KL (Oct 2024): A Totally Spontaneous 8 Hour Bus Trip

My sole reason for going to Kuala Lumpur was to ride the bus.

Yeah, I know. Everyone tried to talk me out of it too. “Just fly lah! It’s only an hour!” “You really want be stuck for 8 hours with aunties trying to smuggle in their body weight in tau sar piah?”

But I figured, since the Singapore-KL bus route has to be a commonplace experience for a huge swath of people. After all, there are literally hundreds of departures a day, if aggregator sites like Redbus and Easybook are to be believed. There must be an insane amount of human traffic between the two cities - and I wanted in on that action. #busFOMO

Despite the huge amount of options, choosing a bus turned out to be quite easy. I based my decision on:

• Singapore pick-up/drop-off point: You can grab a bus pretty much from anywhere in Singapore, so I shortlisted the ones closest to my place: KKKL (Bishan) and FirstCoach (Novena).

• KL pick-up/drop-off point: For my first bus trip I wanted to go directly to the city centre. So I ruled out those that terminate outside the centre, like FirstCoach (only goes as far as Bangsar - upper-class KL suburb). (On the trip I learnt that Bangsar is only a few LRT stops from the centre so it’s actually still a good choice.)

• Level of dodginess: Comfort isn’t an issue since almost all SG-KL coaches have comfy 2+1 seating arrangements. But some companies are known for business practices like switching their passengers to lower-grade buses or making extra stops to pick up more passengers. So I read the reviews before booking.

The SG-KL bus ride is about 6-8 hours long and there are no toilets on board (except for Aeroline). However, the single scheduled pee break in the middle turned out to be enough. Anyway, the North-South Expressway connecting JB and KL is littered with rest stops so I think toilet breaks would not be an issue.

A one-way bus ticket from SG to KL costs about $30. At $60 return, it’s still quite a bit cheaper than flying (~$100).

But, if you really want to cheap out, you can cross the border to JB and take a bus from Larkin bus terminal. The buses there do not go to KL city centre but stop at Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS) in the outskirts. From there it’s a 30-minute LRT ride into the city. I’ll probably try that next time because I have an inexplicable thing for complicated transfers lol.

Finally, I decided on these 2 services:

• SG to KL: Aeroline for the luxury bus experience: hot meals, drinks, blankets, on-board entertainment, toilet! This popular bus service was sold out from SG-KL on my travel date. So I got a bus from JB-KL - which also slashed my fare 50% from RM150 to RM72 (~$23).

• KL to SG: KKKL bus ($31.50) because the drop-off point is Bishan MRT, walking distance from my place. I wasn't sure what time and in what condition I’d arrive, so not worrying about transport back home was a huge plus.

Day 1: CW2 to JB, Aeroline to KL

I dropped off a client’s rabbit at Dhoby Ghaut in the morning. Since Queen Street bus terminal was quite nearby, I decided to walk over to catch the Causeway Link CW2 bus to Johor Bahru. It was incredibly quick! Only 35 min to Woodlands checkpoint. And at noon on a weekday, the border crossing took no time at all.

In under an hour, I was in JB. On a whim, I headed to Holiday Inn at L7 Komtar JBCC for their RM55 (~$18) lunch buffet. The crowd was mostly business - employees on some kinda work trip. I enjoyed myself very much, reading The Precariat, eating roast beef, and drinking unlimited coffee and tea. The staff were super attentive too.

I had time to kill so I did a little shopping at Komtar and continued reading at Persada Convention Centre. The Aeroline bus was parked there and I watched them get ready. The driver sat in the couch next to mine and played FIFA on his phone, while the attendants walked in and out of the Persada restaurant, making squeak squeak squeak noises as they carried dinner bento-filled plastic bags.

At 5.15pm, we boarded the bus. The crowd was well-behaved and family-oriented. I saw a father in a Harvey Norman uniform hug his kids goodbye. Across my aisle there were 2 little boys, perfect angels, watching their movies in total silence but for the soft rustle and crunch of their snacks.

As the bus rumbled onto the Expressway, we were given bottled water, blankets, hot meals (rice, ayam masak merah, veg) and hot drinks (coffee, tea or Milo) in quick succession. Luxe! Most of the seats are on the upper deck and the attendant must have thighs of steel from going up and down the steps so many times.

There was a tiny TV with some preloaded movies but I read The Old Patagonian Express and looked out of the window. The bus was insanely comfortable and there was a delightful hush interrupted only with soft peaceful snores.

At 8pm we had a pee break at Yong Peng. It was a chilly drizzly night and the little makeshift pau and hot drink stalls looked really inviting. I bought and ate a coconut pau and fell asleep.

At 10.45pm we pulled into KL city centre and disembarked. The 5-hour ride had left me feeling fresh, and the streets looked lively. So I walked over to KLCC station and took the LRT to Masjid Jamek where my hostel was. First impression: KLites are so young! At this time in Singapore, the MRT from Orchard Road would be full of haggard retail and F&B workers twice their age.

Day 2: Hanging out in KL

This is what my private mini room in 1000 Miles looks like in the daytime. It was creepy walking over here at night - not a soul in sight, except for a few rough sleepers in the shadows, and my room looked dismal. But in the morning light it looked cheery again.

I chose this place because it was close to pretty historical buildings like Masjid Jamek, Merdeka Square and Pasar Seni.

I didn’t really eat anything “famous” in KL. For breakfast I just walked into the first South Indian eatery I saw with women in it, and for lunch, a random Nepalese place across the street from my hotel. I enjoyed the migrant presence in the area and would love to eat my way around Kembara Stories’ migrant food maps on subsequent visits.

In the afternoon, I hit up the thrift stores and bookshops. Visited Family Bundle, a chain of used clothing stores (2 along Jalan Petaling, one in Kota Raya Complex, a Lucky Plaza-type mall with SIM card and remittance shops).

Popped by Junk Book Store (which was really junk, I'm sorry to say - the books were falling apart) and Riwayat Bookstore (lefty local bookstore with books on anarchism and bossa nova covers of Smells Like Teen Spirit in the background, where the KL wokerati hang out). Finally, I bought some snacks from the old school biscuit shop across the street.

In the evening I explored the more bougie side of KL. First, I walked to Jal Yoga at The Row to attend a class (I’m a member in Singapore). Realised rather too late that girls don't walk around in leggings and crop tops in KL. If you have enough money for yoga, you drive.

Then headed to exciting Bukit Bintang for a meetup at The Rabbit Hole.

There I met a mix of travellers, expats and locals.

• Iraqi guy who ran away from his provincial little village. He now works as a software engineer, lives in Bali, and travels to KL for startup meetups.

• Taiwanese woman in her 30s on a working holiday visa in Australia, where she works at the supermarket. I am guessing she’s making up for her lost childhood - she had to take care of her younger siblings as mum had mental health problems.

• Late-30s Canadian of Caribbean extraction. Left Canada to live in KL and is visibly loving it. Because for the first time ever, he has the freedom to be brown and Muslim - he fits right in.

I felt very conscious about the uncoolness of my hometown. One person, a rather loose-lipped but self-deprecating white guy, even chuckled: “Singapore? Ah, that explains it.” (I guess referring to my uptightness and awkwardness.) I overheard him say to someone else: “I can probably afford to live in Singapore, but nah. It’s too nice for me. And you’d have to work 12 hours a day.”

Okay, although this little upwardly- and laterally-mobile set is only a tiny sample, I got a very curious impression of KLites. They are enviably secure, happy and proud of where they live, and confident about their futures. Strange to think that in Singapore (the very next city!) a similar gathering of people would probably be talking about job precarity and the high cost of living. Maybe having more space and options (move away from the city or to another city) makes for a more relaxed attitude to life?

By the way, KL women seem more assertive and friendly than their frosty, clique-y Singaporean counterparts. I now totally get why SG girls are referred to as “golden cheesepies”. KL girls, hijabi or not, chat people up like it's nothing. Obviously both countries are thoroughly modernised, but KL seems a whole lot more liberal.

Day 3: KKKL bus to SG

Headed out in the morning for Free Walk KL Unscripted (not actually free, I tipped RM50). Discovered that I was virtually neighbours with the guide, Marie, whose daughter lives across the street from me in Bishan. Marie’s family is 4 generations of SG-KL shuttlers. Her father moved from SG to KL - Marie was raised in KL - her children moved to SG and got citizenship - her grandkids were born in SG. Made me think how interwoven Singapore and Malaysia are.

Over the 3-hour Chinatown walk, the tireless Marie shared a wild jumble of tales: political intrigues, crimes that shocked the world, architectural evolution, urban planning under the British, historical trades, the postal service and the Sikh police force.

It was also a story about Chinese migration. The first waves were the Hakka and Cantonese, who came as tin miners. Then the Hokkien arrived, as traders. (That’s why there are more Hokkiens in Singapore - a trading outpost with no mines.) Finally, the Hainanese arrived as cooks. (Hence the ubiquitous "Hailam kopitiam" serving syncretic cuisine like chicken/pork chops adapted from the British.)

It struck me that that much of KL comes from pure economic accident. The mishmash of shops and people were, it seems, the result of speculators and traders trying their hand in rice starch, opium, prostitution and other commodities as hedges against fluctuating tin prices. KL’s economic story isn’t a tidy little narrative of central planning.

2 things I noted for the next visit:

1. Pasar Karat: Open parking lot flea market not unlike former Sungei Road Thieves' Market in Singapore. It runs from 5-9am daily. Guide says you can apply for a license to sell your stuff from KL City Hall.

2. Thaipusam: Every year in January, there is a mass procession from Sri Maha Mariamman Temple to Batu Caves (some 15km away) and back!

Ended the walk with a migraine; I think I caught some kind of stomach bug. Staggered back to 1000 Miles, where they extremely kindly allowed me to take a shower in the dorm section(!). Then went to Times Square to get lunch and catch my homeward bound bus. Unfortunately, by then I was nauseous so my only memory of Times Square is puking into a garbage bin outside Watsons.

The KKKL bus was 15 minutes late, but apart from that wait, I was very happy with my bus ride. I was worried about taking a 6-8 hour bus ride while feeling unwell, but it was a very pleasant convalescence. KKKL bus seats have leg rests so it was actually comfier than Aeroline. I slept like a baby in between pukes.

Although KKKL didn’t have Aeroline’s frills (blankets and food), there was a very polite attendant who herded us at every stop. We made one 10-minute stop at Pagoh R&R, an interesting clutch of gas stations with Pizza Hut, KFC, Subway and Ramly Burger.

Then went through Tuas Link, which was quick, and went straight to Bishan MRT. In all the journey was about 7+ hours.

Feeling better towards the end of the journey, I went to the front to chat with the bus driver. His working hours are gruelling. After dropping us off, he would have to drive to Gali Batu bus terminal in Yew Tee, clean up the bus, and then cycle the 5km home. It would be well past midnight by then. He’d have only a few hours to rest. The next morning he’d have to be at Bishan again at 7am for another 6-8 hour drive to KL! I really regret not tipping him.