One Day in Kuala Lumpur Things to do

by Drifter Planet | Sep 20, 2016

Kuala Lumpur this fast growing metropolitan capital of Malaysia is the new
gateway to South East Asia. If you are traveling to South East Asia, chances
are you will end up in Kuala Lumpur at some point or the other because many
budget airlines fly to several other Asian countries from here. It doesnt matter
if you are in Kuala Lumpur for business or leisure, one thing is for sure
youre going to LOVE the food here. Seriously, this city offers a delicious
culinary ride for even the pickiest of eaters! If youre a regular reader of my
blog, you surely know by know how much I avoid big cities! I have lived in one
for many years and I cant handle them anymore. This is the reason why I did
not spend more than two days in this city when I visited it the first time, so I
have created a guide for you to help you spend one day in Kuala Lumpur.

How to get from Kuala Lumpur Airport to your

hotel:
The bad news is, public transport within Kuala Lumpur is expensive. The good
news: Im here to help you cut the cost. Kuala Lumpurs airport Kuala
Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) has two terminals that are 2KMs away
from each other. Most of the flights land at the Main Terminal Building (MTB)
and low-cost flights (like Air Asia) land in KLIA2. I flew Air Asia so I landed in
KLIA2. From the airport, you will most likely need to go to KL Sentral to reach
your hotel / hostel. KL Sentral is close to Chinatown and connects well to
nearby areas in the main city where most of the hotels and hostels are. Heres
an excellent map depicting Kuala Lumpurs public transport that I found
on Wonderful Malaysias website which will help you understand how to get
around. In order to get to KL Sentral from KLIA and KLIA2 both, there are two
options of super fast airport rail link KLIA EKSPRES and KLIA Transit. Out of
these two, KLIA EKSPRES offers non-stop service, so obviously, its faster.
Think that you can cut costs by traveling on the slower train? Wrong, they cost
the same! A ticket to KL Sentral from any of these trains to any of the airports
costs 55 MYR, which is around 14 USD. Unless youre in a hurry, Id

recommend you walk to the basement of the airport and get on a bus to KL
Sentral to save money. It will cost you 20 MYR, which is less than $5.

Where to stay in Kuala Lumpur

For booking the perfect place to stay in Kuala Lumpur, I highly recommend
you visit Traveloka that specializes in flight and hotel booking for South East
Asia. This website charges no booking fee and offers a unique interactive
price comparison tool. Moreover, if you register and create an account, you
can find lower prices. I highly recommend TravelHub, which is in the heart of
Kuala Lumpur, just a few minutes walk away from Chinatown or Pasar Seni
station.
TravelHub is a hostel style hotel has different themed room on different floors
and a roof top attic bar and restaurant. I stayed in a Duplex Suite Room in
Travelhub Highstreet section of this hotel. The rooms are affordable and
comfortable. The complimentary breakfast on the rooftop restaurant was
simple but delicious. The staff here was very helpful in helping us with
directions and local transport information.

Things to do in Kuala Lumpur in one day:

01 | Visit Batu Caves & Ramayana Cave after breakfast
Imagine limestone cliffs with a series of caves and stalagmites formations
inside the caves. The icing on the cake there are temples inside the caves.
Sounds good? Welcome to Batu Caves.

Batu Caves
Batu caves are just a little outside Kuala Lumpur and are super easy to reach
by direct train from KL Sentral. The train ticket costs only MYR 5 one way for
one person. Just get on to the KTM Seremban Line from KL Sentral, Batu
Caves is the last stop on that line. The entry to the caves and temple complex
is right outside the train station.

Batu Caves complex is free to enter but I recommend you make a small
donation. These caves that are next to the Batu River, feature the highest
statue of Lord Murugan in the world. It is at the height of 140 feets. The cave
complex consists of 3 large caves that have a lot of stalagmite formations.
Make sure you wear comfortable shoes because you will need to climb a lot of
stairs to enter one cave from another. Oh, and be prepared to be surrounded
by monkeys! They will snatch things out of your hands so dont hold anything
important.
A TIP About traveling to Batu Caves from Kuala Lumpur:
If youre visiting Batu caves just a few hours before your flight, check the train
time table before reaching because sometimes the time gap between trains is
as long as 30 minutes.

Ramayana Cave
Once youre in the Batu Caves, do check out the Ramayana Cave. The entry
to Ramayana cave is right before Batu Caves but unlike the latter, its not
free. The entry fee is only 5 MYRs and is totally worth it. Ramayana Cave is
beautiful from inside because it depicts the story of Hindu God Ram as written
in the holy book Ramayan. The story is depicted in a narrative manner with
statues along the uneven cave walls. I recommend you spend 2-3 hours here
exploring the cave complex and head back to the train station. By the time
youll be done, it will be lunchtime and restaurants around tourist areas are
expensive so its time to get back to the city. From here, get on a train back to
KL Sentral and further get onto a monorail (green line) for Bulkit Bintang
station.

02 | Lunch at Bulkit Bintang

Bulkit Bintang district reflects the trendy side of Kuala Lumpur with upscale
cafes, a shopping district, an Arab Street and more. Kuala Lumpur is one of
those cities where the food is delicious almost everywhere. Pick any
restaurant at Bulkit Bintang and you are sure to enjoy. Bukit Bintangs hawker
food lane, Jalan Aloris is a famous street food area here. Enjoy a meal of
flavorful Curry Laksa, Asam Laksa or local Nyonya delicacies such as rice
balls.
Bulkit Bintang district also has some of the worlds most famous malls such as
Berjaya Times Square. In case the famous heat of Kuala Lumpur gets to you,

you can visit one of the malls to take a little break. Sit in one of the chic cafes
and sip something delicious because its time to chill before you hit your next
stop for the day.

03 | Walk Around the KL Tower

Good news there is a pedestrian walkway bridge from Bulkit Bintang directly
to KLCC. This bridge is a little over a kilometer and is entirely air-conditioned.
To be honest, we did not know about this bridge when we visited KL so we
ended up walking on the road, which was a lot of fun too.
Once you reach KLCC, enjoy the view of KL Tower. You will be able to view
the tower from different angles as you walk from KLCC to the Petronas
Towers. This tower changes colors and it looks great from a distance. I did not
want to take out time to visit this tower. This tower has an observation deck
and a sky deck and the entry costs RM 52 and RM105 per person. BONUS:
Adventure seekers can also base jump from KL Tower. Click here for more
information.

04 | Visit Petronas Towers to enjoy Sunset

The Petronas Twin Towers are just a few minutes walk away from KLCC.
These towers were the highest skyscrapers in the world from 1998 to 2004
and even today, they are the highest set of twin towers. I suggest you reach
here a little before sunset so that you get an opportunity to watch how the
towers change colors. Walk around the Petronas Towers complex, as there
are plenty of amazing spots to sit back and enjoy the view of the change of
colors on the towers at sunset time. Watch how everything lights up as it gets
dark and make sure to click a few photos!

Optional: Walk on the Sky Bridge Between the Petronas

Twin Towers
If you dont mind spending, the ticket to access the sky bridge to travel from
one tower to another is RM 85 per person. The locals, of course, pay a lower

price or RM 30. The sunset time is usually between 7 and 7:30 pm in Kuala
Lumpur so try reaching this area by 6:45 PM or around. The entry to the
towers closes at 9 PM. I have kept this point as optional because not everyone
would want to spend so much to enter the towers, like me. You can visit the
official website for Petronas Towers and book your ticket online because its
difficult to find tickets on sunset time due to limited

05 | Walk Around Chinatown (Petaling Street) and Eat

Dinner
Its very easy to reach Chinatown from KLCC because you can get on a direct
train to Pasar Seni station and walk directly to the market. Alternatively, you
can also walk to the market from Jalan Petaling or Maharajalela Monorail
stations. True to its character, Chinatown is exactly how it is in other big cities
with small gadget shops, cheap imitations and a lot of food options. At the time
when I visited, the streets were decorated with pretty little red lanterns and the
night market was bustling with activity. We ate dinner at one of the roadside
Chinese restaurants where the prices were affordable. If you want to try some
different food, head to the nearby Little India. I was too tired after Chinatown
and ended up visiting Little India only when I visited KL for the second time.

Optional: Visit Little India for Dinner

Although KL has a bigger area thats called Little India, the one thats next to
Chinatown is a smaller one and is next to Masjid Jamek station. This Little
India is more like Little Madras with amazing Chettinad food (Cuisine from the
Chettinad region of South India). This is the only place in the world where
Indian food tastes good outside of India. Im an Indian food snob so its a big
compliment. I ate an amazing meal of fish curry with Malabari paratha at one
of the roadside restaurants here. No, I did not eat a double dinner but these
are two separate visits.
Wondering where to go after visiting Kuala Lumpur? Check out our
travel guides for a few more destinations in Malaysia:

Melaka This riverside historical town is only two hours away from Kuala
Lumpur.
Penang Its an island in North of Malaysia thats famous for its food.
https://www.traveloka.com/en-my/hotel/malaysia/city/kuala-lumpur-107979
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