One fun and exciting way to explore the beautiful city of Kuala Lumpur is to ride a bus that gets you to its over 40 tourist attractions from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. non-stop. This tour service on a colorful double decker bus is more popularly known as the Kuala Lumpur Hop On, Hop Off City Tour.

During our recent trip to KL and SG last October 15 to 18, 2011 on board Malaysia’s very own Air Asia, we had the chance to try this tour service and we can happily say that we enjoyed it. Who wouldn’t if you could experience all of KL’s places of interest first-hand while hopping on and off a double decker bus? Imagine the fares you have to pay for each trip to a particular tourist attraction should you do it the conventional way. You do the math. Surely, it would be costly.

With the KL Hop On, Hop Off City Tour Service, you only pay the bus once. The ticket costs RM38 and it’s valid for 24 hours from the date of purchase. If you think 24 hours isn’t enough to satisfy your appetite for KL’s attractions, you may opt to buy the higher-priced ticket with a 48-hour validity.

We had a whole day scheduled to tour the city and we spent it thru the KL Hop On, Hop Off City Tour. We bought our tour tickets from the reception counter of the hotel we stayed in, Mayview Glory Hotel. Since we just came back from Singapore aboard Aeroline’s first-class coach the other day, we started our day late (at around 11:00 a.m.) and we only got to use our tour tickets for a few hours.

We’re not complaining, though. Those few hours that we rode the touring bus, we completed the 22 stops (and even got to take tons of pictures!):

Stop 1: Malaysia Tourism Centre (MTC)
Stop 2: KL Tower

KL Tower

Stop 3: P. Ramlee
Stop 4: KL Convention Centre & Aquaria
Stop 5: Karyaneka
Stop 6: Bintang Walk
Stop 7: Tengkat Tong Shin
Stop 8: China Town
Stop 9: Central Market (buy your souvenirs from here!)
Stop 10: National Palace

with the ceremonial guard of the National Palace

Stop 11: KL Sentral

part of KL Sentral

Little India

Stop 12: National Museum

Muzium Negara

Stop 13: Lake Garden
Stop 14: Bird Park
Stop 15: National Mosque
Stop 16: Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square)

Merdeka Square

Stop 17: Medan Mara
Stop 18: Raja Laut
Stop 19: Bulatan Pahang
Stop 20: Titiwangsa
Stop 21: Citi Bank
Stop 22: Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC)

the famous KLCC Twin Towers

Inside the air-conditioned double decker bus (that also had a small open-air viewing deck at the back, we sat back and relaxed ourselves as the ride carried on. There was a pre-recorded tour commentary played inside the bus for passengers to listen to.

There were even mini screens at the back of each seat (for individual use) that played the same thing in several foreign languages.

But to be more oriented on the various stops, it was still best to get some tour leaflets given out to passengers for free. That was what we did!

According to one of the bus attendants we spoke to, there are six buses that simultaneously tour the city. This makes it possible for a bus to arrive at a particular stop every 30 minutes. Cool.

For some of the stops (Stops 10, 13, 16, etc.), the bus stays for five minutes to allow those tour participants who want to take snapshots of the place but don’t want to hop off the bus do their thing. We belonged to this group for the most part of the tour. We just hopped off the bus when we reached Stop 22. Of course, we wanted to take lots of photos of KL’s famous landmark, the Petronas Twin Towers!

From Stop 22, we waited for the bus to arrive and hopped on it immediately. When we reached Stop 6, we just had to hop off the bus to explore Bintang Walk which was like the Orchard Road of Singapore with its shopping malls and commercial centers. This was where our KL Hop On, Hop Off Tour ended as we had to spend our remaining time in looking for Malaysian souvenirs which we would later find out were sold in large volume at Stop 9 (Central Market).

Overall, we enjoyed our KL Hop On, Hop Off City Tour. It was like being in a cruise, only what we saw were tourist attractions, roads, structures and real people instead of the ocean. This is one service that we recommend every KL visitor to get. It’s a great way to know the city and its people better while appreciating its natural surroundings at the same time.

P.S. KL Hop On, Hop Off City Tour tickets can be bought at the 2/L of KL Sentral and from their authorized hotel partners and travel agencies in Malaysia.

Website: http://www.myhoponhopoff.com

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