Kuala Lumpur tourist information

Land Kuala Lumpur has a comprehensive road network that can lead you to all parts of Peninsular Malaysia. With almost 7 highways in the city, it is convenient to travel in the city with a car. Cars can be rented from the airport or in the city. Motorists may have a choice of paying cash, using stored value card Touch 'n Go or SmartTag to pay at the toll booths while using the highways/expressways. A near-completion project, SMART Tunnel will facilitate motorists to enter the city without crawling through the congestions in the city using an underground tunnel. Another completed project, ITIS (Intergrated Transport Information System) will also facilitate motorists to get around the city by using advance systems, allowing them to see traffic conditions on major roadways and plan a suitable route into the city before beginning their journey.

However, despite all this, Kuala Lumpur often has horrendous traffic problems, and peak hour traffic is generally from 7:30am to 8:45am, and from 5:45pm to 8:30pm. One is advised to avoid the Federal Highway as well as the Middle Ring Road, especially heading towards Cheras or towards Petaling Jaya.

Air Kuala Lumpur is directly connected to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang via the KLIA Ekspres high-speed train service which takes only 28 minutes, while travelling by car via highway will take about an hour. The former international airport, Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang is now used for chartered flights.

Malaysia Airlines and all major international airlines to Malaysia lands at KLIA wherelse the home grown most successful low fare carrier in Asia, AirAsia makes use of the newly built Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCC-T) in Sepang. LCC-T is easily accessible to/fro KL through a low cost bus service from KL Sentral (transport hub) at a price of RM9.

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Taxis
Metered taxis can be hailed throughout the city. However, traffic jams, especially during rush hour are fairly common in KL and it might be difficult to get a taxi during rush hour. There have been many incidents of taxi drivers charging extravagant fares, especially among tourists, therefore, tourists are advised to travel with taxis who charge fare according to meters.

Buses
There are several bus operators operating in Kuala Lumpur, linking the city centre with the suburbs of the Klang Valley. The main operator is the government-owned Rapid KL, which stands for Rangkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras Kuala Lumpur Sdn Bhd. Rapid KL took over the operations of Intrakota and Cityliner.

Other operators include Metrobus, Selangor Omnibus, Len Seng, Transnasional/Kenderaan Klang-Banting, Triton, Permata Kiara and others.

Beginning January 2006, Rapid KL began the first phase of the revamp of its bus network.

Rail
Kuala Lumpur's rail-based transit system consists of three light rail transit (LRT) lines, one monorail, one commuter rail system consisting two lines, and two high-speed airport rail links.

* The three lines used by the LRT are Ampang Line, Kelana Jaya Line and Sri Petaling Line. * The two commuter rail lines, known as KTM Komuter are the Sentul-Port Klang Line and the Rawang-Seremban Line. * The sole monorail line is known as the Kuala Lumpur Monorail. * The high speed KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit lines connect Kuala Lumpur to the international airport.

Different companies operate the various systems and developed them separately at different times. As a result, many of the lines do not integrate well, making transferring from system to system inconvenient for passengers. Moving from one system to another often require a lot of walking, stair-climbing, escalator-use and even crossing busy roads. For example, the KL Monorail's "KL Sentral" station is an unsheltered 300m away from the main KL Sentral building.

There is also no common ticket for all systems, forcing transferring commuters to buy new tickets when transferring. However, the LRT, monorail, and commuter rail systems now accept the Touch 'n Go stored value farecard, easing the hassle. Also, Rapid KL, the operator of the three LRT lines as well as Rapid KL buses (which cover about 70% of the Klang Valley's bus network), has come up with a daily ticket which can be used on both its LRT and bus services which cost RM7.

The monorail is also planning to build a few more stations and tracks which is the Sungai Buloh Line (continued after Titiwangsa), Subang Jaya Line, Cheras Line and another line (name not included).

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Kuala Lumpur was founded in 1857 at the confluence of the Gombak and Klang rivers. In Malay, the name literally means "muddy confluence". The settlement started when a member of the Selangor royal family, Raja Abdullah, opened up the Klang Valley for tin prospectors. 87 Chinese prospectors went up the river Klang and began prospecting in the Ampang area, which was then jungle. Despite 69 of them dying due to the pestilential conditions, a thriving tin mine was established. This naturally attracted merchants who traded basic provisions to the miners in return for some of the tin. The traders set up shop at the confluence of the Klang and Gombak rivers. Thus, a city was born.

As the town grew, the British, who ruled Malaya at the time, felt they needed to appoint a headman (Chinese Kapitan, or Captain of the Chinese) to administer the settlement and ensure law and order. The first Kapitan Cina was Hiu Siew. It was the third Kapitan Cina, Yap Ah Loy, who oversaw the rise of Kuala Lumpur from a sleepy little mining town to become the foremost city of Selangor. In the early years, Kuala Lumpur was the centre of the Selangor Civil War, in which two conflicts could be discerned; a fight between Selangor princes over the revenue of tin mines, and the other one a vendetta between Kapitan Yap and Chong Chong, who wanted the Kapitanship. Kapitan Yap and his backer, Tengku Kudin, were successful and it was from then, thanks to Kapitan Yap's able leadership, that Kuala Lumpur became Selangor's biggest city. He rebuilt Kuala Lumpur, which was devastated by the Civil War and repopulated it with Chinese miners from elsewhere in Selangor. He also encouraged Malay farmers to settle near Kuala Lumpur in order to have a steady and accessible source of food.

Kuala Lumpur advanced by leaps and bounds ever since the Asian Economic Boom of the early 1990s (when economic growth was averaging at 10%). Skyscrapers have shot up and Kuala Lumpur, formerly a languid colonial outpost, has become one of the most lively, advanced and vibrant cities in South East Asia. Traffic jams are a scourge commuters endure daily, despite the numerous 6-lane highways constructed all over the city (including two elevated highways). Bus services are notoriously irregular and inadequate.

Most of central KL has grown without any central planning whatsoever, so the streets in the older parts of town are extremely narrow, winding and congested. The architecture in this section is a unique colonial type, a hybrid of European and Chinese forms.

The stretch of road facing Dataran Merdeka is perhaps the most famous road in Kuala Lumpur. The Sultan Abdul Samad building with its signature copper domes and Moorish architecture stands here, as does one of the tallest flagpoles in the world, which stands in the Dataran Merdeka itself. Up until 2004, the superior courts of the federation (the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court) were housed in the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, since then the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court have moved to the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya. The Dayabumi building is visible, being down the road. This area used to be the focal point of Malaysia's Independence Day parade, which was televised all over Malaysia. In 2003 however, the parade was moved to the boulevard in Putrajaya, keeping with Putrajaya's status as the new administrative capital of Malaysia. Interestingly, the white Police Headquarters located atop Bukit Aman (literally "Peace Hill") also faces the Dataran.

The rest of the city has mostly developed in the standard way, similar with other capital cities in other countries. Aware of this, architects have been urged to incorporate traditional design elements into their work. Notable examples of this fusion are the Dayabumi building, Kuala Lumpur's first skyscraper, the Tabung Haji Building and Menara Telekom, both designed by local architect Hijjas Kasturi, and of course, the Petronas Twin Towers.

Kuala Lumpur has been voted as one of top ten cities in Asia by a leading Asia magazine Asiaweek.