Plan Your Trip 12 ©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd Kuala Lumpur, Melaka & Penang “All you’ve got to do is decide to go and the hardest part is over. So go!” TONY WHEELER, COFOUNDER – LONELY PLANET THIS EDITION WRITTEN AND RESEARCHED BY Simon Richmond, Isabel Albiston Contents PlanPlan Your Your Trip Trip page 1 4 Welcome to Top Itineraries ...............16 Eating ............................25 Kuala Lumpur ................. 4 If You Like... ....................18 Drinking & Nightlife.... 31 Kuala Lumpur’s Top 10 ...6 Month By Month ........... 20 Entertainment ............ 34 What’s New ....................13 With Kids ....................... 22 Shopping ...................... 36 Need to Know ................14 Like a Local ................... 24 Explore Kuala Lumpur 40 Neighbourhoods Masjid India, Day Trips from at a Glance ................... 42 Kampung Baru & Kuala Lumpur ............. 112 Northern KL .................. 83 Bukit Bintang Sleeping ......................124 & KLCC .......................... 44 Lake Gardens, Brickfields & Bangsar .. 92 Melaka City.................133 Chinatown, Merdeka Square & Bukit Nanas ...67 Penang .........................155 Understand Kuala Lumpur 185 Kuala Lumpur Life in Kuala Lumpur ...197 Arts & Architecture .... 207 Today ........................... 186 Multiculturalism, Environment ................212 History ......................... 188 Religion & Culture ......200 Survival Guide 217 Transport .....................218 Directory A–Z ............. 222 Language ....................229 Kuala Lumpur Maps 245 R.NAGY/SHUTTERSTOCK © R.NAGY/SHUTTERSTOCK © IMAGES FOTOVOYAGER/GETTY (left) Hindu statue, Batu Caves (p113) © JOE RAVI/SHUTTERSTOCK (above) Merdeka Square (p70) (right) Royal Museum (p99) Masjid India, Kampung Baru & Northern KL p83 Bukit Bintang & KLCC Chinatown, p44 Merdeka Square & Bukit Nanas Lake Gardens, p67 Brickfields & Bangsar p92 ©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd 16 Top Itineraries Day One Day Two Bukit Bintang & KLCC (p44) Chinatown, Merdeka Square & M Head to the Kuala Lumpur City Centre Bukit Nanas (p67) (KLCC), where you’ve prebooked tickets M Admire the historic buildings of up the . Afterwards, browse (if you can, sign up Petronas Towers Merdeka Square the shops in Suria KLCC and see a free art for one of Visit KL’s free tours), then either exhibition at the excellent Galeri Petronas. cycle on a hired bike or take a taxi to the Tun Abdul Razak Heritage Park. Start Lunch Try one of the restaurants at at the National Monument, then walk Suria KLCC (p65 or Avenue K (p65). through the Perdana Botanical Garden to the National Museum; if you’re there by Bukit Bintang & KLCC (p44) 10am you can take the free guided tour. Take a postlunch stroll around R Lunch Feast on a buffet of traditional KLCC Park, admiring the view of the towers, then take a look at contemporary Malay dishes at Rebung (p102) Malaysian art at the ILHAM in the Foster + Partners–designed tower. Join the 3pm Lake Gardens, Brickfields & tour of the Malay-style wooden house Ru- Bangsar (p92) mah Penghulu Abu Seman next to Badan R Continue to enjoy the leafy surrounds Warisan Malaysia, or learn about sea life of the park at the KL Bird Park or at Aquaria KLCC. KL Butterfly Park. Save a couple of hours for the splendid Islamic Arts Museum, Dinner Enjoy chicken wings and grilled then admire the architecture of Masjid fish at Wong Ah Wah (p55) on Jln Alor. Negara and KL Railway Station. Bukit Bintang & KLCC (p44) Dinner Sample Malaysian and Western N Go mall hopping to Pavilion KL, food at Merchant’s Lane (p77). Starhill Gallery, Lot 10 and Sungei Wang Plaza along Jln Bukit Bin- Chinatown, Merdeka Square & tang until 10pm, then head to Changkat Bukit Nanas (p67) Bukit Bintang and Jln Mesui for the bars; Go souvenir shopping at the Cen- is a good choice. Also check out N Pisco Bar tral Market, then push your way No Black Tie for jazz and classical concerts. through the crowds at Chinatown’s Pet- © Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd.aling To make Street it Market easier. forFinish you up to with use, a access to this chapter is not digitallycocktail restricted. at speakeasy-style In return, we bars think PS150 it’s or fair to ask you to use it for personal, non-commercialOmakase + Appreciate purposes. only. In other words, please don’t upload this chapter to a peer-to-peer site, mass email it to everyone you know, or resell it. See the terms and conditions on our site for a longer way of saying the above - ‘Do the right thing with our content.’ ©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd 17 TOM BRYAN/GETTY IMAGES © IMAGES BRYAN/GETTY TOM PLAN YOUR TRIP Kampung Baru (p85) T Day Three Day Four op I ti Masjid India, Kampung Baru & Batu Caves (p122) N Northern KL (p83) M Climb the 272 steps at Batu Caves eraries M Have breakfast at Bazaar Baru to pay your respects at the Hindu , one of KL’s most atmos- Temple Cave and learn about bats and Chow Kit pheric wet markets, then amble through other cave dwellers in the Dark Cave, the Malay area of Kampung Baru admir- then take a taxi up to the Muzium Orang ing the traditional wooden houses and Asli in Gombak. flower gardens. Lunch Tuck into Thai at Samira (p88) Lunch Go old school at the Hainanese in Sentul Park. kopitiam Yut Kee (p88). Masjid India, Kampung Baru & Chinatown, Merdeka Square & Northern KL (p83) Bukit Nanas (p67) R View the city skyline from Titi- Walk from Masjid India to Bukit wangsa Lake Gardens, where you R can hire a bike, take a boat out on the lake Nanas, where you can traverse the canopy walkway of KL Forest Eco Park and then go much higher up the Menara Dinner Splash out on dinner at Antara Kuala Lumpur, to get your bearings in Restaurant (p78) at Old Malaya. Dinner Chinese at Robson Heights (p104) or Indian food in Brickfields. or even take a spin in a helicopter. Nearby is the National Visual Arts Gallery. the city from the observation deck, and, weather permitting, the new outdoor deck. Bukit Bintang & KLCC (p44) N Sink a sunset cocktail at Heli Lounge Bar. If your budget doesn’t Lake Gardens, Brickfields & stretch to fine dining, a meal at Jalan Bangsar (p92) Imbi Hawker Stalls or Glutton Street For another panoramic perspective will be equally memorable and delicious. N End the night at the new entertainment of KL, stand on the upper terraces of the gloriously decorative Thean Hou complex TREC: see some stand-up comedy Temple. Walk around the many religious or live music at Live House or club until sites of Brickfields in the cool of the even- the early hours at Zouk. ing and enjoy a cocktail at the rooftop Mai Bar overlooking KL Sentral. 245 Kuala Lumpur, Melaka & Penang Maps Sights Information Routes Beach Bank Tollway Bird Sanctuary Embassy/Consulate Freeway Buddhist Hospital/Medical Primary Castle/Palace Internet Secondary Christian Police Tertiary Confucian Post Office Lane Hindu Telephone Unsealed road Islamic Toilet Road under construction Jain Tourist Information Plaza/Mall Jewish Other Information Steps Monument Tunnel Museum/Gallery/Historic Building Geographic Pedestrian overpass Ruin Beach Walking Tour Shinto Gate Walking Tour detour Sikh Hut/Shelter Path/Walking Trail Taoist Lighthouse Winery/Vineyard Lookout Boundaries Zoo/Wildlife Sanctuary Mountain/Volcano International Other Sight Oasis State/Province Park Disputed Activities, Pass Regional/Suburb Courses & Tours Picnic Area Marine Park Bodysurfing Waterfall Cliff Diving Wall Canoeing/Kayaking Population Course/Tour Capital (National) Hydrography Sento Hot Baths/Onsen Capital (State/Province) River, Creek Skiing City/Large Town Intermittent River Snorkelling Town/Village Canal Surfing Water Swimming/Pool Transport Walking Airport Dry/Salt/Intermittent Lake Windsurfing Border crossing Reef Other Activity Bus Cable car/Funicular Areas Sleeping Cycling Airport/Runway Sleeping Ferry Camping LRT Beach/Desert Metro/MTR/MRT station Cemetery (Christian) Eating Monorail Eating Parking Cemetery (Other) Petrol station Glacier Drinking & Nightlife Skytrain/Subway station Drinking & Nightlife Taxi Mudflat Cafe Train station/KTM Park/Forest Underground station Entertainment Other Transport Sight (Building) Entertainment Sportsground Shopping Note: Not all symbols displayed above Swamp/Mangrove Shopping appear on the maps in this book 246 Sentul k Park a b S u m n o g G a Ð"5 i S i a g u U Lake ng n ai n u Titiwangsa B t S at ui Titiwangsa u Lake Gardens TITIWANGSA Ð"4 CHOW KAMPUNG KIT BARU S Ð"2 u n g a 2 2 2 i G 2 2 2 o m 2 2 2 b 2 2 2 a k 2 2 2 Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) Park Ð"1 MASJID KLCC INDIA KL Forest Ð"6 Eco Park BUKIT BINTANG LAKE GARDENS Tun Abdul Razak CHINATOWN Heritage Park Tasik Perdana Ð"3 PUDU BRICKFIELDS Ð"7 BANGSAR BARU g n la K ai ng Su 0 1 km e# 0 0.5 miles MAP INDEX 1 Chinatown & Merdeka 3 Bukit Bintang (p252) 5 Kampung Baru & 7 Bangsar Baru & Mid Square (p248) 4 Masijd India & Chow Kit Titiwangsa (p258) Valley (p262) 2 KLCC (p250) (p256) 6 Lake Gardens & Brickfields (p260) CHINATOWN & MERDEKA SQUARE Map on p248 æ Top Sights (p69) 27 St Mary's Anglican Cathedral ....... A3 51 Sangeetha ....................................... C3 70 Museum of Ethnic Arts...................B5 1 Menara Kuala Lumpur ....................F2 28 Stadium Merdeka ........................... D8 52 Tang City.......................................... C6 Petaling Street Market..........(see 85) 2 Merdeka Square ............................. A4 29 Stadium Negara...............................E7 53 WINS Boulangerie .......................... C3 71 Purple Cane Tea Arts......................C7 3