To Malaysia... and beyond!

newbie007_2

Glad to know you had booked the flight already. I'm departing for KL this sat afternoon! Booked wth Etihad for £480, stopover at Abu Dhabi for 2hrs, so 2x 7hours for the flight. Aircraft type 345,332,346 (not sure how comfortable they are) - not as nice as the A380 of course.

Vaccines: You need to arrange an appointment to see the nurse at your practise/doctor. They will tell you what you need and go through your vaccine's history to establish what you already had. I had a Hep A vaccine for malaysia - water/food poisoning (free for 1st jab, 2nd jab 6 months later if you want for £10 which then protects for 25 years) and got some malaria tablets for east malaysia.

I can keep you posted on my trip and can email photos of places I'm going to visit if you want. I will be spending chinese new year is singapore, I'm sure there will be many beautiful pictures to take.

Doshwaster

owains wrote: »

Wow that sounds great! As you can tell, I still haven't fixed dates, but perhaps you could you tell me where that was exactly so I can take a look? Would you recommend it?

There are loads of top end hotels around the Petronas Towers area - known as KLCC (KL City Center - lots of things in KL are known by letters) or the "Golden Triangle" and you can usually get an excellent deal by shopping around as there is an over supply of hotel rooms.

I stopped in the Sheraton Imperial (http://www.kl-hotels.com/imperial-sheraton/). Exchange rates aren't so good now but 2 years ago I got 3 nights for something like £120 and it was one of the best hotels I've stopped in anywhere in the world. It's a little off the centre but it's next to a Monorail stop and a row of bars and restaurants.

amictus

Doshwaster wrote: »

There are loads of top end hotels around the Petronas Towers area - known as KLCC (KL City Center - lots of things in KL are known by letters) or the "Golden Triangle" and you can usually get an excellent deal by shopping around as there is an over supply of hotel rooms.

OK thanks, I'll do some searching in this area.

skid112 wrote: »

try trip advisor for KL hotels have a look at the Impiana if they have finished the upgrade

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll add that to list of hotels to investigate.

Doshwaster wrote: »

I stopped in the Sheraton Imperial (http://www.kl-hotels.com/imperial-sheraton/). Exchange rates aren't so good now but 2 years ago I got 3 nights for something like £120 and it was one of the best hotels I've stopped in anywhere in the world. It's a little off the centre but it's next to a Monorail stop and a row of bars and restaurants.

Wow this hotel looks amazing. I was thinking that if I was to stay in an expensive hotel anywhere during my trip, then Kuala Lumpur would be the place. However, I just did a quick price check and they're asking for £80+ per night (breakfast not included), which, unfortunately, is just too much for me. Maybe I'll just leave this to last and see how much accommodation money I have left!

newbie007 wrote: »

I'm departing for KL this sat afternoon!

newbie007 wrote: »

These places are where I'm going to go, although I do have a much longer time there than you.

Singapore at chinese new year in early feb!
Langkawi - Beautiful beaches
Penang - Famous for food
Tawau - Sabah (Borneo) beautiful beaches/coast
Teman Negara - National Park

There will be other places that I can squeeze in as a day trip too.

You must be excited! Your planned route sounds great! Chinese New Year in Singapore sounds like a lot of fun... I hope you enjoy it

newbie007 wrote: »

I can keep you posted on my trip and can email photos of places I'm going to visit if you want. I will be spending chinese new year is singapore, I'm sure there will be many beautiful pictures to take.

That's very kind of you, I appreciate the offer. I would love to hear how you get on out there. I will also be spending time in Singapore, Penanag and Taman Negara, so, if you come across anything that you particularly enjoyed then do let me know. This would certainly help me to make the most of my time and don't skip any *unmissable* things. Any pictures you wouldn't mind sharing would be great to look at... but make sure don't spend your holiday time uploading photos

Have you done much day-to-day planning? I haven't much research myself yet, so if you have already identified any specific places or activities then please pass on recommendations!

I'm particularly interested to hear about any plans you've made for Taman Negara. Are you taking a tour run by a private company or are you organising everything yourself? Are you travelling from Kuala Lumpur? How long have you set aside for your visit?

newbie007 wrote: »

Vaccines: You need to arrange an appointment to see the nurse at your practise/doctor. They will tell you what you need and go through your vaccine's history to establish what you already had. I had a Hep A vaccine for malaysia - water/food poisoning (free for 1st jab, 2nd jab 6 months later if you want for £10 which then protects for 25 years) and got some malaria tablets for east malaysia.

This is good advice. I'll see if I can arrange a quick appointment at my Doctor's Surgery just to make sure all my vaccinations are in order, and if they can give me any advice about anti-malaria tablets for my trip to Taman Negara. I have heard they often come with pretty unpleasant side effects so would rather avoid them if possible!

markandkate

Hi In Goergtown there is a walk that you can follow picking out all the British colnial sights that remain. There is the old fort and the walk also take in the Eastern and Orient Hotel where the staff wear white shorts and hats. The Tiffin lunch there is a real step back in time too

You should also try out a ride in a Trickshaw, you can go on a tour of chinatown and eat at a food court or roadside vendor. A food court is quite good as you sit at a table and then buy different dishes from the vendors there.

Also In Penang visit the huge Buddist temple and the hill station funicular

In KL we stayed at the Tune hotel a basic hotel with superb shower and comfy bed and great position for public transport. There are a couple of guided walks you can take in Kl which cover most of the main sights. One take sin the colonial past and other is a littleIndia/ little China town walk.

In KL Petalling Road is where the massive market is and all the copy designer goods are on sale. As previous posters have said there are loads of multi national chains but you can go into China town and get great food there too

The Petronas Towers are worth a visit but you do need to queue for free tickets so get there early. The KL tower is also worth a visit but you do have to pay for that

Doshwaster

markandkate wrote: »

Hi In Goergtown there is a walk that you can follow picking out all the British colnial sights that remain. There is the old fort and the walk also take in the Eastern and Orient Hotel where the staff wear white shorts and hats. The Tiffin lunch there is a real step back in time too

The walks in Georgetown (and KL too) are very interesting - there's such an amazing mix of cultures all sitting next to each other - but my biggest piece of advice is to take lots of water. The humidity can be off the top of the scale. No wonder the Imperial rulers spent all day sitting around in the shade drinking gin & tonic.

newbie007_2

Owains - I'll PM you soon.

desiman

Hi Owains,

I'm planning a similar trip in late April/May. I have come up with the following itinerary

Singapore (2 nights)
Malacca (2 nights)
KL (1 night) - been there & Langkawi before
Penang (4 nights)

I've booked the Hutton Lodge for Penang and Aldy Hotel Stadthuys in Malacca (comments anyone?). For KL I'm taking the advice here and maybe look for a decent £50 or so for a 4*. For Singapore I will probably use the Hotel 81 palace.

I plan to take the coach from Singapore-Malacca-KL and maybe the train for KL-Penang.

Very excited ;-)

xfive71

desiman wrote: »

Hi Owains,

I'm planning a similar trip in late April/May. I have come up with the following itinerary

Singapore (2 nights)
Malacca (2 nights)
KL (1 night) - been there & Langkawi before
Penang (4 nights)

I've booked the Hutton Lodge for Penang and Aldy Hotel Stadthuys in Malacca (comments anyone?). For KL I'm taking the advice here and maybe look for a decent £50 or so for a 4*. For Singapore I will probably use the Hotel 81 palace.

I plan to take the coach from Singapore-Malacca-KL and maybe the train for KL-Penang.

Very excited ;-)

Hi, you may want to reconsider the choice of hotels in Singapore. The Hotel 81 chain are known for rooms that hire by the hour - Hotel 81 Palace is very much in the red light district. If you are not squeamish in that respect, it would be fine

amictus

POyouail wrote: »

Just a quick post to say thanks for your responses.

Yeah another thank you from me. All your responses have been a great help with planning my trip.

newbie007 wrote: »

Owains - I'll PM you soon.

Thanks again for your kind offer, it's really appreciated.

desiman wrote: »

Hi Owains,

I'm planning a similar trip in late April/May. I have come up with the following itinerary

Singapore (2 nights)
Malacca (2 nights)
KL (1 night) - been there & Langkawi before
Penang (4 nights)

I've booked the Hutton Lodge for Penang and Aldy Hotel Stadthuys in Malacca (comments anyone?). For KL I'm taking the advice here and maybe look for a decent £50 or so for a 4*. For Singapore I will probably use the Hotel 81 palace.

I plan to take the coach from Singapore-Malacca-KL and maybe the train for KL-Penang.

Very excited ;-)

Yeah you're visiting many of the places I will be at around the same time... perhaps we'll cross paths at some point! Thanks for sharing your plans... please pass on any other information that might be useful!

For my stay in Penang I have also been considering Hutton Lodge after an earlier recommendation. It seems to have favourable reviews and it's certainly cheap! What made you decide on this place specifically?

For Kuala Lumpur I was hoping to stay in somewhere a bit more upmarket. As I said previously, the Sheraton Imperial at £80+ per night is probably a bit much. I was hoping to spend more like £50 per night too... so let me know if you find anything. I was thinking that I might just leave off booking here in the hope that I can get some kind of special offer closer to the date. Is this realistic?

xfive71 wrote: »

The Hotel 81 chain are known for rooms that hire by the hour - Hotel 81 Palace is very much in the red light district.

Sounds like this one is worth avoiding!

markandkate wrote: »

Hi In Goergtown there is a walk that you can follow picking out all the British colnial sights that remain. There is the old fort and the walk also take in the Eastern and Orient Hotel where the staff wear white shorts and hats. The Tiffin lunch there is a real step back in time too

You should also try out a ride in a Trickshaw, you can go on a tour of chinatown and eat at a food court or roadside vendor. A food court is quite good as you sit at a table and then buy different dishes from the vendors there.

Also In Penang visit the huge Buddist temple and the hill station funicular

markandkate wrote: »

There are a couple of guided walks you can take in Kl which cover most of the main sights. One take sin the colonial past and other is a littleIndia/ little China town walk.

In KL Petalling Road is where the massive market is and all the copy designer goods are on sale. As previous posters have said there are loads of multi national chains but you can go into China town and get great food there too

The Petronas Towers are worth a visit but you do need to queue for free tickets so get there early. The KL tower is also worth a visit but you do have to pay for that

This sounds ideal... just the kind of thing I enjoy. Ordinarily, when visiting somewhere new, I would just wander between key locations, but I like the idea of following a designated route. I'll certainly have to fit in a trickshaw ride when in Penang... sounds like a lot of fun! I like the way that food seems to be mentioned as an integral part of any trip in Malaysia

Doshwaster wrote: »

The walks in Georgetown (and KL too) are very interesting - there's such an amazing mix of cultures all sitting next to each other - but my biggest piece of advice is to take lots of water. The humidity can be off the top of the scale. No wonder the Imperial rulers spent all day sitting around in the shade drinking gin & tonic.

I can normally cope well with dry heat, but I've never been anywhere particularly humid. I always tend to carry a decent amount of water around when I'm travelling, but, yeah, doesn't quite compare to a G & T in the shade

markandkate wrote: »

In KL we stayed at the Tune hotel a basic hotel with superb shower and comfy bed and great position for public transport.

Thanks for the recommendation. As I said previously, I was hoping to stay somewhere a bit more special when in Kuala Lumpur. However, I'll keep this one in mind if I decide to go for a cheaper option. It seems like the Tune hotels are a good choice for generic basic rooms.

POyouail wrote: »

Start by looking at Air Asia, Tiger Airways & Firefly.

Thanks for the tip. I've had a quick look at flights from Penang to Bangkok. It looks like I can get an direct flight with Air Asia in the late afternoon, or an indirect flight (changeover at Kuala Lumpur)with Air Asia or Malaysia Airlines in the morning.

I will probably be carrying a pretty hefty rucksack with me, which, I'm sure, wouldn't fit the hand luggage requirements. I assume these economy flights offer an additional luggage option? Are prices similar for all these companies?

If I were to take the indirect route, what would be a reasonable length of time to allow for the changeover? Are these flights often delayed? If I have additional luggage, will that be transferred directly, or would I need to collect it and check it in again?

Doshwaster

owains wrote: »

Thanks for the tip. I've had a quick look at flights from Penang to Bangkok. It looks like I can get an direct flight with Air Asia in the late afternoon, or an indirect flight (changeover at Kuala Lumpur)with Air Asia or Malaysia Airlines in the morning.

I will probably be carrying a pretty hefty rucksack with me, which, I'm sure, wouldn't fit the hand luggage requirements. I assume these economy flights offer an additional luggage option? Are prices similar for all these companies?

If I were to take the indirect route, what would be a reasonable length of time to allow for the changeover? Are these flights often delayed? If I have additional luggage, will that be transferred directly, or would I need to collect it and check it in again?

I've found that the luggage charges for Air Asia and Malaysian to be very reasonable. Air Asia certainly wouldn't transfer your bags - they aree a point to point airline like Eayjet or Ryanair (just better). Malaysian should transfer your bags.

Delays are possible due to the unpredictable nature of the Malaysian weather so if the fares are reasonable then I would probably fly direct.

I'm sure you are aware that Malaysian use the main KUL airport but Air Asia use the LCTT (low cost carrier terminal. Everything in KL is known by initials!) which is miles away from the main airport. There is a bus service but I wouldn't like to use it if I had a tight connection. From central KL there is an excellent, and cheap, bus service to LCTT run by Air Asia: http://www.skybus.com.my/

If flying back to KL to catch an onward international flight I would always fly Malaysian to avoid the terminal transfer and the hassle with the baggage.