Kuala Lumpur - factfile

Malaysia is a federation comprising of  Peninsular Malaysia and the states of Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo. The population of the country is approximately 21 million comprising largely of Malays (57%), Chinese (30%), Indians-mostly Tamils (10%), indigenous tribes and ethnic groups. Bahasa Melayu (Malay) is the national language though English is widely spoken. Though the state religion is Islam, freedom of religion is guaranteed.

Tropical climate with warm and humid weather all year round. Temperatures range from 21^oC to 32^oC. Maximum rainfall happens between October and March. The local time is eight hours ahead of GMT and one hour ahead of Indian time. The unit of currency is the Malaysian Ringgit indicated as RM, divided into 100 sen. The approximate exchange rates as of date are US$1= RM3.9 and RM 1= Rs. 11.

The main gateway to Malaysia is through the new KL International Airport at Sepang located about 50km south of KL. The main entry point by sea to KL is at Port Klang, about 50 km away from KL. Malaysia is also accessible by rail or road from Singapore and Thialand. From India Indian Airlines, Air India and Malaysian Airlines operate regular flights to KL from Bangalore and Chennai. Entry into the country requires a valid visa which, for Indians, can be obtained from the Malaysian High Commission offices at New Delhi or Chennai. A single entry tourist visa would cost approximately Rs. 700.