Saturday, July 7, 2007

When You are on Budget at KL...

When i mention about guesthouse, backpacker lodge or budget accomdation, the first response that i receive is normally as follows, "huh.... is the place alrite, will there be prostitutes or gangster hanging around..?????", or " you sure it is safe..??". According to some info that i've just managed to gather from a website, Jalan Alor was Red Light District in the 70s (no wonder some people think it may be dangerous).


well.... the place is ok.... and it's quite safe although i won't guarantee that it's 100% safe..


Let me explain...


The area of Bukit Bintang is flourished with all types of accomodation for business and leisure travellers. I went to KL recently and stayed at Anjung KL 2 (there are 2 locations for this guesthouse, Anjung KL1's just a stone throw away), a guesthouse at Tengkat Tong Shin, Bukit Bintang. Anjung 2 is located at Tengkat Tong Shin, and has been renovated just recently. The owner modified the structure of an old chinese shop house into budget accommodation.





The look of the guesthouse is exactly as displayed of above..:) (exterior and interior). The design is comtemporay, simple yet stylish (as described in anjung's homepage). There are three storeys and the rooms are equipped with aircon. I stayed in a double bed aircon room with window. I won't describe too much about the guesthouse, the rest of the details about rates and location could be obtained from their website http://www.anjung.com/.

I love the area where anjung is located. Alor Street, the famous makan street is just minutes of walk away.


Jalan Alor is full with large and small eateries. Sorry, i don't have a photo which shows the whole street in action at night. This photo is 'grabbed' from other website and it's a day time view of the makan street. My point is, you won't need to worry about getting a place to fill ur stomach. But you might need to worry about which stall to choose. erm... could consider doing some online reseach before going there..

Besides, Anjung KL is also very closed to the the famous shopping place at Bukit Bintang, Sungai, Lot 10, Times Square are all within 15 minutes walks away. You could find a good mix of people from different countries, local malaysians, ang mos, Japanese, Indian.....a mini united nation.



However, i do have one negative point about Anjung. The staff don't seem to be really friendly towards the locals. I sensed an obvious different between the tone of voice and facial expression when they are speaking to the ang mos and myself.


To me - load voice, with impatience shown on face


To Ang mos - smiling face, soft and sweet tone of voice (so hypocritic.....especially the lady with whole bunch of curly hairs tied in a pony tail!)


Anyway, if you don't like Anjung, you could still choose from a list of budget accomodations along the same street (Red Palm and The Eight both have good ratings). Info could be obtained from http://www.hostelworld.com/ (this website even provide you with an overall rating of the hostel ).

P.S. Keep your valuables in a safe if you are staying in a budget place. During my stay and Anjung, an Angmo complained about a pair of stolen shoes at The Eight.