1. GET A SIM CARD
With a local sim card, it is always cheaper than roaming. However, it isn't a good idea to buy a sim at the airport. There are trains and buses to transit from the airport to KL Sentral, which is the transportation central linking directly to the airport and other places in the city. It is easy for you to buy a Sim there in NU sentral - a shopping mall in KL Sentral. There are Maxis, Digi...stores in the 2nd level of NU Sentral.
As a foreigner, you need to show your passport to register for the sim card. ...Remember to ask the staff to activate the internet for you. There are usually variety packages for you to choose. And there are also 2 options, pre-paid and post-paid for you to consider.
The main operators in Malaysia are Maxis, Celcom, Digi, U Mobile... I am using Maxis with the basic package RM30/ month. With Maxis app, you can easily top up your balance or add in your internet data.
2. GET A "TOUCH 'N GO" CARD
One of the very first things you need to know as moving to a new city is its public transportation. To me, public transport in KL is diverse and convenient in compare with my home country. As I mentioned above, KL Sentral is the most accessible station in terms of easily getting around the city.
There are different transports for you to consider, the tickets are fairly cheap and charged for distance travel.
LRT ( KL Light Rail Transit)
Monorail
MRT (SBK line)
KTM Komuter
BRT ( Bus rapid transit)
BAS ( normal bus)
.....
If you tend to use public transport for most of your travelling, it is recommended to get a "touch n go" card right away on your first day in KL. You can get a touch and go card at KL Sentral in any ticket counters in front of LRT station. The price for the card is RM5 as I remember and you can reload your TnG card with RM10, RM20, RM35, RM50, RM100, RM200 and RM500...
PLUS, to travel from KL to other places in the Malaysia like Penang, Malacca, Prehentian, Johor, etc or even Singapore, you can go by bus by booking ticket at www.busonlineticket.com/.
(google image)
3. DOWNLOAD GRAB APP
Beside LRT, KTM, BUS, etc, Grab is also a very popular and useful transport in KL for the ones who don't have private transport. For those places that public transport can't reach, then grab is a great choice. Grab is more expensive than other public transports, however, it is a great choice when you are in rush or you want to save your time. For sure, not all the time, especially in the rush hour (6pm-8pm), grab would be a worse choice^^.
Download Grab app for your phone, use grabpay for better price in the first time use. And make sure that you use you Malaysia number or the app. And there are usually promo codes, check the notifications often.
4. LOOK FOR ROOMS
If you already know where your office or your university is, you'd better try to search room when you are still in your home country.
- Key words for searching: #roomforrent #roomtolet #studioforrent #roominkl #roomin...
- Searching for condo which links to public transports, lrt, ktm, monorail...
- Search in ibilik.com
- Remember to ask: renting price, deposit( how much?, how many months? usually 2.5 months), what kind of room?( master room, small room, middle/medium room), contract, utilities.
- You can try to deal with owners or agents about all the elements above.
- Contact for viewing when you reach KL; then, book for the room( booking fee usually is one monthly renting fee)
Suriamas condo
5. DOWNLOAD WHATSAPP
Malaysians are the world's largest WhatsApp users. So get whatsapp to easily contact to your new local friends or contact owners, agents to look for rooms.
