Business contacts
Mobile phones You can hire mobiles from Globalphones (Tel: 2164 6003, Email: sales@globalphones.com).
Taxis can be pre-booked from Public Cab (Tel: 6259 2020) and Sunlight Taxis (Tel: 9057 5757). Or they can be hailed on the street.
Office rental Space can be rented at or through most of the major hotels. Translation services Try Global eSolutions (Tel: 425-73300, website: www.global-esolutions.com).
Local press
The two biggest-selling newspapers, The Star and New Straits Times, offer comprehensive coverage of local and international news. Both papers also have decent lifestyle sections featuring current listings.
Visa/vaccinations
Visa requirements change, so check with your Malaysian embassy. For now, Americans and most Europeans don’t require visas. No special inoculations (bar the standard preventatives advised for travelling to the region, which most frequent travellers will already have) are required for visiting Kuala Lumpur. But malaria prophylaxis is required for some other parts of the country, so check with your doctor.
Internet
Increasingly the city’s five-star hotels are offering broadband internet access in the rooms, often for free. If you don’t have that luxury, here are some useful internet cafés: Blue Nile Internet, 87 Wisma Phoenix, Jalan Bukit Bintang, Tel: 2148 6429. Charges [00a3]1 per hour and is open until 2am daily.
Internet Service, 75 Bukit Bintang, Wisma Golden City. Stays open until
1.30am every day.
Money
The Malaysian currency is the Ringgit. It’s currently pegged to the US dollar, although there have been recent internal calls for this status to be reviewed. All major credit cards are accepted in most shops, restaurants and hotels, but not in markets or informal eateries such as many curry houses.
You’re expected to bargain at the markets and sometimes there is leeway in the shopping malls to barter, especially if you’re buying multiple goods. But in the international chains, the price on the label is generally what you have to pay.
Tipping etiquette
You don’t have to tip if a service charge is already added to the bill. Hotel bellboys and porters will appreciate a few ringgit for helping with your luggage, as will taxi drivers.
Public holidays
It’s helpful to know before you make your travel plans when the exact dates for Ramadan are. During this month-long Muslim fast you shouldn’t eat, drink or smoke in public during daylight hours. Hotels might serve food in their restaurants and in the rooms, but in all other respects the fast must be respected. Islamic holidays are based on sightings of the moon, so dates can vary. The approximate dates are:
1st January — New Year’s Day
31st January 2006 — Islamic New Year
11th April 2006 — Prophet Mohammed’s birthday
1st May — Labour Day
31st August — National Day
1st September 2005, 21st August 2006 — Ascension of the Prophet Mohammed
3rd-5th November 2005, 22nd-24th October 2006 — end of Ramadan
25th December — Christmas Day
Weather and climate
Check in at www.weather.com on a regular basis and it will become obvious that Kuala Lumpur is a tropical city. It’s hot and humid and daytime temperatures can reach a high of 33C. But the city is also prone to heavy rain, with flash floods and downpours, mostly in the early evening. The best advice is: carry an umbrella.
Suggested reading
Crossroads—A Popular History of Malaysia and Singapore, by Jim Baker (1999). This informative book provides an easy to digest background to the country and its capital.
Reflections on Asia, by Dr Mahathir Mohamad (2002), for a deeper insight into the man who ruled the country for 22 years and his ideas.
Outside Looking In—Kuala Lumpur, by Stephen Lee (2000), has a more pictorial look at the city and helps to draw together the different strands of this eclectic metropolis.
The Consumption of Kuala Lumpur, by Ziauddin Sardar (2000), is an interesting look at how Kuala Lumpur has emerged so quickly from a small town into an international city.