So, you just moved to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and you’re all excited. You want to see all the sights, eat all the food, attend all the events, meet all the people and generally, do everything.
But, you don’t know anyone here yet and it would be nice to (not necessarily with a guide) be able to do things solo. Well, there are apps (and websites) for a lot of that.
Events happening around you
For all (or most of) the events happening around you, the best place to go is Timeout Kuala Lumpur. They publish the events at least a week in advance, which means that you can schedule your visits properly. The app is just a glorified magazine reader that you need to have subscribed for but the website works very well.
Notable mentions:
If you have a Facebook account, you may want to download and check out Facebook Local for events that are publicly listed on Facebook. There’s also LinkedIn Local if you are more interested in business networking.
Getting around
Well, of course, you need to have Grab—that is the ride-hailing service rival that took Uber out of the game in Southeast Asia. Whether you drive or not, it may be a good idea to sign up and have the app onboard in case of emergencies. If you don’t drive, then Grab ‘taxis’ can take you directly to where you want to go or help you connect your commutes on the train.
For public transit information, get Moovit. From experience, it may not have the fastest routes but it is convenient especially if you have no idea where to go. All you need to do is specify where you are and where you need to go, and it finds the nearest stations, bus stops and whatever else you need to get to your destination.
Food
Big fans of takeouts and fast foods have a ton of options to choose from. If you don’t want to crowd your phone with many different food-ordering apps, then go with Grab Food. Yep, the same Grab from earlier also ‘grabbed’ the food part of Uber’s operations in Malaysia. The good news is that you have more than a few restaurants to choose from on the app.
Other options are ordering directly from the websites of your favourite fast-food chains. From McDonald’s to Dominos to Pizza Hut et cetera et cetera.
Renting (or buying) property
Maybe you already have your own place but if you don’t, the top of our list is iProperty, available on the web and as an app. We’ve found this to have more listings than the other property rental/sales sites. What are the others? There’s Mudah (which also works for your shopping), Propwall and several others. Check out our post on finding and renting property in Kuala Lumpur.
Online shopping
You get two options. There’s Lazada which is more like an all-in-one platform where you can buy everything from hair products to barbells. It sometimes sources items from China, so, make sure that you check the delivery time and where it is shipping from. You also have to be cautious with A+ copies. The second is Zalora for all your fashion needs. On both platforms, you can choose to pay on delivery (for some items) and you get to do just that. They are both available on the web and smartphone app stores. See our top 6 favourite online shopping platforms in Kuala Lumpur.
If you want to do your grocery shopping online, you get a few options as well, like Tesco, HappyFresh and honestbee.
