Daily Expenses
Food prices are generally quite low, particularly if you are buying local products. Street food in Malaysia is a great experience and provides for a cheap night out. Here it is still possible to spend RM20 to RM40 a day on three meals including drinks. If you like eating at local street restaurants (hawkers) then prices of a typical local dish varies between RM10 to RM20.
Fast-food chains, such as McDonalds, KFC, Burger King and Subway, have outlets in major shopping and business areas, but they’re often not as cheap (or fast) as local food stalls.
Purchasing daily necessities and groceries is not a problem as our accommodations are placed in close vicinity to malls or shop lots that usually include a major grocery outlet and several smaller stores. Do check out our food guide for Bandar Sunway and Eco Botanic, Johor
Mobile Service Providers
Mobile Service Providers
Mobile phone plans are abundant in Malaysia. Plans can start as low as RM50 per month and this will vary depending on your requirements.
Plans can either be Prepaid whereby you only pay a one-time payment for usage of your mobile line with data for a period of time or it can be Postpaid whereby you pay a fixed monthly fee for continuous usage of your mobile line month-on-month.
Within Prepaid or Postpaid plans, the data limits for cheaper packages start from 1 Gb per month with voice calls as low as 6 cents / 30 second block while more expensive packages under Postpaid plans can get you unlimited data and unlimited voice calls from RM100 per month.
If you are looking for a new mobile phone, there are also plans whereby the mobile company packages a 0 interest installment payment of the mobile phone together with your monthly post paid plan. You can get the latest iPhone starting at RM109.00 per month or a Samsung at RM83.00 per month
Explore the competitive packages further offered by each mobile service provider below:
Transportation
Transportation
Malaysia has a well developed transportation network spread across rail (LRT and MRT trains), the bus network and private cars for hire (Grab, MyCar, JomRides, MULA).
Within Kuala Lumpur, the RAPID train network works well to bring you around all important points in the city. From each train station, a feeder bus system brings you further from each station to various points around the train station to give you wider coverage.
For economical intercity travel, the central bus station in Kuala Lumpur known as TBS (Terminal Bersepadu Selatan) is a must to connect you to all cities in Malaysia i.e. Johor, Penang, Malacca and even cross border Singapore. Popular bus ticketing websites you may explore are:
Within Johor, Larkin Sentral is the central bus terminal you will be arriving at while Senai Airport will be your landing point if you arrive by flight. From these 2 points, private cars for hire may be your most convenient mode of transportation around Johor.
Malaysia is also well connected domestically via air travel with many airports in smaller cities. Explore traveling around Malaysia using AirAsia, Malindo Air, Firefly or Malaysian Airlines. Or alternatively using popular platforms such as Skyscanner or Traveloka to find cheap air tickets for your travels.
Airport Arrival
Airport Arrival
Entry Visa:
Before travelling to Malaysia, please check if you also need to apply for a Malaysian entry visa. For students, you’ll need your Student Pass approval letter before also applying for an entry visa.
If you are unsure as to your visa requirements for your country of origin, you may refer to the Malaysian Immigration website here.
Transportation from the airport
Transportation from the airport
Upon your first arrival at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, if you are thinking of hopping onto a taxi, we would advise you to opt for a private car hire to get from the airport to your destination in the city.
The standare fare should approximately be RM59 to RM65 with an additional RM7 for tolls. Do avoid the individual touts standing at the arrivals section of the airport offering you the same priced fares as Grab, MyCar, JomRides or MULA as you will not be honouring the queue system for private car hires at the airport. Avoid the risk of anything going awry by taking a ride not booked via the app.
Alternatively, a more economical way to reach the city from the airport would be the airport bus at Level 2 of the KLIA airport complex. The cost is approximately RM11 to get to KL Sentral in downtown KL from where you can make your way around the city. From KL Sentral, you may hop onto the RAPID train or bus network or get a private car hire to get to your final destination. If you’re looking to travel intercity bybus, KL Sentral is connected to TBS via the RAPID train line.
There is also an express train that takes you from KLIA to KL Sentral in 40 minutes. The train fare is RM55 for a one-way pass, the cost of which is marginally lower than a private car hire but for which you will still need to incur some additional cost of getting from KL Sentral to your destination.