When Malaysian entrepreneur Tony Fernandes bought the heavily indebted carrier AirAsia in 2001 for the nominal sum of one ringgit, few could have predicted that by now it would be vying to be the world’s largest no-frills carrier. One side-effect of the airline’s rapid expansion has been Kuala Lumpur becoming one of the most important … read the full post

For a city of Kuala Lumpur’s wealth and ambition, its public transport system was until recently an embarrassing mess (making it easier, sometimes, to just walk). It was not so much that it was badly planned, as to be completely lacking in any strategic overview at all. Every mode of transport, even the two lines of the … read the full post

June 30, 2011 marked a sad day for rail travel in Southeast Asia, with the last Malaysian train rolling into Singapore’s historic Tanjong Pagar station. Such is the charm of the art deco station that starting or finishing a journey there was one of the main reasons for travelling by rail. Neither Singapore nor Malaysia … read the full post

It sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it, a comfortable double-decker bus that links the major sights of a city, which you can get off and on, as you wish? An a la carte tour, if you will. And what better city to operate such a service in than Kuala Lumpur, with its inadequate public … read the full post

You know how it often is with buses, you wait ages for one to arrive, and then two or three come along at the same time. Well, the same seems to be true with bus stations in Kuala Lumpur. After decades of neglect, Malaysia’s first integrated transport terminal, TBS (Terminal Bersepadu Selatan), became fully operational … read the full post

My first piece of advice to anyone thinking of hiring a car to use in Kuala Lumpur would be: don’t do it! KL drivers may not be the worst in the world, but they come fairly close. Add in erratic signage, ever-worsening traffic jams, and a frightening disregard for road safety, and you can appreciate … read the full post

Malaysian intercity bus travel is a curious thing indeed. The journey itself is for the most part efficient, pleasant and good value for money. By contrast, the vast majority of bus terminals are hot, noisy, confusing, tout-filled nightmares. If the buses themselves do a good job of representing Malaysia’s first world aspirations, the places where … read the full post

As recently as two years ago, the most frequent complaint by visitors to KL was about the city’s taxi drivers. The biggest single problem was the refusal of drivers to use their meter, insisting instead on outrageous fixed fares. In the end, the situation became so bad the government had to act. It adopted a … read the full post