Malaysian Tour diary
10.04.24 Kolkata (00 45 hrs - IST- Indigo) - Kuala Lumpur Terminal 2 (0715 hrs - MST) > KL Sentral - every 20 minutes (time taken 33/40 mins) - https://www.kliaekspres.com/schedule/
10.4.24 Kuala Lumpur Sentral (09 30 hrs - MST) - Penang (1430 hrs MST) - Penang Day tour : Night Halt at Penang
11.4.24 Penang day tour : Night Halt at Penang
12.4.24 Penang >Langkawi or Ipoh for Rafflesia > Penang >Malacca : Night Bus
13.4.24 Malacca day tour ; Malacca > KLL : Night Bus
14.4.24 Malacca > KLL : Morning Bus
14.4.24 KLL day tour > Kuala Lumpur Airport Terminal 2 (2000 hrs)
14.4-15.4.24 Kuala Lumpur Airport Terminal (2235 hrs)> CCU (0010 hrs)
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•Transport: Local buses, subway, Grab (like Uber) , and ferry.
•Currency: Ringgit
•Sunrise and Sunset: 7:30 am and 7:30pm, respectively
️Itinerary:
10.4.24 : Kuala Lumpur Sentral (09 30 hrs - MST) - Penang (1430 hrs MST)
Penang Day tour : Night Halt at Penang
Flight to KL. Take a local Sim card (Digicel) and head to KL SENTRAL (my hotel was located there - Hotel: Westree Hotel - https://tinyurl.com/yw2ee8j4 )
You can get buses, KLIA Express trains or Grab to reach KL SENTRAL.
Express train is more expensive compared to bus. It took around 0.40 minutes to reach the city from the airport.
Bus terminal at Penang : Butterworth.
You will get a ferry from the terminal to reach Georgetown.
From Georgetown, you get domestic buses to reach the place you want. There are free service buses, as well.
Hotel: Elephant themed boutique house (https://tinyurl.com/mrbzwe9f)
Penang sightseeing
At Georgetown : 5 pm (local bus) - to take a walk and see the colonial buildings. Armenian street is famous, followed by Penang wall arts
Night Halt at Penang
11.4.24 Penang day tour : Night Halt at Penang
# Took a local bus to Penang hill.
There are 2 ways to go up the hill: funicular train and hike. I chose the funicular train.
# Next destination was Batu Firringi Beach (took 2 local buses)
Night Halt at Penang
12.4.24 Penang >Langkawi or Ipoh for Rafflesia > Penang >Malacca : Night Bus
Bus to Ipoh Terminal name : Ipoh Amanjaya.
You will get domestic buses from the terminal to enter the main Ipoh city (Terminal Kidd).
Route: Terminal Amanjaya >Terminal Kidd
▪︎Duration from Penang to Ipoh: 2.36 hrs
Hotel: Abby by the River (https://tinyurl.com/4efasmyc )
Ipoh sightseeing :
# Perak cave temple
# Sam poh tong, mirror lake and other cave temples
(all done by Grab. Local buses will also take you to these places)
# Kelly's castle and Quin Xing cultural village, if you want.
In the evening, visited the famous concubine lane, saw the mural arts
Route : local bus >Terminal kidd > local bus > Ipoh Amanjaya > Penang Sentral >Malacca
▪︎Bus terminal name: Malacca Sentral. You can get domestic bus from here to reach the city. Walk to the local bus section and look for signboard of bus 17 (destination Ujong Pasir). If you are visiting Melaka's historic town square and Christ Church you should alight at the stop "bangunam merah" (red complex). Inform the driver about your destination. The bus also passes by Chinatown and Jonker's street.. For our hotel get down at Dataran Pahlawan Mega Mall.
https://wikitravel.org/en/Malacca
Things to see :
# Red Dutch square, floating mosque, jonker street, some museums, and river walk.
# You can also opt for river cruise boat ride.
▪︎ Duration from Penang to Malacca: 6 hrs
Night Halt at Melaca
14.4.24 Melacca>KLL: Morning Bus : KLL day tour > Kuala Lumpur Airport Terminal 2 (2000 hrs)
Local bus>Malacca Sentral>long route bus to KL Sentral >Hotel
Luggage Storage/Left luggage facility service is available at Departure Hall of Level 3 of KL TBS , RM 5 for first 6 hours and Dr. Locker is the only luggage storage service left in KL Sentral. Available on Level 1 and 2 in KL Sentral.
https://wikitravel.org/en/Kuala_Lumpur
1st Half
Freshened up and then went to Batu caves. I got a free Komuter Train ride to Batu Cave because of the famous Thaipusam festival celebrated there.
Komuter train is available once every hour. In the evening took a stroll in the market and tried some local food.
2nd Half
Visited Petronas Tower, KLCC park, KL towers, Thean Hou Temple (Half day)
Took LRT train (subway or Metro) from KL SENTRAL to KLCC and visited the first three. Got back to KL SENTRAL and took grab to the temple. LRT trains are available in every 10-15 mins.
MRT in Kuala Lumpur covers a longer distance and has more extensive network coverage compared to the LRT, which has a more limited coverage area. The MRT in Kuala Lumpur is fully integrated with other rail systems, such as the KTM Komuter and the Monorail, unlike LRT - less integrated and requires separate tickets for different lines. MRT in Kuala Lumpur generally has larger trains and higher capacity compared to the LRT
The route: KL SENTRAL>LRT TRAIN (Metro , you have to change 3 trains, and locals will guide you for the same) >KL SENTRAL
▪︎KL Sentral>KLIA2> Flight to KL> night flight to Kolkata.
## I did not go up in any towers or visited bird park and aquarium.
I paid for funicular train and mirror lake hidden cave boat adventure.
Important tips:
🔖 Download Moveit app to know the local commute routes and fares.
🔖Look for Family mart or 7/11 stores in case you need food at odd hours.
🔖For every long route bus ride, you need to get a boarding pass from the respective terminals. The QR code is scanned before boarding.
🔖Malaysia is visa free till 31st Dec 2024. You just need an arrival certificate, very easy to get online.
🔖 Took only 5 kg hand luggage in AirAsia. It saved a lot of flight cost.
🔖 Batu Caves has a dress code.
❇️What more you can add to this itinerary if you have 6 extra days?
Taman Negara, Putrajaya, Taiping, and Langkawi.
♠️Malaysia arrival card link: https://imigresen-online.imi.gov.my/mdac/main
From TBS, I boarded the bus to Cameron highlands and reached Bus terminal name: Tanah Rata at night.
Duration from TBS to Tanah Rata: 5 hrs
Hotel: Vintage guesthouse. (I didn't like it, so I won't recommend.)
Cameron sightseeing.
You can rent a scooty or take a local taxi to see the places of interest. There is not much to see, so you can cover everything in a day. Also pretty expensive for a solo traveler.
What I saw :
BOH tea garden, Cameron valley, strawberry farm and Cactus garden. I missed lavender garden and floral garden.
