On a shoestring budget? Not to worry in KL

TRENDY, contemporary, great character and personality and affordable. These are the traits of the modern-day budget hotel non-star-rated establishments labelled budget for their lack of certain posh qualities and fancy facilities as found in big hotels.

Unlike the international brands that offer standard service and setting, budget hotels are usually run by owners who bank on individuality to pull in the guests.

The very distinctiveness that often matches the locality of the budget hotels makes them appealing, especially those in exotic locales that have a certain character like Kuala Lumpur's Chinatown in Petaling Street and Jalan Tengkat Tong Shin in the vicinity of sizzling Bukit Bintang.

We check out some places that are a hit with backpackers, especially foreign travellers.

Most budget and backpackers hotels in Kuala Lumpur have their share of fame in many travel blogs, online booking websites and other travel guidebooks.

The backpackers bible, Lonely Planet, lists Jalan Tengkat Tong Shin, Petaling Street and Bukit Bintang as KL's top spots for backpackers.

While budget travellers from abroad flock these areas, local petty traders from out of the city prefer to stay at Kampung Baru which is close to business venues in the city and the famed KLCC.

Along Jalan Tengkat Tong Shin in Bukit Bintang is probably Kuala Lumpur's answer to Bangkok's Khaosan Road and Jakarta's Jalan Jaksa. Though not as big and happening as Khaosan and Jaksa, Tengkat Tong Shin is fast gaining popularity with shoestring tourists.

No one really knows what put Tengkat Tong Shin on the global backpackers map its strategic location in one of KL's main shopping districts, its wide range of lodging choices or both.

The one-way Tengkat Tong Shin runs parallel to busy Jalan Alor and the two roads are linked by Jalan Tong Shin and Changkat Bukit Bintang to form a big frenzied loop off the already chaotic Jalan Bukit Bintang.

Its collection of budget-friendly hotels starts with Anjung KL Guesthouse at Jalan Tong Shin and Corona Inn Hotel across the road (exactly at the bend to Tengkat Tong Shin).

It then follows with not less than 10 hotels and guesthouses that occupy the rows of low-rise shophouses on both sides of the one-way lane.

These shophouses some dating back to the 60's or even earlier have a unique old-world charm with a distinctive Malaysian flavour that appeals to foreign tourists.

However, for those who prefer to stay in branded or high-rise, modern-looking hotels, there are a few like Allson Genesis Hotel, Radius International Hotel and Hotel Nova.

Unlike the chaotic Jalan Alor and all the happening Changkat Bukit Bintang, Tengkat Tong Shin is quiet and serene most times. Once in a while, KL's Hop On Hop Off buses and a stream of taxis pick up and deposit tourists. But it prospers no doubt due to its more hip neighbours Jalan Alor, the world-famous food haven with hundreds of stalls offering mostly delicious Chinese hawker fare and Changkat Bukit Bintang with its many international cuisine restaurants and cafes.

The hotels lining quiet Lorong Haji Hussein off Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz in the busy central Chow Kit area are probably among the oldest hotels in the city.

With names like Hotel Merdeka I and II, these places were unmistakably established during the independence year or post independence in the late 50's.

However, they dont have that foreign tourist appeal, with everything branding, appearance and service targeted at Malaysians.

But do not mistake them for seedy joints.

These are all the preferred lodgings of businessmen and women, especially those from the East Coast of the peninsula and foreign merchants from various parts of Asia who have dealings with the many wholesalers in Chow Kit and Kampung Baru areas.

The area is quite self-contained, with food outlets and transport facilities within easy reach. Outside the comfort of the hotels are stalls offering Malay and Thai food as well as mamak fare.

To go out and about, the KL Monorail Chow Kit Terminal is hardly 10 minutes walk away, while other public transportation services are also aplenty.

At the fringe of the city's Golden Triangle, and the frantic Chinatown in the heart of Petaling Street offers a different setting for backpackers.

Petaling Street is notorious for its jam-packed state, a combo of persistent street traders and the many slow-moving vehicles constantly honking at pedestrians and peddlers to get out of the way.

Constantly busy and chaotic, it is certainly a part of Kuala Lumpur that never sleeps.

Since it is not far from the famous confluence of two muddy rivers from which Kuala Lumpur got its name, Chinatown is mostly occupied by buildings that are well over 100-years-old.

Staying in any hotel here is in itself a unique experience. You get the feel of eclectic, noisy and colourful Kuala Lumpur right at its core, if you up for that.

Budget hotels here have been around for perhaps even longer than those in Tengkat Tong Shin or Bukit Bintang. Most of them are more conservative looking than the new generation hotels at Tengkat Tong Shin and has it's unique ambience.

One of them is Grocers Inn that occupies the 1920's Grocer Association Building which has been carefully refurbished to its original condition with a touch of Chinese heritage interior. So make your way to KL.

Bernama