This is Kangar

Train
Arau is the home of Peris' sultan and royal family. Although the place is tiny and there is not much going on, it's here that the state's main train station is located. A handful of taxi drivers wait outside when the train arrives -- but only then. In the unfortunate event that there are none around, it's easy enough to follow the road up from the station for 100m to where the main road passes. Here there is a small blue bus stop to your right, and the bus that regularly passes comes from Alor Setar heading into Kangar -- or grab a passing taxi instead. In this part of Malaysia, taxis outside towns can easily be flagged down, but they often stop to pick up other people along the way. A shared taxi to Kangar costs around 3 ringgit per person.

If you are catching the train away from Arau departure times are:
KL via Butterworth: 17:30
Hat Yai via Padang Besar: 0830

Bus
Most travellers arriving in Kangar are coming to or from Langkawi or Thailand, but some remain to explore. Most long distance buses arrive at the express bus station, a 10-minute walk from the centre proper. If you are coming from Alor Setar on a Cityliner bus, it will terminate right in the centre of town near the main square.

Regular departures bound for both Kuala Lumpur and Butterworth along with other major cities in Malaysia leave from the express bus station. Two of the bus companies include Transnational and Konsortium.

Konsortium:
Kuala Lumpur: Departs 10:00 and 22:00 and costs 42.90 ringgit

Transnational:
Kuala Lumpur: Departs 09:00, 10:00, 13:00, 21:30, 22:00 and 23:00 and costs 33 ringgit
Butterworth: Departs Hourly, 07:30-17:30 and costs 13.60 ringgit

The Cityliner bus station has buses to Kuala Perlis, Padang Besar, Alor Setar and -- almost -- the Bukit Kayu Hitam border crossing to Thailand. The bus actually stops in a town called Changlun, from where you then have to take a taxi to get to the border.

Padang Besar via Kaki Bukit: Departs 08:45, 11:45, 14:45 and 17:45
Alor Setar via Arau: Departs 06:30, hourly 08:15-20:00
Kuala Perlis Departs 08:45, 10:15, hourly 11:45–19:30

Other
Taxi fares from Kangar's taxi rank are usually a set rate, but can often be lower if you flag down a passing taxi on the street.
Kuala Perlis is 14 ringgit
Padang Besar is 28 ringgit
Alor Setar is 50 ringgit
Arau is 12 ringgit

Kota Kayang State Musuem
Kota Kayang is a very organised and informative museum only a 15-minute drive out of Kangar town, set amid limestone karsts draped in lush jungle. It is well worth making a stop here on the way to Kuala Perlis. Inside you'll take part in a history lesson that began more than 5,000 years ago: Archaeological finds show that a people descended from hill tribes in today's Vietnam hunted and farmed these fertile lands. Since the museum is not too big, people can take their time to read and admire everything from ancient Buddhist sculptures, and golden items and gems discovered in the Kayang area, through to historical narratives about the region.

Taman Negara Perlis
Perlis State Park doesn't share quite the same virgin forest as neighbouring Thale Ban National Park over the border in Thailand. The Malay side was once logged for timber, and though the forests are growing back it will take a long time before they return to their original state. Still, the Nakawan limestone range, part of the Setul formation, stretches through the park and boasts rugged peaks rising as high as 733m above sea level and more than 20 caves. Also still found here -- among countless walking trails -- are a great diversity of flora and fauna. The stump-tailed macaque, noisy white-handed Gibbon, serow (mountain goats) and more than 100 species of bird, including six species of hornbills, have been spotted here.

The park entrance is located at Wang Kelian, right on the border with Thailand, where there is a visitor's centre, park accommodation facilities, and most of the trails begin. The centre is open 09:00-12:00 and 14:00-17:00 daily and entrance is 2 ringgit. If you would like to hire a guide or stay in one the simple but beautifully located wooden chalets overlooking the forest, call in advance to make a booking as the park is popular with school students and team building groups, especially on weekends. The chalets are set up a small road 800m behind the visitor's centre in a small landscaped area. Standard and deluxe chalets start from 50 – 80 ringgit on weekdays and up to 110 ringgit on weekends. A big dormitory costs 10 ringgit per person. There is no on site restaurant but when you check in you can let the park staff know when you want to eat and they'll cook up some local specialities.

Perlis food is comprised of mainly typical Malay dishes but with a hint of Thai influence -- a more liberal use of chillies and fresh herbs, for instance. In the evenings finding food can be tough around Kangar's town centre as nightlife is practically non-existent -- there are no bars or clubs in this Muslim town. But during the day plenty of lunch places and roadside food stalls are open, usually from very early morning for local style breakfast until around 16:00-17:00.

Right next to Pasar Raya are a couple of roadside stalls and right behind the supermarket building is a good Malay lunch spot that does nasi kandar buffet and fried rice dishes starting at 4 ringgit for a meal.

Along Jalan Kangar going out of town next to the fire station is a small Malay breakfast joint doing cheap curries and breads, and towards the intersection are a couple of seedy looking Chinese joints open 17:00-22:00.

At night opposite the express bus station, next to the big Chinese temple, is a cluster of Malay food places and cafes with outdoor seating areas and plastic chairs that do quick fried rice dishes, noodles, local style chicken with coleslaw, and so on. If you are waiting for the bus, then here is the place to eat. The Kangar food scene may have some great and tasty local dishes, but finding a spot open when you need to eat can be an adventure itself.

KFC in the main square, just a few steps out of Hotel Ban Cheong, is open 24/7 so it's always a last resort.

The very centre of town is the main square near the Intercity bus station on Jalan Tun Abdul Razak, where you'll also find Kangar's post office, open Mon – Sat, 09:00-16:00.

Opposite is a Maybank with 24-hour ATMs and banking hours are Mon-Fri, 09:15-16:30 and Sat 09:15-12:15.

Overlooking the square is Pasar Raya supermarket, in an ageing concrete shopping complex, open daily 10:00-22:00. Here you'll find mostly local foods and groceries, home accessories and a small array of Malay-style clothes.

A taxi station stand is in the middle portion of the square while on one corner is a KFC, the only choice for a meal after 20:00 when restaurants here close.

Down the road towards Jalan Kangar is the yellow corner building of Hotel Ban Cheong with shophouses at ground level right next to the road. Jalan Kangar then continues out of town leaving the immediate town centre after it passes Hotel Sri Garden on the right.

Due west the road leads out to an intersection where roads then either head north to the border or south to Kuala Perlis or Alor Setar in Kedah. There are a few shophouses on the opposite side of the road to the right and you'll find an internet cafe open until midnight here.

Following the bridge that crosses Perlis River leads to a new part of town, where the express bus station is located. Take the first right and you will be lead through rows of shops to the bus station itself, where there's a 7-eleven, Maybank, and a few lunch-time restaurants.

By late afternoon a few food vendors open their stalls making fantastic Perlis laksa, as well as hamburgers and chips.

You'll also find here most of the town's chemists as well as the busy Menon Clinic open 09:00-21:00.

Kangar is the state capital of Perlis, Malaysia. It has a population of 48,898 and an area of 2,619.4 ha. It is located in the northern most point of Peninsular Malaysia and is situated by the Perlis River. The center of Kangar is Sena Province, which is referred to by few locals as 'Uptown Sena'. Kangar is potentially the dullest state capital in Malaysia.

It is believed that the name Kangar was derived from a species of hawk named Kangkok or Spizaetus Limnaetu.

Kangar merupakan ibu negeri Perlis, Malaysia. Ia mempunyai jumlah penduduk seramai 48,898 orang (2004). Ia terletak di titik paling utara di Semenanjung Malaysia dan terdapat di sepanjang Sungai Perlis. Kawasan pusat bandar di Kangar ialah Mukim Sena, yang menerima nama jolokan sebagai "Uptown Sena".