Malaysia = Yes or No?
Discussion
Depends on what you want from your holiday? If you're looking for a good beach holiday, then it would suit. If you're looking for some culture then it lacks what you can get in say Thailand, and the food is about average for the region. KL is just a big modern city, so I wouldn't bother staying there for more than a couple of days to be honest.
Remember there are two parts to Malaysia - Peninsula Malaysia and the 2 states on Borneo - Sarawak and Sabah, which are better for wildlife.
Remember there are two parts to Malaysia - Peninsula Malaysia and the 2 states on Borneo - Sarawak and Sabah, which are better for wildlife.
Edited by Fezant Pluckah on Thursday 28th May 18:01
I'd agree pretty much with the above. Kuala Lumpur is interesting enough as a modern city but does lack traditional culture of the sort you'd get in Thailand or Cambodia.
The beaches in the north are very good, places like Langkawi and the surrounding area are worth a look.
You can get decent price flights from the UK though not as cheap as those to Bangkok.
Costs of travel are roughly similar to Thailand once you get there though and transport/hotels etc are pretty easy to sort out.
The beaches in the north are very good, places like Langkawi and the surrounding area are worth a look.
You can get decent price flights from the UK though not as cheap as those to Bangkok.
Costs of travel are roughly similar to Thailand once you get there though and transport/hotels etc are pretty easy to sort out.
Agree with the above posts.
- KL doesn't appeal, BKK, Saigon and Phnom Penh would be much higher up my list
- Langkawi supposed to be very nice
- Borneo (Sabah) was very nice, mainly because we were in a 5* on honeymoon and got to see Orang Utans in the (semi-) wild (the Sepilok sanctuary). Oh, and the bloody great monitor lizards on the islands (Tunku Abdul Rahman Park) offshore, whose young quite happily wander around sunbathers on the beach!!! Kota Kinabalu is rather uninspiring though...
If you've not done SE Asia before my advice would be:-
- West Coast Thailand for beach
- Bangkok for culture, shopping and the Royal Palace
- Chiang Mai for a really nice, chilled city with history and stuff to do (Elephant trekking/sanctuaries, big mountain, hill tribes...)
- Siem Reap in Cambodia for one of the most stunning sights I've ever seen - the Angkor temples are truly fantastic!
- KL doesn't appeal, BKK, Saigon and Phnom Penh would be much higher up my list
- Langkawi supposed to be very nice
- Borneo (Sabah) was very nice, mainly because we were in a 5* on honeymoon and got to see Orang Utans in the (semi-) wild (the Sepilok sanctuary). Oh, and the bloody great monitor lizards on the islands (Tunku Abdul Rahman Park) offshore, whose young quite happily wander around sunbathers on the beach!!! Kota Kinabalu is rather uninspiring though...
If you've not done SE Asia before my advice would be:-
- West Coast Thailand for beach
- Bangkok for culture, shopping and the Royal Palace
- Chiang Mai for a really nice, chilled city with history and stuff to do (Elephant trekking/sanctuaries, big mountain, hill tribes...)
- Siem Reap in Cambodia for one of the most stunning sights I've ever seen - the Angkor temples are truly fantastic!
Ok I live in KL and it is a great place to live, loads of weekend trips but I would not fly 12 hours plus to visit anything in Malaysia, nothing to hold your interest for more than a few days.
My opinion, Lankowi is boring, OK for a weekend. (my mate told me only last night I was wrong on this and his wife loved it as she could lie on the beach all day, so if that’s your thing !!!)
Penang has a huge tidal rip and the sea is full of sandy sediment. (Like Westen Super Mare).
The East coast beaches are steep and it is easy to get out of your depth, there are several people drowned every year (locals who do not make outside press), my kids weren’t allowed to swim there when they were little.
While alcohol is available on the east coast many places outside the big hotels make you feel like a leper if you drink it.
Kl is great and you can stay anywhere for the price of a good UK B and B, Concorde is good and includes the Hard Rock, saw an advert last night in Bukit Bingtang for back packer rooms with AC for less than 10 Pounds, and dormitory beds for 4. The very best hotels are less than a Paddington doss house in London.
Food is incredibly cheap, 6 people in one of the very best restaurants (The chalet) cost me 190 pounds just last month, and you can get a meal from 50 pence up if you stay away from starbucks, Mac’s, etc.
Alcohol is UK prices, and wine is more expensive than the UK.
There is everything in KL, except a Russian restaurant, (That closed last month), so much like any other cities, Irish Bars, Italian, Greek, what ever).
I’ve lived here for 12 years, and my kids have grown up coming for holidays two three times a year, first thing they want to do it get the car out and go to Thailand, more culture, better beaches, cheaper.
A few years ago they actually proposed adding the castration ceremonies in Kelentan to the advertised Malaysian attractions. It was laughed down as a suggestion but it must be boring if that the best they can do. When they built the Twin Towers they did not provide visitor access, you can now go half way if you book a ticket 24 hours in advance, and that again typifies the casual attitude they have to tourist.
Thing to see if you a PH’r is Sepang, there is racing every month with free access and they will let you into the circuit at almost any time for a look around. Coming up is the 1000KM endurance Race, The MME 12 Hour Race, the Malaysian Super Series (24th July, I’ll be in that) and the Moto GP) access to the Moto GP is 10 pound for the main stand, so come for that and go travelling, a bus to Thailand is from 8 pound and a sleeper on the train is 15, if you want we have air Asia (you may know as a William’s sponsor) who are Ok and better than the Ryan Air I’ve had from Stanstead.
OK this is my opinion, people will disagree.
Oh the best thing, while the police don’t care if your speeding none of the problem I read on here about parking, speeding, etc, there is very little crime and you can walk the streets at any time any where, with the minimum of worry.
My opinion, Lankowi is boring, OK for a weekend. (my mate told me only last night I was wrong on this and his wife loved it as she could lie on the beach all day, so if that’s your thing !!!)
Penang has a huge tidal rip and the sea is full of sandy sediment. (Like Westen Super Mare).
The East coast beaches are steep and it is easy to get out of your depth, there are several people drowned every year (locals who do not make outside press), my kids weren’t allowed to swim there when they were little.
While alcohol is available on the east coast many places outside the big hotels make you feel like a leper if you drink it.
Kl is great and you can stay anywhere for the price of a good UK B and B, Concorde is good and includes the Hard Rock, saw an advert last night in Bukit Bingtang for back packer rooms with AC for less than 10 Pounds, and dormitory beds for 4. The very best hotels are less than a Paddington doss house in London.
Food is incredibly cheap, 6 people in one of the very best restaurants (The chalet) cost me 190 pounds just last month, and you can get a meal from 50 pence up if you stay away from starbucks, Mac’s, etc.
Alcohol is UK prices, and wine is more expensive than the UK.
There is everything in KL, except a Russian restaurant, (That closed last month), so much like any other cities, Irish Bars, Italian, Greek, what ever).
I’ve lived here for 12 years, and my kids have grown up coming for holidays two three times a year, first thing they want to do it get the car out and go to Thailand, more culture, better beaches, cheaper.
A few years ago they actually proposed adding the castration ceremonies in Kelentan to the advertised Malaysian attractions. It was laughed down as a suggestion but it must be boring if that the best they can do. When they built the Twin Towers they did not provide visitor access, you can now go half way if you book a ticket 24 hours in advance, and that again typifies the casual attitude they have to tourist.
Thing to see if you a PH’r is Sepang, there is racing every month with free access and they will let you into the circuit at almost any time for a look around. Coming up is the 1000KM endurance Race, The MME 12 Hour Race, the Malaysian Super Series (24th July, I’ll be in that) and the Moto GP) access to the Moto GP is 10 pound for the main stand, so come for that and go travelling, a bus to Thailand is from 8 pound and a sleeper on the train is 15, if you want we have air Asia (you may know as a William’s sponsor) who are Ok and better than the Ryan Air I’ve had from Stanstead.
OK this is my opinion, people will disagree.
Oh the best thing, while the police don’t care if your speeding none of the problem I read on here about parking, speeding, etc, there is very little crime and you can walk the streets at any time any where, with the minimum of worry.
On our honeymoon we spent 3 or 4 nights in KL, then a week in Penang then 3 or 4 nights in Singapore.
I loved Malayasia but have never been to Thailand All sorts of tourist daytrips to go on in and around KL and indeed Penang. Didn't swim in the sea at Penang.
Had a great time there though
I loved Malayasia but have never been to Thailand All sorts of tourist daytrips to go on in and around KL and indeed Penang. Didn't swim in the sea at Penang.
Had a great time there though
Fezant Pluckah said:
....and the food is about average for the region.
Agree with most of your post FP, but the food can be superb (which I guess is actually not far from 'average' for the region) - probably the best curries in the world if you know where to go and what to ask for.Edited by Fezant Pluckah on Thursday 28th May 18:01
I always enjoy KL, but there are probably better places to go if flying that far - I would suggest the train ride from KL down to Singapore, a stay for a couple of days then a short hop to Indonesia (yes really) for even better food and a true SE Asian experience..
Berw said:
Alcohol is UK prices.
Last September I never saw beer for less than 30 ringgit a pint (if it was even as big as a pint). Not many places in the UK have £5.60 pints.Berw said:
When they built the Twin Towers they did not provide visitor access, you can now go half way if you book a ticket 24 hours in advance, and that again typifies the casual attitude they have to tourist.
Amazed me that they have such proud of the Petronas Towers and how marvellous they are... blah blah blah. And you can't even go half way up!
I'm Malaysian born and bred, and live in KL.
BerW's not too far off the mark, although I'd disagree with a couple of the things he says.
Generally, KL is turd-like unless you are there for shopping or food (the food is better than the shopping though. Singapore or Bangkok gets you better retail heaven). Malaysia's best highlights, by far, are the islands on the East Coast (Perhentian, Redang), the two top-end island resorts on the West Coast (the Datai and Pangkor Laut), and generally a whole lot on the Borneo side of the country.
I climbed Mt Kinabalu last year and had an all-round good time in KK - the seafood there is spectacular. Of course just a short hop down from there is Sipadan, another highlight from last year. That place is diving Mecca and sends me into fits of rapture everytime I think of what I saw while submerged.
To me, this country is all about the coast. Got to love those tropical waterfalls too - leech-infested (locals like me don't bother about them at all but deliberately underscore the point to freak out the Ang Mohs) jungle trails lead to beautiful, crisp, magnificent and untouched tropical waterfalls. If you're ever here, look me up, and I'll play tour guide and take you to some of the secluded joints.
The highlands can be nice for lazing around and for a taste of the old colonial life. Massive tea plantations, cool(ish) air, just about the only places in the country comfortable enough to go for an amble in, and (in Genting's case) a large casino complex are the main attractions. But I think secretly most white people (of which I am half, lest you misunderstand) hit the highlands to grab a taste of their forefather's chivalrous-conqueror empire-esque tendencies.
BerW's not too far off the mark, although I'd disagree with a couple of the things he says.
Generally, KL is turd-like unless you are there for shopping or food (the food is better than the shopping though. Singapore or Bangkok gets you better retail heaven). Malaysia's best highlights, by far, are the islands on the East Coast (Perhentian, Redang), the two top-end island resorts on the West Coast (the Datai and Pangkor Laut), and generally a whole lot on the Borneo side of the country.
I climbed Mt Kinabalu last year and had an all-round good time in KK - the seafood there is spectacular. Of course just a short hop down from there is Sipadan, another highlight from last year. That place is diving Mecca and sends me into fits of rapture everytime I think of what I saw while submerged.
To me, this country is all about the coast. Got to love those tropical waterfalls too - leech-infested (locals like me don't bother about them at all but deliberately underscore the point to freak out the Ang Mohs) jungle trails lead to beautiful, crisp, magnificent and untouched tropical waterfalls. If you're ever here, look me up, and I'll play tour guide and take you to some of the secluded joints.
The highlands can be nice for lazing around and for a taste of the old colonial life. Massive tea plantations, cool(ish) air, just about the only places in the country comfortable enough to go for an amble in, and (in Genting's case) a large casino complex are the main attractions. But I think secretly most white people (of which I am half, lest you misunderstand) hit the highlands to grab a taste of their forefather's chivalrous-conqueror empire-esque tendencies.
I've been there a couple of times - both times ding the eco-tourism/nature thing.
First time to Taman Negara Nature Reserve for a week, which was absolutely fabulous.
Second time was two weeks in Borneo and again was fabulous.
For what it's worth I would avoid going to the tourist traps and try to get away from it as much as possible if you're going sown this route.
PS I also spent a few days on Lankayan Island scuba diving. I defy anyone to find a more perfect place on earth !!!
First time to Taman Negara Nature Reserve for a week, which was absolutely fabulous.
Second time was two weeks in Borneo and again was fabulous.
For what it's worth I would avoid going to the tourist traps and try to get away from it as much as possible if you're going sown this route.
PS I also spent a few days on Lankayan Island scuba diving. I defy anyone to find a more perfect place on earth !!!
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