Bangalore Guide for Dummies 1.

Welcome to India!

This post is particularly important for Malaysians who just started their lives in India. In this series Bangalore Guide for Dummies, I'll post various informations to ease up your life here. All the posts are on random issues. I will start with courier service out and into India (as maybe you forgot to bring sardins and Maggi mee on your first flight).

Part 1.

If you happen to need anything parceled from Malaysia, there's no need to use DHL or FedEx which charges you like no tomorrow. There's a cheaper alternative of courier service provided by ST cargo and most of the time the parcel reaches here safely and most importantly - untouched. They have two main offices which are in KL and KK. You can just bring your unpacked stuffs and ask them to do the packing for you (I got mine still in Tesco plastic bags and they wrap all my kicaps & sos tiram nicely). With this courier service, I guess there is no need to overload your luggage anymore during the flight , plus it's easier for you to carry your luggage if it's not overloaded. You can be smart enough to courier your stuffs one week before your departure date as they usually take 5-7 days to reach your address here.

KL office :

ST Cargo and Travels Sdn. Bhd.
No. 67, Ground floor,
Medan Bunus,
Off Jalan Masjid India,
50100 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-26987600
Fax: 03-26984600

Minimum 10kg is required, RM 5 /kg. Recently I heard they charge RM 10 for packaging fee.

KK office:

Maha Store,
Lot 13, Block L, Ground floor,
Lorong Inanam Point 3,
Inanam,
Kota Kinabalu, 88450 Sabah.
Tel: 088-3844454
H/P: 013-8655454

Price fluctuates but it's between RM10 - 15 /kg.

Contact number for other branches of ST cargo:

Johor: 07-2276225/019-3987475
Penang: 04-2626704/016-4808098
Seremban: 06-7610102/016-9822004
Klang: 03-33740997/016-6016464
KLIA Airport: 03-77852000/016-2180206
Melaka:06-2860506/016-6370477
Brickfields: 03-26980666/012-2358535
Subang Jaya: 03-26987600/016-2927801
Ipoh:05-5469920/012-5388460
Sabah:088-384454/013-8655454

Travel smart?

Part 2.

Among various courier services I've tried to send my stuffs back to Malaysia (mostly sarees and books), India Post is the most reliable one at affordable price (even Pos Malaysia service to India can't compete them). They may seem working in an old fashion way (with the post office without air-conditioning and you perspire like hell waiting for your turn to be called by the post-master). You can check their rules and regulation in sending home your parcel here . This is not applicable to final year students who're trying to send back your 5 years treasure, cargo service is a better option). They offer different parcel courier service at different rate but Speed Post is the best value for money option. In 7 days the parcel will reach its destination. You can check the rate here , or else weigh your parcel and calculate the amount to be paid here .

Typical post office in India. Oh, the fans are only for display they hardly switch on it!

I am among the very first batch to be sent here, so I have no seniors to guide me. How sad, isnt it? Feel free to ask as I don't want you to suffer (like me in the beginning).