Kuala Lumpur
Nightlife

Even if Malaysia is a Muslim country, the Kuala Lumpur nightlife is vibrant!

You'll find all sorts of nightlife type like beer bars, nightclubs, and karaoke clubs and so on.

You can find dozens of bars mainly in Chinatown district, Bangsar, Hartamas or in the smoking' hot Golden Triangle.

The bars start their Happy Hours early in the evening (sometimes at 6 pm) to attract thirsty drinkers, and because of the tough competition.

The big downside is that alcohol is expensive in Malaysia because the Malay government has a high tax on alcohol.

And do have in mind that the Kuala Lumpur Nightlife is nothing like the one in Bangkok...

... Lady boys won't actually run around in their tight dresses and scream: Here I am...

Homosexuality in Malaysia is technically illegal, and walking around as a transvestite is considered as a public disgrace. There has been a history of legal charges against transvestites in the past!

So, are you ready to read about the Kuala Lumpur Nightlife?

Yeah, thought so!

Chinatown

Kuala Lumpur Nightlife: Reggae Bar -- image credit: flickr.com

• Beer: 12-13 RM

• Drinks: From 8 RM

• Pool: One game -- 3 RM

• Happy Hours: Usually from 6 pm - 10 pm

• Other goodies: Water pipe (Shisha), cigars, sports channel

• Entrance: Free

I just loved Reggae Bar!

Almost every backpacker who visits Kuala Lumpur, drops by the notorious Reggae Bar. The usual day/night at Reggae Bar starts with a relaxed atmosphere in the daytime and then it escalates to beers and wild flirting in the evening.

Most of the clientele is the younger generation of backpackers who man up with beers so they can have a chat with the cute backpacker girls standing next to them.

But I also noticed that the elderly generation of travelers (like the rest of us) enjoyed the happy Reggae/Old-school music, played some pools and shared stories with fellow travellers.

If you're not all about the drinking, they serve food as well -- both Malay and Western. I tried their delicious mushroom soup (7.92 RM) -- it needed a little bit more of salt though. My boyfriend, as always, dug his mouth into his fried noodles (8.80 RM).

One of the good news is that if you stay at one of the Reggae Guesthouses, you can get 20% discount off (food and beverage)!

To get this discount, you have to give the staff that little business card (which you receive when you check in) when you're ready to pay up.

More of Kuala Lumpur Nightlife --

Walk around Chinatown...

Otherwise, you can just grab some cold cold Tiger beers or Heineken at one of the many restaurants in Chinatown.

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For Wine Lovers

Where can you get a glass of wine, and how much?

Price: From 12-13 RM per glass

Bottle of wine: From 70 RM and onwards (depends on where are you are sitting and the brand of course)

For those who want to splurge...

Hakka Republic (on Jalan P.Ramlee)

This fine restaurant is known for its quality Australian, Argentine and Italian wine, and has been recommended by Tripadvisor, New York Times etc.

Price by glass: 16 RM-50 RM

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Golden Triangle

Kuala Lumpur Nightlife: Golden Triangle at night -- image credit: kangkudo.gombui.net

What I noticed is that most of the nightclubs played a mix of music genres: like pop, old-school, R'n'B and hip hop in one. While a few places just played trance or house.

Bukit Bintang is located within the shopping district of Golden Triangle. You'll find bars, clubs scattered along the sidewalks.

If you're not excited about drinking, you can also just relax on a local coffee shop (called Manak).

An essential part of the Kuala Lumpur nightlife is that many of the locals stop by Manaks at night, to eat some Chinese food, sit and sip on green tea. It's awfully relaxing to just sit down and observe the life in the streets or listen to the live band music...

Here are some of the clubs we tried:

Zouk Club

Kuala Lumpur Nightlife: Zouk Club -- image credit: gointernationalgroup.com

Hip-hopper?

Dig retro music?

Or do you want to shake your ass to house music?

Whatever you feel like dancing to, you'll find at Zouk Club!

This unbelievably huge club has several "rooms" with each individual type of music. And the music is never the same because the new and old DJ's at Zouk don't settle for less.

You can go Mambo Jambo half of the night and take a short walk to Indie Rock Haven. It's a great place to be for the fickle audience!

And if you get hungry, you can just move up to their Terrace Bar and choose from their local dishes, or grab a light pastry.

Where: Jalan Ampang (opposite the Maya Hotel)

Open: Until 3 am

Entrance fee: "28RM (ladies), 38RM (men) -- gives you entrance to Zouk and Barsonic

Dress code: Yes (remember that Zouk doesn't only have tourists and locals as visitors, but also celebrities and occasionally models...)

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Beach Club

Kuala Lumpur Nightlife: Beach Club -- image credit: flickr.com

We decided to try Beach Club since we heard so much about it (like Malaysian police raiding it...)

When we entered the premises, I didn't know what to think. The interior was cool and the theme is … BEACH. Here you can dance to pop, and later in the evening they play more hardcore music like trance.

But if you want to check this place out, I suggest you stop by sometime between Sunday and Thursday.

We went here on a Saturday and it was too crowded. We tried to dance, but we physically couldn't because there was no space around us! Aaah! Claustrophobic!

But let me tell you something important…

I was just amazed/shocked by all the people, or more correctly, the tourists. Both young and older clientele hang out here: Anyone from young tourists to elderly men walking around with their Asian girlfriends/wives, or whatever. My friend was whispering to me:

"Are those women prostitutes?" (I just love his honesty)

I shrugged and asked if he wanted to leave. His response was: Hell yeah!

We were like:

… Now we understand why the police frequently visit the Beach Club….!

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Do it the backpacker way...

Buy alcohol from supermarkets or 7-11's!

If you're on a tight budget, buying drinks at local stores is a lot cheaper than sitting at a bar!

Here I've gathered some average prices for you:

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You're done with Kuala Lumpur Nightlife, where do you want to go next?

Need a place to sleep in Kuala Lumpur? Get over here!

Hungry? Grab som Malay food here!

Ready for shopping? Thought so!

Want to get a tattoo?

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