Hilton fans in Singapore will definitely be familiar with Hilton Kuala Lumpur. Located adjacent to KL’s main transport node KL Sentral, the hotel is a well-appointed property suited for both business and leisure needs.
Continuing my journey from Ho Chi Minh City, the flight for the day is a short business class ride from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore with Malaysia Airlines. The Kuala Lumpur to Singapore hop is an incredibly short one, typically the aircraft only cruises for less than thirty minutes before descending. My ride today is on a Boeing 737-800, which Malaysia Airlines have plenty of. Between Singapore and all the Malaysian destinations it flies to, Malaysia Airlines only use the Boeing 737-800. The aircraft Malaysia Airlines’ Boeing 737-800 features 16 business class seats, laid out in a 2-2 configuration across four rows. In economy class, there are 144 seats, laid out 3-3 across 24 rows. The business class seats are recliners, which is perfectly fine for ridiculously short haul routes like mine. What you need to be aware of is that Malaysia Airlines also uses these narrowbody aircraft on some mid-haul route, including the Shanghai Pudong — Kuala Lumpur red eye service that I took some time ago, and also sometimes to Perth. So, always check …
In a frantic attempt to complete the IHG Accelerate challenge by 31 July 2018, the end of the promotion period, I had to clock two nights at any InterContinental properties across Asia Pacific or the Middle East. Given that I’m not going to hop on a seven-hour flight to the Middle East for a stay, I began scouring this region. The cheapest InterContinental property in Asia Pacific turned out to be right next door: Kuala Lumpur. I booked myself into the entry level room for two nights at the InterContinental Kuala Lumpur for a total of just under RM1,100 over two nights. The property has also offered a e-Upgrade option where you can opt for certain payable upgrades, which will be confirmed at check-in. For this stay, apart from offering a paid room upgrade opportunity, the hotel also offered Club InterContinental access for RM150++ per person per day. Since I was going to stay alone, this is much more worth it than paying RM230++ for an upgrade to a Club InterContinental Room. The Hotel InterContinental …
Malaysia Airlines / 30 April 18 / B737-800 / MH PVG-KUL / Business Class Tl;dr – It’s not too bad, but avoid red-eye flights under six hours at all costs. Product is dated but still acceptable, timing of the flight is absolutely horrendous. Also, catering out of Shanghai airports generally suck. In another one of my crazy business trips up to Shanghai, I made the mistake of planning to travel back to Singapore via Hong Kong during the Easter weekend when half the territory is going on holiday. True enough, I didn’t manage to get any seats out of Hong Kong, so I ended up booking myself on Malaysia Airlines via Kuala Lumpur and the only option available was a red-eye departure. The flight departs from Shanghai Pudong airport at an ungodly hour of 2.30am, scheduled to arrive into Kuala Lumpur at a little over 8am. Now, for those who are unacquainted with Shanghai airport, this is one of the worst hub airports I’ve ever been to. The astounding lack of good quality restaurants, lounges …
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