KUALA LUMPUR ARRIVAL
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Don't forget that Kuala Lumpur has 2 airports that travellers normally fly into and out of. There are 2 passenger airports for KL and KUL is the airport code for both KLIA and KLIA2 located at Sepang. The terminals are not connected landside and are a few kilometres by road apart. The KLIA Ekspres train stops at both terminals so if you have connecting flights that arrive at one then depart from the other terminal allow plenty of time to travel between the two. As a rule AirAsia and Malindo plus some of the other low-cost airlines use KLIA2 and the rest use the other terminal.
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One can't travel through Asia without coming into contact with the regions largest air-carrier. We have used them extensively and really, for a cut price airline we don't think they are that bad. Sure, nothing is included in the base price but any additions are reasonably priced. Try to plan ahead and no last minute check-in counter changes will hurt your wallet. Kuala Lumpur is Air Asia's hub where most flights pass through at some stage. Air Asia operates out of KLIA2 airport which is the newish (opened mid 2014) low cost airline terminal. It was obviously built with lots of room to cater for expanding numbers. KLIA2 has a huge shopping complex attached to it where you can buy just about everything you could need for your trip to anywhere. There is a large selection of food outlets as well as a JAYA grocery store where most groceries can be purchased, no alcohol though.
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Choices of transport into the city-
Taxi- but there are 2 types to choose from. The red or red and white budget ones will cost approx 75 RM or $25AUD whereas the Premier or blue ones will cost you around 100RM or $35 AUD. Tickets for both of these can be pre purchased from ticket counters on the lower level of KLIA2. Travel time by road will vary considerably by the time of day and whereabouts you are going taking anything from 45 - 75 mins. |
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Rideshares operate in Kuala Lumpur like Uber or the local Grab both with downloadable apps and both can be considerably cheaper than hailing a taxi. We spent a number of hours traversing KL in both Grab cars and local taxis for reasons I will write about when time permits. I have to say with no exception the KL taxi drivers were most hospitable and entertaining, each ride was an education in Malaysian history, culture and politics. The Grab cars may have been more modern but the younger drivers were less communicative and maybe had less English skills than the full-time taxi drivers.
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Train- the Klia Ekspres will cost you approx 55 RM (current Dec 2017) or $18 AUD each way and takes around 30 mins no matter what time of day you go. It is seldom crowded and departs every 20 mins from 5:00 AM til after midnight. There is free wifi available on the train to post a few Instagram pics on the way into town. The only drawback is that at KL Sentral unless you are staying within walking distance you will need a short taxi ride or perhaps another public transport ride to your accomodation. Public transport around KL is very good and not that difficult to navigate but if you have had a long flight or have anything more than carry-on luggage... well the choice is yours. Purchase KLIA Ekspres tickets on-line and print off the barcode to scan at the turnstile here-
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