MALAYSIA REPORT TRAVEL.

 From the Lampugnano Bus Station in Milan, reachable by the red subway line, I take the Megabus company bus at 6.30 pm for Rome at the price of Euro 5.00, which can only be purchased online. There are several departures every day.

The aforementioned bus also stops in Genoa and Pisa and arrives at the Triburtina bus station in Rome at 5.30 am.

A few minutes walk away is the Triburtina metro station. The single ride with the metro costs 1.5 euros.

There are several options to reach Fiumicino Airport from Rome, but the cheapest of all is to go by subway to Eur Magliana Station, where outside the same part an urban bus every 30 minutes approximately from 5.55 to 21.05, which takes about 45 minutes to reach the Airport. It also passes through Fiumicino City. The ticket price is 2.30 euros and can be purchased in the bar adjacent to the station.

MALAYSIA

Punctual as never before, my plane from Paris of the Kuwait Airways Company leaves at 12.55 in the direction of Kuwait International Airport (multi-route ticket price including taxes from Rome to Kuala Lumpur and from Jakarta to Rome with a stopover in Kuwait: Euro 543.81).

The plane is full.

Therefore, I arrive at 19.00 at Kuwait International Airport, where it is very cold due to the air conditioning. There is only 1 hour of time zone, compared to Italy when summer time is in the latter. I remain inside the transit area.

With almost an hour delay my plane of the Kuwait Airways Company leaves from Kuwait International Airport at 24.45 in the direction of KLIA Airport in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, (price of multi-route ticket including taxes from Rome to Kuala Lumpur and from Jakarta in Rome with a stopover in Kuwait: Euro 543.81).

  

I therefore arrive at 2.10 pm at Kuala Lumpur KLIA Airport, located in Sepang, 75 km south of the capital.

Customs formalities are simple and a visa is not required for a tourist stay up to 3 months. You don't need to fill out any forms.

From KLIA Sepang Airport (Malaysia), there are three options for reaching KL Central:

1. Klia Express train, cost MYR 35, journey time 28 minutes, which operates from 5 am to 1 am;

2. KL Transit train, cost MYR 35, travel time 35 minutes: along the way it makes three stops;

3. Bus Airport Coach, cost MYR 10, one way, 18 RM, round trip, travel time about 1 hour (to find it go to level 1 of the airport, follow the signs for xi Bus, cross the road and enter the Bus station ).

Getting around in Kuala Lumpur is not easy as the buses are complicated to use and then the three public transport systems by rail (KL MONORAIL, LRT and KTM) are poorly connected to each other. However, from Kl Central it is possible to take one of them by making the ticket at the machines. The fare depends on where you intend to go and the automatic machine will automatically calculate the cost of the ticket.

If you need to take a plane of the low cost airline Air Asia, you must go to KLIA 2 Airport in Sepang (Malaysia), and to do so there are several options starting from to Kl Central:

1. Klia Express train, cost MYR 35, travel time 35 minutes, which operates from 5 am to 1 am;

2. KL Transit train, cost MYR 35, travel time 40 minutes: along the way it makes three stops;

3. Sky Bus, cost MYR 10, one way, travel time approximately 1 hour.

4. Aerobus, cost MYR 10, one way, travel time approximately 1 hour.

At KLIA 2 Airport in Sepang (Malaysia), it is possible to sleep at the Capsule Hotel, but I sleep on the bench.

BRUNEI

Punctual as never before, it leaves from KLIA 2 Airport in Sepang (Malaysia) at 6.45 A.M. my Air Asia Company Airplane in the direction of Brunei International Airport, (one-way ticket price including taxes MYR 117).

Of course, on the plane they don't offer you anything to eat and drink.

I therefore arrive at 9.05 am at Brunei International Airport.

To enter Brunei, you need to fill out three forms:

1. Arrival Card;

2. Incoming Passenger Card;

3. Health Declaration Card;

To reach the Bus Terminal located in Jln Cator, in the heart of the capital of Brunei Bandar Seri Begawan, one step away from the Waterfront, from Brunei International Airport, located 8 km north of the aforementioned center, you need to take one of the following buses: 23, 24, 36 and 38, at the cost of 1 BND. Tickets can be purchased on the bus.

From the Bus Terminal you have to walk for about 500 meters. in Jln Sungai Kianggeh, heading north before finding on the right the cheapest hostel in the capital, the Pusat Belia, located in the complex of the same name where there is also a restaurant, a gym and a swimming pool. It can be identified thanks to the obvious cylindrical staircase. The 28 rooms are divided by gender. The reception is only open from 8.00 to 12.00 and from 14.00 to 16.30. Outside these hours there are problems. The cost for one night is 10 BND, in the dormitory. Breakfast is not included.

The center of Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei can be explored on foot.

If you want to visit the largest villages in the world on stilts with the motor boat, walk to the Waterfront of Bandar Seri Begawan, which is in a nutshell the riverside of Sungai Brunei, where the boats will approach you to offer you a 'excursion of half an hour or one hour by boat. By bargaining hard, you can reach a price of 10 BND for the aforementioned service. The boatman will take you inside the Villages and will also show you the great Sultan's Palace from the outside of course.

To visit on foot the Kampung Ayer composed of 28 Villages, on the northern bank of the River, carefully walk the long unstable walkways that are located southwest of the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, walking on the joists so as not to end up in the water.

To visit the Jame'Asr Bolkiah Mosque instead, which is the largest mosque in Brunei, located 3 km northwest of the center of Bandar Seri Begawan, take bus 1 from the Bus Terminal and ask the driver to make you get off near the mosque. Cost of 1 BND. Tickets can be purchased on the bus.

To go to Bangar, the Capital of the Brunei Enclave, the fastest solution is to take a speedboat from the small port in the Bandar Seri Begawan Waterfront, which leaves when full (you have to wait 1 hour at most) and takes about 45 minutes to reach Bangar along the Sungai Temburong in the middle of the Jungle. Cost of 6 BND. The ticket can be purchased at the ticket office of the small terminal.

MALAYSIA

To reach Kota Kinabalu, the capital of the state of Sabah, Malaysia, you can take the Sipitang Company bus which leaves every day at 8.00 from the Waterfront, near the intersection of Jln Mc Arthur and Jln Sungai Kianggeh. The ticket can be purchased on the internet or the same morning before boarding the bus. The cost is MYR 100. The journey takes about 8 and a half hours, as it is necessary to pass 8 checkpoints (obtaining 8 stamps), as it is necessary to cross, in addition to the enclave of Brunei, the automated states of Malaysia, Sarawak and Sabah.

In Kota Kinabalu, the bus drops you off near City Park, right in the center.

In Kota Kinabalu I slept at the Stay-In Lodge Hostel, located in the center, in front of the Clock Tower, on Jalan Gaya Street at number 121. I booked from home through Hostelword, paying for a bed in the dormitory MYR 20 per night , including breakfast.

On Jalan Gaya Street, there are tons of budget accommodations.

The next morning I walked to Jesselton Port, located in the north of Kota Kinabalu. Here there are numerous shipping companies that offer day trips to 1 or more of the 5 islands that are part of the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, located a few tens of minutes from the city. I relied on the Sunny Rainbow company which at a cost of 45 MYR 20, allowed me to see three islands: Sapi Island, Manukan sland and Mamutik Island, departing at 10.00 in the morning and returning at 15.00.

Once on the first island of Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, it is necessary to pay the fee of MYR 10 at the Desk for entry to the Park.

KKIA Kota Kinabalu International Airport is located in Tanjung Aru, 7km south of the city center.

It consists of 2 distant and not connected terminals. Most airlines start from number 1, but Air Asia company starts from number 2.

To reach it, take the Airport Bus departing every hour from 7.30 to 19.00 from Monday to Sunday, from a very evident stop located near Padang Merdeka Bus Terminal, in Jln Padang.

Tickets can be purchased before boarding the bus at the dedicated desk at the price of MYR 5, one way. The journey takes less than half an hour. The bus first arrives at terminal 2 and then at 1.

My complete travel report with map, photographs and videos is available at this link:

http://vivendosalendo.blogspot.com/2017/04/viaggio-in-malesia-brunei-timor-leste.html