I live in Kansas City and need to wake up on the morning of December
27th in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  I want to depart on January 8th. For
the last two years, the airfare hs been about $600.  But tickets now
seem to be four times that amount.  What is the most economical way to
make this trip?  I am willing to go through other countries (like
Singapore) and use trains/cars if that helps.

At Travelocity.com, you can find fares in the range of 1860-2150 US

cheaptickets.com can't seem to get any lower then $3500

expedia.com has several tickets listed at $1889.75

$2150 is your best at orbitz.com

You may want to try priceline.com, and start by naming a price of
around $500. If you don't get any takers, gradually increase your
amount by 1 to 2 hundred at a time. (NOTE: If an airline accepts your
price, you are committed to buying he ticket at that price.) also, id
priceline warns you your bid may be too low, then ignore the warning.

Sorry, forgot to mention, if this helps you, especially if you get a
deal through priceline, please let me know so I can post it as an
answer.

The problem is definitely the time of year. Leave in mid-Jan and it's under $1000

on www.avacation.com you can find stuff starting at just under $1000.
But your best bet would be to call a travel agent that can buy
consolidator/wholesale tickets. www.travelfast.com is a wholesaler
with good deals.
You are traveling at the busieest time of the year. if you can change
your dates a bit, you may save much more.

Usually, for an 'unusual' destination, I go to google and look up the
destination airport website to see what airlines fly there. However,
www.klia.com, the site for Kuala Lumpur International Airport doesn't
seem to have that info, or it's not easily accessible to the
impatient.

   (It's also worth checking out the airlines at your own local
airport, or airport you're willing to fly from. Any airlines from
countries around Malaysia are ones to look out for, for a start.)

   So I went to www.travelzoo.com and clicked on International for
their specials for all countries outside of Europe and the US, and
came up with:

  Expedia.com have a special for Asia, uh oh departures starting
January 1st and all departure points are either west coast or
Anchorage.
     http://www.expedia.com/daily/promos/flights/CIOctober2002/default.asp?CCheck=1
     this is with South China Airlines. 
     This airline may be worth following up through a savvy travel
agent (you can't book on their website).

Next, www.travelbuzz.net 
 
   They list ten "bargain fares," from Kansas City to Kuala Lumpur,
      from 
          Cathay Pacific Airlines
           USD 968.20 + Tax & Fees - Subject To Seat Availability 

      to 
          Thai airlines
           USD 1483.20 + Tax & Fees - Subject To Seat Availability 

      To get these fares, it may be worthwhile phoning travelbuzz, as
I'm not getting available seats on a couple of these fares. Toll Free
1(866)279-4725
      (I've never used travelbuzz, so don't know what they're like on
customer service.)


     If you want any more info on this, or clarification, please post
again to the site. That way, I'll know you're still interested!

Just went on travelbuzz.net again, and checked out the fares from LAX
(Los Angeles) to Kuala Lumpur (KUL).

    Japan Airlines was the cheapest, flying on December 26th, USD
678.00 + Tax & Fees, and the seat was available.

    Some of these tickets have a 7-day advance required, so you may
need to try December 26th. Christmas Day is usually a really, really
great day to fly if you want a bargain !

   It's also worth looking at 
       www.lowestravel.com  1 800 638 7952  (They seem to use the same
software as travelbuzz, so perhaps they're linked in some way.)

   I also went to the Japan Airlines website, and got their schedules
(travelbuzz doesn't show you the schedules upfront, so there's no
guarantee that there's a match between the two sites).
Flight schedules and seat availability for normal fares are as
follows.



            
 KANSAS CITY(MKC) - KUALA LUMPUR(KUL) 25 Dec(Wed) 
 

JL5547 EQV 12/25 Dep 08:53 KANSAS CITY,U.S.A. International(MCI) O - O
via 
Arr 10:20 CHICAGO,U.S.A. Ohare International(ORD) 
 Code Share Flight with AA(American Airlines) 
JL5003 777 12/25 Dep 11:00 CHICAGO,U.S.A. Ohare International(ORD) O O
O
Arr 15:30
(Arr next day) TOKYO,JAPAN Narita(NRT) 
 Code Share Flight with AA(American Airlines) 
JL723 M11 12/27 Dep 13:55 TOKYO,JAPAN Narita(NRT) - O O 
Arr 20:35 KUALA LUMPUR,MALAYSIA Kuala Lumpur(KUL) 
  

 KUALA LUMPUR(KUL) - KANSAS CITY(MKC) 08 Jan(Wed) 
 JL724 M11 01/08 Dep 22:35 KUALA LUMPUR,MALAYSIA Kuala Lumpur(KUL) - O
O
via 
Arr 06:00
(Arr next day) TOKYO,JAPAN Narita(NRT) 
  
JL010 744 01/09 Dep 12:00 TOKYO,JAPAN Narita(NRT) O O O 
Arr 08:20 CHICAGO,U.S.A. Ohare International(ORD) 
  
JL5446 EQV 01/09 Dep 12:45 CHICAGO,U.S.A. Ohare International(ORD) O -
O
Arr 14:13 KANSAS CITY,U.S.A. International(MCI) 
 Code Share Flight with AA(American Airlines) 

Seat availability for award tickets and upgrade awards are not
included.
Schedules and aircraft types subject to change without notice.
 
 




P.S. If you're going through Travelocity, make sure they don't just
search flights for Singapore Airlines! They have a tendency to favor
their advertisers.

    Also, if you're a student, or teacher, it's worth phoning STA
Travel; they're online at www.statravel.com, but quotes usually given
over phone. You need a student or teacher ID to get a ticket. They
negotiate deals with a wide range of airlines, and the deal often
includes a low change fee, sometimes as low as $25.

intotravel-ga
Yes, I am still interested in the trip and plan to make a decision and
purchase tickets tomorrow.  Your options are interesting, but I have
to be in KL on the the 27th and so I need to leave the US on the 24th.
 You seem very interesting, and if there is any way to make direct
contact later (outside of Google), I'd be interested.