Travel, Accommodation, and Some Basic Information for SABS 2020 in Kuala Lumpur.

Date: 9th to 13th June, 2020Venue: Wisma Methodist, Lorong Hang Jebat, 50150 Kuala Lumpur

Organising Host: Seminari Theoloji Malaysia.Contact: sabskl2020@gmail.com; +6012-777-3287

Selamat Datang, or Welcome, to Malaysia.

We look forward to welcoming you to Kuala Lumpur for SABS 2020. In this update, you will find some information for your travel to SABS2020.

TRAVELKuala Lumpur International Airport (www.klia.com.my) is the main gateway to the city. There are two terminals, KLIA Main terminal serving all full-serviced airlines and KLIA2 serving low cost carriers such as AirAsia.

From the airport, there are a number of easy transport options to the conference venue:1) E-hailing rides: Grab is the most popular e-hailing provider and is reliable. If you plan

to take an e-hailing ride, please download the appropriate app to your device and register for a free account to facilitate booking. Grab booking accepts cash and credit card payment. It is approximately RM80 per ride for a small sedan from the airport to the city.

2) Airport Train: Please follow the signs to KLIA Express (www.kliaekspres.com) platform and you may buy a ticket from the counter or vending machine. Both cash and credit card accepted. The airport train costs RM55 one way and will take you to KL Sentral, the final stop, and from there, you can connect to the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line (www.myrapid.com.my) to the conference venue. You need to buy a separate ticket from the vending machine and you may need some local currency. Look for Merdeka Station, which is a ride of 2 stations towards the direction of Kajang. The conference venue is about 5-min walk away from the Merdeka MRT Station. See googlemap link:

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https://www.google.com/maps/place/Wisma+Methodist/@3.14391,101.6995601,15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0xe220f34a3cdd3750!8m2!3d3.14391!4d101.6995601

3) Airport Taxi: Airport taxis are available from the terminals. You need to buy a voucher from the designated counters at arrival. It costs almost the same as e-hailing ride, but if you arrive between midnight and 6am, there will be surcharge up to 50%.

4) Public buses: There are cheap and regular public buses to the city, and may be a bit complicated for first time visitors. We recommend taking e-hailing or airport train for convenience.

Please refer to the public transport map at the bottom of this document or by clicking on this link: this link: www.myrapid.com.my.

VISAMost nationalities do not require a visa to enter Malaysia. If you require a visa, please get in touch with the Malaysian embassy located in your country or apply for a visa online (see https://www.imi.gov.my/index.php/en/visa/evisa.html and https://www.windowmalaysia.my/evisa/evisa.jsp)

Please let us know if you need a letter of invitation from us to facilitate your visa application.

ACCOMMODATIONWe have limited rooms at the conference venue and these are reserved for scholars from under resourced countries on a first-come-first-served basis. Most rooms are twin-sharing with some triple rooms, and all rooms are ensuite. These rooms are only available from 9th to 13th June 2020. Any additional stay beyond these dates would have to be booked and paid for in advanced. A typical room would cost US$20-25 per night.

For those of us who are able to afford hotel accommodation, we have prepared a list of hotels in different areas in the city for your consideration.

We recommend that you book a hotel within walking distance from the conference venue or easily accessible by the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) or Light Rail Transit (LRT). This is because the morning and evening rush hour traffic in Kuala Lumpur is rather notorious and could easily take up to an hour if you take a taxi or e-hailing ride to or from the conference venue.

Please refer to the public transport map at the bottom of this document or by clicking on this link: www.myrapid.com.my

The conference venue is about 5-min walk away from the Merdeka MRT Station. See googlemap link:

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https://www.google.com/maps/place/Wisma+Methodist/@3.14391,101.6995601,15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0xe220f34a3cdd3750!8m2!3d3.14391!4d101.6995601

You may book your hotel directly with the hotel, travel agent, or your favourite booking engine (such as Agoda, Traveloka, Booking.com, Trivago, AirBnB, etc). Please refer to some hotel recommendations below:

Hotels within walking distance from the conference venue:Most hotels in the area are budget or 3-star hotels:

1) Travelodge City Centre Kuala Lumpur2) Four Points by Sheraton Kuala Lumpur (newly opened in late 2019)3) Swiss Inn Chinatown Kuala Lumpur4) The 5 Elements Hotel, Kuala Lumpur5) Tian Jing Hotel, Kuala Lumpur (if you like something different where the hotel is a

located in a historic building with contemporary design)6) There are also plenty of budget hotels and hostels in Chinatown/Petaling Street area.

Hotels within walking distance to MRT/LRT lines:

KL Sentral Area (nearest MRT station: Muzium Negara, 2 stops away from conference venue): direct train to airport, mainly transit and business area.4-and 5-star hotels in KL Sentral area:

1) Aloft Kuala Lumpur Sentral2) Hilton Kuala Lumpur3) Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur4) St Regis Kuala Lumpur5) There are also many budget hotels in KL Sentral area, but it may require a 15-20min

walk to the MRT station.

Bukit Bintang Area (nearest MRT Station: Bukit Bintang, one stop away from conference venue): shopping, street food, and night life area

1) Parkroyal Hotel2) Grand Millennium Kuala Lumpur3) JW Marriott Kuala Lumpur4) The Westin Kuala Lumpur5) Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur6) The Federal Kuala Lumpur7) There are also plenty of budget hotels/hostels in Bukit Bintang area.

Kuala Lumpur City Centre, Petronas Twin Towers area (nearest LRT station: KLCC, requires a change of line at Pasar Seni Station and connect to MRT line to conference venue, total 5 stations): Shopping, beautiful park, and business district, mostly 4- to 5-star hotels:

1) W Kuala Lumpur2) The Mandarin Oriental

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3) Waris Residency4) Four Seasons Kuala Lumpur5) Corus Hotel6) Impiana KLCC7) Traders Hotel

MONEY MATTERSThe local currency is Ringgit Malaysia and paper notes come in denominations of RM100, RM50, RM20, RM10, RM5 and RM1. You might need to change a small amount of local currency at the airport for rides to the conference venue (we recommend an amount equivalent to US$20-30 per pax). This is because the exchange rates in the airport are not very favourable. You may change into local currency from one of the many licensed money changers found everywhere in the city who offers very competitive rates. All major currency are accepted.

For indicative exchange rate, see: www.xe.com

SOME HELPFUL INFORMATION1) Kuala Lumpur public transport: www.myrapid.com.my2) Kuala Lumpur International Airport: www.klia.com.my3) Airport train, KLIA Express to city: www.kliaekspres.com4) Indicative currency exchange rate: www.xe.com5) Malaysia Tourism office: www.malaysia.travel/en/my6) Maps and Tourism information: http://ebrochures.malaysia.travel7) Things to see and do in Kuala Lumpur and the region:

http://ebrochures.malaysia.travel/storage/myfile/files/Malaysia%20Central%20Region%20English.pdf

8) Destination guide for Kuala Lumpur: http://ebrochures.malaysia.travel/storage/myfile/ebrochures/20180123181144%7Cadmin//index.html

We plan to organise a half day tour around the city and a full day tour to historic city of Melaka (2-hour drive away, a UNESCO site) on Saturday, 13th June 2020. This will be optional and at extra cost. More information will follow later.

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