Kuala Lumpur Travel Guide
7/18/2008 at 9:20 AM
Tags: Bus Tours, Buses, Malaysia Travel, WiFi, Free WiFi (all tags)
Hip Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur is suddenly promoting their Hop-On Hop-Off bus service, although this government-sponsored scheme actually launched more than a year ago. The tourist bus works a circuit past 40 major sightseeing spots and shopping malls, and on one RM38 ticket ($12) you can use it for 24 hours, while RM65 ($20) gets you 48 hours.
Sometimes these buses are a good value; sometimes you'd do a lot better just taking cheap public transport around a city. The jury's still out on the KL version, though something caught our eye on the website that we haven't been able to verify yet: They mention having WiFi on board their buses.
If it's free and fast, then we're all for the KL Hop-On Hop-Off, except that we might do more hopping on than off to catch up on all our emails while we see the sights.
Related Stories:
· KL Hop-On Hop-Off [Official Site]
· Kuala Lumpur Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Srini rules]
by amandak
3/27/2008 at 12:30 PM
Tags: Asia Travel, Magazines (all tags)
The magazine that showed us the ins and outs of New York, London and even Beirut has launched in
Kuala Lumpur.
TimeOut has been one of the few stand-out travel publications over the years, so we're excited to hear about their new magazine and website featuring this bustling Southeast Asian hub. Now you can
fly there on the cheap and know where to go.
TimeOut's KL web site covers happenings and happening spots around the city -- from bookstores to bars, from comedy clubs to clearance sales. It's a great tool for expats and even locals, but what we wish it had is maps; addresses don't mean much to the unfamiliar traveler.
Either way, it's a cool addition. And we'll be looking out for seven more launches from TO in 2008, including titles from Hong Kong, Bangkok and Jakarta.
Related Stories:
·
TimeOut KL [Official Site]
·
TimeOut launches KL site [Journalism.co.uk]
·
KL Travel coverage [Jaunted]
by benh
3/25/2008 at 9:30 AM
Tags: AirAsia, Low Cost Carriers, LCCs, Tony Fernandes (all tags)
If you haven't really heard much about AirAsia yet, never fear: according to the CEO Datuk Tony Fernandes, the whole world will be flying AirAsia soon.
Fernandes really loves his airline and has huge plans for it. The first low cost carrier in Asia, coming out of Kuala Lumpur, AirAsia has been flying for over 10 years now and is ready to conquer the world. Fernandes dreams of making the AirAsia brand as big as Coca-Cola and the airline's reach as significant as European LCC Ryanair.
Some of the latest plans for AirAsia's future include pioneering PDA check-in, adding 175 new aircraft to its fleet and having AirAsia advertising adorning football stadiums. And hopefully, remembering to give us good service at a good price.
Related Stories:·
Sky's Not the Limit [eTravel]
·
Air Asia is as Good as Formula One [ENP]
·
AirAsia Coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: lastsham]
by amandak
1/30/2008 at 9:45 AM
Tags: Airlines, New Routes, Low Cost Carriers, LCCs, Tiger Airways, Jetstar (all tags)
So much action in the flight routes of Australasia, so little time to fly every one of them. Big news this week came as Singapore and Malaysia finally opened up a route between the countries to competition. Until now, this flight has cost around $320, a crazy amount for just 55 minutes in the air.
There are plenty of potential takers for budget flights on the KL to Singapore route, with Tiger Airways (a 49% subsidiary of Singapore Airlines) and Qantas offshoot Jetstar already putting their hands up. AirAsia, a Malaysian low cost carrier, is also part of the market, with two flights per day on the route. It's now possible to grab tickets for only the cost of the airport taxes and charges.
And while the liberalization of this route is only partial--just four flights per day have been allocated to the budget carriers--the experts are predicting the traffic will triple within the next two years. The good news is that more openings of Southeast Asian routes should follow by the end of this year, which means we can fly more often and more cheaply. We're going to need some more time off work.
Related Stories:
· Win-Win As KL-Singapore Air Route Opens Up [The Age]
· Flash Mob and Shop at KL's Petronas Towers [Jaunted]
· Will Lion Air Roar Into Australia? [Jaunted]
[Photo: S J photography]
by amandak
1/29/2008 at 9:45 AM
Tags: It's Summer Somewhere, It's-Summer-Somewhere, Asia Travel, Flash Mobs, Crowds (all tags)
With an average high temperature of about 90 degrees year-round, you'd be safe to say that it's always summer in Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur. KL is modern and full of interesting sights to see and a whole lot of shopping, plus it's home to the tallest twin buildings in the world: the Petronas Towers.
And it's at the base of the Towers, home to one of KL's numerous shopping centers, that tourists might have been confused by a recent flash mobbing. Word of the sudden public meeting was spread by bloggers and at the appointed time, one of the mobbers tore up a newspaper in protest against a mainstream media mogul. Hundreds of people were suddenly there, and just as suddenly gone. (Reminds us of that hipster swarm in NYC.)
But if flash mobbing isn't your idea of a good time, then take a ride to the top of the Petronas Towers for a fantastic view over the city. If you get one of the free passes (1,700 per day), you can cross the Skyway that joins the two towers at the 41st floor. Of course that's only half way up--it's 88 floors tall--but you don't want to get greedy.
Related Stories:
· Malaysia's Foreign Tourist Arrivals Hit High [Forbes]
· Kuala Lumpur Gets a Metblog [Jaunted]
· Flash Mob in KL [Metroblogging]
· Flash Mobs coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: superciliousness]
by amandak
10/24/2007 at 9:30 AM
Tags: Air Asia X, LCCs, Low Cost Carriers, Asia Travel (all tags)
We were there when new low cost carrier Air Asia X was first born, but it's only just now about to make the maiden flight from the nest.
Air Asia X is a long-haul budget airline born of Air Asia and Fly Asian Xpress, and their first flight is due to take off on November 2, flying between Kuala Lumpur and the Gold Coast in Australia. Word is that routes from KL to Melbourne will start up in March 2008 and that London Stansted is also on the cards. China, Korea, India and the Middle East are also future destinations.
Air Asia X is still such a close spin-off of Air Asia that it doesn't even have its own website yet; the pages it does present, however, are full of not-very-funny uses of their name's final letter, like "X-citing low fares" and "X-emplary levels of safety". While we wait to see if this Malaysian-based LCC starts up a few more interesting routes, right now we're just keen to see if it's X-tremely cheap and X-tremely punctual.
Related Stories:
· Asia Air X is Born [Jaunted]
· Airports Gear Up For LCCs [news.com.au]
· Air Asia [Official Site]
[Photo: jubeiz]
by amandak
7/31/2007 at 10:38 AM
Tags: Malaysia Airlines, Airlines (all tags)
We normally just complain about airline service but it was just announced that Malaysia Airlines has won a major award for having the World's Best Cabin Staff. This was the result of a major UK-based survey that questioned over 3 million passengers of 90 different nationalities: that's a lot of questions.
Now putting up with grumpy passengers can't be an easy job, so hats off to the ever-smiling attendants on Malaysia Airlines, who apparently did especially well with "soft service" (that means they're friendly, enthusiastic and attentive). We've had our own Malaysia Airlines experiences and can't complain about anything, except that transitting in Kuala Lumpur airport is really, really boring: maybe it's the contrast between KL Airport boredom and the flight attendants' lovely soft service that makes people vote for them.
Related Stories:
· Malaysia Airlines Crew Voted World's Best [Malaysia Star]
· Malaysia Airlines coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: superciliousness]
by amandak
4/09/2007 at 8:30 AM
Tags: Amazing-Race-11, Amazing-Race-All-Stars, Chasing Racers, Television Travel (all tags)
Click Here To Go Straight To Chasing Racers Map
Chasing Racers is back, with a brand new Amazing Race All Stars mashup. This map will update the morning after every new episode. Send along tips, rumors, gossip, locations and spoilers to our map editors, become a member and comment on the stories below, and add to the Jaunted-Flickr photo pool to get in on the fray.
Remember to zoom in, out, and around on the map - with so much happening in each episode, it's easy to miss a map point.
With five teams left in the race for a million dollars, the race is really heating up. Will Charla and Mirna manage to annoy their way to another first place finish? Will Danielle "do something besides bitch" and keep Eric happy? Will the Beauty Queens be able to make up the time they lost on last week's Intersection with Charla and Mirna? All is revealed on a swing through Malaysia, after the jump.
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by pbb
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