn’t buy anything. In addition, there were no vegetarian options without eggs
You also get additional stops during immigration which have toilets
The buses were clean and comfortable