Day 1: 21 August 2017, Monday
The 29th SEA Games (Southeast Asian Games) were held in Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur (KL), from 19 to 30 August 2017. Since KL is just a stone’s throw away from Singapore, figuratively speaking, I decided to take the golden opportunity to head over to support our Team Singapore athletes in action. My parents also happened to be visiting Genting Highlands during that period so it was the perfect timing for me to swing over to Genting after two nights in KL on my own.
(Exchange rate: S$1 = RM3.13)
I booked a one-way coach ticket from Singapore to KL with Transtar, costing S$20. On 21 August 2017, I went to Beach Road to catch the bus, departing at 8:00am. The coach entered Malaysia via Tuas checkpoint. En route to KL, there was a 35-minute stopover at Yong Peng for us to stretch our legs and use the washroom. As was customary, I gobbled down a Ramly burger and sipped on a cup of hot Teh Tarik as well.
At 1:45pm, the coach dropped me off at Jalan Imbi in KL, where the Transtar office is at. I then walked around the Bukit Bintang area for a while before proceeding to my hostel, which was near Chinatown. According to my prior research, there was a free Go KL City Bus service (click here) that would take me from Bukit Bintang to Kota Raya. From Kota Raya, it would be a short 5-minute walk to my hostel.
Go KL is a public bus service that offers free rides within the Central Business District (CBD) of KL. There were initially only two routes available but the network was later expanded to four routes – the Green Line (KLCC – Bukit Bintang), Purple Line (Pasar Seni – Bukit Bintang), Red Line (KL Sentral – Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman) and the Blue Line (Medan Mara – Bukit Bintang). The buses operate from 6am to 11pm on weekdays and 7am to 11pm on weekends and public holidays. Frequency is every 5 minutes for weekday peak hours (7am to 10am and 4pm to 8pm) and 10 minutes for the other periods.
I was supposed to catch the Purple Line bus to take me to Kota Raya. From afar, I saw a Go KL City Bus stopping along Jalan Sultan Ismail so I ran after it and boarded the bus, at 3:05pm. After getting a seat, I saw that there was a video screen on board and it said “Blue Line”. It seemed weird because the Go KL map that I downloaded onto my phone only contained the Green and Purple lines so I was not aware of any Blue Line being in operation. I must have downloaded an outdated map from the Internet unknowingly.
However, I did not disembark immediately because the video screen also showed the next stop as “Wisma Bousted”, which was the correct next stop for the Purple line. So I waited to see where the bus would go next, and I opened my Google Maps to cross check the location at the same time. However, the further the bus went, the more it seemed to be veering off course, and I then knew I was on the wrong bus.
I evaluated my options and decided that the best option would be to alight at the next stop with a train station so that I could take the train to my hostel. I did not want to take a taxi because it was meant to be a low budget trip, and I was trying to cut costs by taking the free Go KL bus in the first place.
The train station where I alighted at was Bandaraya. I then consulted the train network map in the station and realised that my destination, Pasar Seni, was only two stops away. I paid just RM0.70 (S$0.22) for the ride, which was unimaginably cheap. I later found out that it was a promotional fare valid only until 31 August 2017, which was Merdeka Day, Malaysia’s Independence Day. The 50% discount for all rides on the MRT, LRT and Monorail lines was to celebrate the opening of the new SBK MRT line on 17 July 2017. The discount period happened to coincide with my visit so it was great.
The train was very clean, new and bright. It was a very comfortable ride. I also liked the fact that instead of using paper tickets for these single-trip rides, plastic coin tokens were used instead. It was very convenient because the token was easy to carry around. You could just keep it in your pocket without worrying about bending or damaging it, unlike paper tickets. To exit the fare gate, I just had to drop the token into the slot and the token would be recycled for its next use. No more paper waste! Furthermore, you do not need to pay any deposit for these single-trip tokens. Malaysia is not the first country to use tokens for train rides but it is a good move. Singapore should catch up!
From Pasar Seni station, it was a 6-minute walk to my hostel at Jalan Sultan, 400m away. Along the way, I passed by Jalan Petaling, which is the shopping street of Chinatown. After a detour of about half an hour, I finally arrived at my hostel at 3:45pm.
Anyway, the whole point about the long story above is that the best laid plans often go astray. No matter how much you research, unexpected things may happen, such as taking a wrong bus, or in this case, a bus service that I never knew about. The important thing is not to panic and to evaluate your options calmly. There is always another solution!
Of course, being “lost” in KL is not really a disaster because KL is a developed city and you can always take a taxi easily. The other point I’m trying to share is that sometimes, being lost is a good thing too. It allows you to try different things, such as taking the public train, and you then realise how good, cheap and convenient it is. I may never have taken the train if I didn’t end up on the wrong bus.
Since the theme for this trip is Budget, I booked a cheap hostel for my two nights in KL. The hostel is called Mingle and I booked a single pod in a 4-bed shared room. It cost me only RM55 (S$17.60) per night, inclusive of breakfast. The location was perfect too, because it was just 3 minutes’ walk away from MABA (Malaysian Basketball Association), the venue for the SEA Games basketball matches.
Mingle Hostel
Address: 53 Jalan Sultan, 50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: +603-20222078
Website: https://www.minglehostels.com/minglehostelkualalumpur
Price: RM55 per night for a 4-bed shared dorm room, inclusive of breakfast
Mingle Hostel is located in an old warehouse building at the corner of Jalan Sultan and Jalan Hang Jebat. The exterior of the building appears dirty and rundown, but the interior has been refurbished. There is a hipster café on the ground floor called Leaf & Co. Café but unfortunately, I didn’t have time to try it. The hostel is located above the café on the second floor.
By the way, the name Mingle Hostel is quite a smart play on words. The Chinese name is actually 名楽, which is denoted in hanyu pinyin as Míng Lè. So “Mingle” is actually a two-in-one name that can be split into “Ming” and “Le”. The hostel touts itself as an experience and social hostel, so the name makes even more sense, a place where guests from all over the world can mingle together and make new friends. They also organise free excursions and tours for their guests.
Even though it has been refurbished, the hostel retains some of its old features, successfully blending modernity with antiquity. I like the exposed concrete walls and floor, and the old-fashioned kerosene lamps lining the corridor. The steel walkway on the second floor made the place look like a hip prison. The dorm room was sufficiently spacious, with large individual lockers to store your belongings. I also like the fact that each bed had a power socket, lamp and a curtain for privacy. These are little touches that make a big difference to the end-user experience.
After dropping my stuff at the hostel, I quickly walked over to MABA for the basketball match between Singapore and Laos. I arrived at 4pm, 15 minutes late for the match, no thanks to the unexpected detour earlier. Admission was free as it was the preliminary round. The stadium was super old school, like it belonged to the 80’s, but it felt strangely refreshing as well, like being transported to a bygone era. The stadium was only about 40% full and it was free seating so I picked a seat near to the Team Singapore players.
I specially came to watch this match because one of my friends was playing for the national team. Having a personal connection gave the match added meaning and intensity. Together with the other supporters, I cheered and clapped loudly with every hoop scored by our team in red. In the end, Singapore won the match 103-51, easily outscoring our Laotian neighbours. Good job guys!
After the match, I walked over to Chin Woo Stadium, just 3 minutes away. Perched atop a hill, the stadium had a commanding view of the surrounding Chinatown area. Chin Woo is more of a sports hall than a stadium, and it is even more old school than the MABA building. In fact, it has preserved its original 1953 appearance.
The sports hall is home to the Chin Woo Athletic Association, focused on developing Chinese martial arts, sports and culture. It offers classes for wushu, yoga, table tennis, Chinese calligraphy, painting, Chinese chess, Chinese orchestra, dance and more. However, I was not here for all these. I came here to use the swimming pool.
The pool is open to members of the public and it costs RM4.30 (S$1.40) on weekdays and RM5.30 on weekends for adults. Like everything else, it is old school too, but the setting is very idyllic and relaxing. The pool is 50m long but for some unknown reason, the lane dividers were placed across the width of the pool, so you could only swim laps of about 25m instead of 50m, which was quite annoying.
After a refreshing evening swim, I had dinner at one of the roadside eateries near my hostel at Chinatown. I ordered a plate of dry hor fun noodles and a cup of tea for RM10 (S$3.20). I then went to Petaling Street flea market for a look. It was dominated by stalls selling counterfeit apparel and products so I left empty handed. I was hoping to find some nice souvenirs and try some snacks, but there was none of the sort. Following the disappointment of Petaling Street, I decided to head back to Bukit Bintang for the proper shopping malls.
With the recent opening of the new SBK (Sungai Buloh-Kajang) MRT line, Bukit Bintang is only two stops away from Pasar Seni. Previously, before the SBK line opened, a trip from Pasar Seni to Bukit Bintang would involve a change of trains at KL Sentral station and travelling for six stops in all. So the new SBK line makes it a lot more convenient now.
The new SBK line train stations look very similar to some of the newer MRT stations in Singapore. The spanking new trains are also equipped with informative video display panels and they ran smoothly. Maybe it’s because everything is still new now, but I dare say that it gives our Singapore trains a run for their money! Speaking of money, did I mention that the train fares in Malaysia are cheaper too?
I spent the rest of the evening window shopping at the malls at Bukit Bintang before calling it a night. And that’s the end of Day 1. Ready for more SEA Games action tomorrow!
