By Road
Located 48km north of Alor Setar in the northern state of Kedah, Bukit Kayu Hitam is the main entry point into Malaysia for visitors from Thailand. The Malaysian immigration and customs post is located near restaurants, shops, car parks and a duty-free shopping complex. The North-South Expressway links Bukit Kayu Hitam to Kuala Lumpur, 490km away.

Johor Bahru is the main southern entry-point into Peninsular Malaysia for visitors entering Malaysia from Singapore . The North-South Expressway links Johor Bahru with Kuala Lumpur 220km to the north and takes in several towns along the way.

A causeway carrying a road and railway, connects Johor Bahru to Singapore. Immigration and Customs checkpoints are based at the entrance to the Causeway. A second bridge links Tanjung Kupang 30km south-west of Johor Bahru, to Tuas in Singapore. Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) has train services connecting Singpore to Johor Bahru and other states in the peninsula right up to Padang Besar on the border with Thailand.

By Sea
Both Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak in Borneo are accessible via their sea ports. Malaysia's largest modern sea port is Port Klang, located midway on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It has excellent harbourage and is a major shipping and cargo terminal. Other sea ports are in Penang and Langkawi. In the north of Peninsular Malaysia, Johor to the south and Kuantan to the East.

Moving About In Malaysia

Travel in the country is easy enough. Once you have decided where you want to head to, all you have to decide is what mode of transport you would prefer. Most major cities in the country have an airport, while the rail service links the north to the south and even extends to the east of Peninsular Malaysia. Sabah has its own rail track. Of course there is road transport, by car, by bus or by taxi. The Malaysian capital has a new three line metro system. Kuala Lumpur's light rail transit (LRT) system connects some key districts where banks, offices, hotels and shopping malls are concentrated. Although it's called LRT (Light Rail Transit) it is a fully independent metro network.

The latest STAR line, an overhead railway system, started operations nearly three years ago and became hugely popular with visitors to the 16th Commonwealth Games in 1998. PUTRA, a combination of overhead and underground track completed only last year, is reputedly the world's longest fully automated driver-less metro system.

The total Kuala Lumpur LRT network is a multi-billion dollar project that uses modern, electrically-powered trains operating on double tracks to offer a reliable and comfortable alternative by bus, taxi and car within Kuala Lumpur's urban area. The KL LRT is a closed system whereby a ticket is required to get access to the platform and also to leave the station. The fare collection system uses plastic tickets with magnetically stored information. Both single and stored value tickets are available at the ticket booths at the stations.

Route and fare maps are displayed at all stations. The stations have ticket vending machines and public telephones and are located near bus and taxi stands. For the handicapped, there are special lifts, ramps and sitting space on the railcars, which are designed very much like metros elsewhere.

One-way fares range from 10p to 35p. Return and stored value tickets are available. travelling across the city could take about 30 minutes, but within its commercial centre, the average is closer to 10 minutes. Trains leave approximately every three minutes during peak hours and about eight minutes apart during non-peak.

A more ambitious project is KL Sentral, which will serve as the hub for LRT and monorail services as well as the KTM Komuter, a fast train already operating from stations in the city to Rawang in the north, Port Klang in the southwest and Seremban in the south. (KL Sentral was opened on April 16, 2001).

KLIA is able to manage 7,130 passengers, both domestic and international, at peak hour. The Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang serves a few domestic and regional airlines. Other major international airports which serves as entry points are Penang, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu and Langkawi.

By Road
Malaysian roads are among the best in this region. Driving is an interesting mode of seeing the country. An overland journey to Malaysia from Thailand and Singapore can be made easily by driving through the North-South Expressway on the West coast and East-West highway to the East coast. Car rental services are easily available. Buses, taxis and coaches, both interstate and local ply between various destinations. Maximum speed limit on the highway is 110 km/h.

By Rail
Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTM) or Malayan Railways has an impressive rail network that connects all the major towns in the peninsula. It stretches all the way into Singapore in the south and on into Thailand in the north. The KTM Railpass has all the benefits of first-class travel, but at economy rates. Railpass holders are allowed unlimited travel on any passenger train in Malaysia and Singapore for the duration of the railpass.

The price of adults is US$55 for 10 days and US120 for 30 days. For children between 4 and 12 years old, the Railpass is US28 (10 days) and US60 (30 days). A luxury train service, the Eastern and Oriental Express, which is modelled after the world renowned Orient Express, is available too. The 41-hour round-trip journey makes its route from Singapore, through Kuala Lumpur before going up north to Bangkok and then back again.

At the centre of the KL Sentral development is Stesen Sentral, the country's rail transport nucleus, which links all major intercity and intra-city lines, as well as the capital's commuter network and airport rail service. Already throbbing with more than 40,000 passengers a day, translating to 14 million a year, Stesen Sentral is expected to see passenger traffic of 100 million a year by 2020.

KL Sentral is being developed in phases, and is expected to be completed by 2012. It is being developed as a futuristic self-contained city, providing the perfect live, work and play environment. Office towers, condominiums, hotels, restaurants, retail malls and entertainment and leisure centres are all within walking distance from each other. The transport facilities offered are on par with the best the world over.

Moving About In Kuala Lumpur

The city has an efficient transportation network that enables visitors to move around conveniently and economically. Taxi services in the City taxis operate by meter. The current rate is RM2 for the first 5km and 10sen for each subsequent 200m. Radio taxis charge an additional RM1 for phone bookings. Taxis may be hired from taxi stands, hailed at the roadsides or through a radio-phone paging system.

City buses in Kuala Lumpur operate services both within the city as well as to numerous points within the Klang Valley. generally, these buses provide air-conditioned comfort and are equipped with coin and card-operated automatic ticket dispensing machines.