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Mango Weekly – 20 August 2006 (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

Posted by pmmp | Blog, Malaysia, Reader Submissions, Trip Report | Posted on August 27th, 2006

Made a Visa run to Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia August 15-17, 2006. A couple of days doing the necessary with the Thai Embassy combined with a little KL nightlife research was the agenda for the trip. At the end, and what seems to becoming a pattern now, I was glad to get back to Thailand. Summary of the trip is below. Information on the web is pretty scattered and out of date on KL but I found a few websites helpful:
http://www.kuala-lumpur.ws/nightlife/index.html
http://www.mycen.com.my
http://www.jkr.gov.my/jln/piarc99/kl.jpg

Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur (KL)
Air
Hotel
Transportation
Nightlife
Internet/Mobile Phone
Impressions

Air
- Flew Thai Airways arranged by our buddy Will at DTC Travel www.dtvtravel.com
. Air Asia is cheaper but has become a really crappy way to fly. I
wasn’t in the mood for the cattle herd so went with Thai Airways. An
annoying new development at Thai though is that they took away the
beverage cart and only offer Coke, Water, OJ and Wine. I’m sure they
saved a ton of cash and made life easier for the precious air crew but
I’m paying more for the ticket and was used to great selection they
used to offer. Oh well.
- KL airport is an amazing airport with a great website www.klia.com.my.
I flew into the C gates which has Currency Exchange (Currency is
Ringgits (RM) and the rate is 1 US Dollar = 3.68 Ringgits) by the Gates
but does require you take the shuttle to the Immigration/Baggage
Claim/Ground Transportation. The shuttle was simple and we were there
in a couple of minutes.
- Immigration was lightning quick
- Taxi Counter is located outside baggage claim just follow the signs.
If you are staying downtown you can take a Taxi for about $18 US or you
can take the train. I took a Taxi since it was late and there would be
no traffic plus I didn’t know about the train. More info. in the
Transportation section below.

Hotel
- Hotel Istana:
Address: 73 Jalan Raja Chulan, 50200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
P.O. Box: P.O. Box 12919, 50792 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: (603) 2141 9988
http://www.hotelistana.com.my
- There was a convention in town so my travel agent could only get a
room at this hotel. The rate was a little high about $100 US but it is
a 4-5 star hotel located a block or two from the top nightlife spots
and a 10 minute walk from the Twin Towers. I Highly recommend
- "Guests" only have to leave their ID at the desk
- Free Medium Speed Internet Access in the room via 10baseT cable provided by hotel. Wireless available only in the lobby area
- Bring your Universal Power Adapter as Malaysia outlets are indeed unique
- Taxi line out front. Before Midnight they actually use the meter.
After Midnight they charge and arm and leg. To go to the Hard Rock
Cafe, which is a 5-10 minute walk, they asked for $4 US
- The only bad parts about this hotel, the walls were paper thin and the rugs dirty and smelly

Transportation
- Taxi
I only used taxis during this visit as everything else was walking
distance. Taxis in Malaysia, both Penang and KL, are pretty much the
same. They rarely use the Meter. When they do it’s dirt cheap and when
they don’t it’s not. After Midnight rates skyrocket
- Train
I didn’t know about the train from the airport to downtown but there is
a great option. You can get information about it on the KLIA page http://www.klia.com.my. It gets you from the airport to downtown in about 30 minutes and costs about half of what a Taxi costs, about $10 US.

Nightlife
KL is not Bangkok, that’s for sure. The websites http://www.mycen.com.my/search/nightlife.html and http://www.kuala-lumpur.ws/nightlife/index.html
contain a somewhat comprehensive listing of the different nightlife
offerings in KL. I will only be covering the Jalan Sultan Ismail (JSI)
area since it was close to the hotel and I was only there two nights.
Besides the JSI area the city is smattered with Massage Parlors and
very expensive Escort Services. Just do a Google search or check the
local yellow pages if that’s your thing. I found that the JSI area had
enough to keep me busy while I was there.

JSI Area
There are about twelve clubs in the JSI area. The Hard Rock Cafe and
Ruums are a five minute walk from Beach Club. The rest are right around
Beach Club. Some addresses:
- Beach Club
97 Jalan P Ramlee, 50250 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 2166 9919
Type: Fun Pub, Dance Club, Genre: Retro, Contemporary
- Hard Rock Cafe Kuala Lumpur
http://www.hardrock.com/locations/cafes/cafesasp?lc=KUAL
Ground Floor, Wisma Concorde, Jalan Sultan Ismail, 50250 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 2715 5555
Type: Fun Pub, Live Band & Restaurant, Genre: Dance, Rock
- Ruums
http://www.ruumsclub.com
1st & 2nd Floor, Bangunan Life Centre, Jalan Sultan Ismail, 50250 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 2162 8163, Fax: 03 2162 8162
Type: Bar & Club, Genre: House, R&B, Hip-Hop, Retro

Hard Rock was a total dud. The band both nights was pretty lame, much
like the crowd. Ruums was a bit scary since I was on my own so I just
stayed for one drink. The clubs around Beach Club were all less than
half full so not too interesting. I did go mid-week so that might
explain it.

All the action was at Beach Club. The place is big and was packed both nights. The crowd at Beach Club in majority order:
- Freelancers, a bunch of them. A mix of women from Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia
- Drunk foreign guys (I am in this group)
- Malaysian guys, girls and couples
- Sad Foreign Cows (Cows = Big Western, Australian and European women
and Sad because they feel invisible when standing next to the beautiful
Freelancers)

The scene here is rather simple for the Punter looking to hook up. You
can herd in a Cow or get out the wallet. Picking up a freebie can be
done but will require the usual luck, game and good looks. Open your
wallet though and some very beautiful, young, and friendly SE Asian
women become available. Like many of the freelancer clubs throughout SE
Asia the foreign man regardless of his looks is the piece of meat. As
soon as you walk into Beach Club you are locked onto. I felt like a
Turkey on Thanksgiving Day and believe me I’m no Brad Pitt, almost the
opposite in fact.

A little advice on interacting with the freelancers here although it’s
not that difficult really. Take your time and then establish eye
contact with the girl you like. Once locked on move in and talk to her.
Most of these girls speak very good English. If the vibe is good slowly
work in what she is doing here in Malaysia. This will most likely lead
to her telling you she is a working girl. Then I suggest you get into
price/performance details. Negotiate all prices and services up front
to avoid any surprises later. Then, well then you are on your own.
There are 50-100 freelancers at Beach Club and many of them are simply
gorgeous. Finding a friendly girl is the real key though. It’s not
always best to go on looks. Like with any freelancer marker you have to
be extremely careful. Watch your drink at all times, make sure somebody
knows your whereabouts, lock up your valuables, etc.

The other pay-for-play option is to choose from the many Ladyboys that
walk the streets around these clubs. If tall, dark and handsome is your
thing then you are good to go. In a related story, I stopped by a club
next to the hotel called the Estanza Cruz Club. I am not recommending
this club just reporting on it. I wanted to start the night out at the
Hotel’s club but it was closed for renovations. Next door though there
was music pumping so I went in. I wish I took a picture because it’s
very hard to explain what was going on here. There were two tables with
people. At one table there were five big Malaysian guys. At the other
table two old Malaysian guys and four somewhat larger ladies. Well, I
thought they were ladies until they got up to dance. They were Ladyboys
and not the most feminine that I have seen. The band consisted of a
chubby chick, a tacky lounge singer guy, and an old man playing
synthesized Malaysian dance music. After two Jack/Coke’s I just sat
back and enjoyed the show as the big Malaysian guys would occasionally
dance with the big Ladyboys. I’m sure Lonely Planet will be listing
this club soon so get there while it’s still unspoiled. It’s located
right next door to Hotel Istana if you are interested.

Internet/Mobile Phone
- Internet
Internet services (DSL speeds) are available in most hotels and there are Internet cafes sprinkled throughout the city
- Mobile phone
You can pick a SIM card pretty cheap here or rent a phone at the airport

Impressions
I love Thailand. That’s what I was thinking as I was leaving Malaysia.
I have been to Penang three times and now KL once. The culture is
similar in the two cities and just not my cup of tea. The people were
not unfriendly but not friendly either. There really wasn’t anything
exotic or mysterious about Malaysia. They seem to be copying other SE
Asian cities in a race to be like Tokyo. It’s all a bit bland. The
party scene is here but most of the spice is provided by the
foreigners. With that said, I never had any problems nor did I feel
unsafe walking the streets.

-pmmp