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Malaysia

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Hi,

We're planning a 3 week stopover in Malaysia in May and have a rough idea of what we want to do (KL, then cameroon highlands, then penang or pangkor, then back to KL or singapore).

We're not sure whether to go to Penang or Pangkor, does anyone have any advice about either. At the moment we are keener on pangkor because it is quieter there.

Any advice appreciated :)

Comments

  • geo555
    geo555 Posts: 787 Forumite
    I have been to Malaysia a couple of times, KL, Penang and Langkawi.
    I prefer Langkawi to Penang as it is much more quieter.
    Holidays Penang are based around Batu Ferringi. There is not much nightlife, just a few bars, plenty of restaurants and the night market. Good value food and plenty of choice at the hawker stands. For nightlife you would have to travel into Georgetown although don't stay out too late as you will find it hard to get a taxi back.
    KL is great for shopping. Look out for a chain of shops called "Factory Outlet Stores" or "FOS" they have designer brands at cheap prices.
    Don't miss out on a trip up the Petronas Towers, get there before 9.00 in the morning to get your free tickets.
    Langkawi is a very quiet get away from it all place. Nice and relaxing and a duty free island. For a good night out, go to the Irish Bar in Pantai Cenang.
    (".)
  • zero73
    zero73 Posts: 5 Forumite
    Must see is petaling street market in KL get lots of cheap bargins and fake stuff don't pay the asking price as you can always get it lower even in major shops. If your going to penang to stay try the 5 star hotels you can sometimes get them cheaper I stayed in sheritan hotel for 2 nights for £60 cheaper than staying in a travel lodge in the UK. If you stay in georgetown (capital of penang) take a visit to the Eastern & Oriental Hotel it if you can afford it have dinner in the fine dinning resturant or a cheaper buffet outside on the terrace you won't be disapointed. Take a trip to the Kek Lok Si Temple and go to the top you get some good views of penang plus at the bottom of the temple is a wet market which have some fine hawker stalls. Warning if you go on the coach it takes about 5 hours from kl to penang and depending on the coach you take you either have to get off in butterworth and take the ferry or your coach will take you to george town station over the bridge.
    Another tip is when shopping try to to go to the places where the locals go as they are cheaper like mega mall which is on the outskirts of KL I think a train goes there in KL itself the law courts are a must see. Always ask the taxi drivers the price before you get in a cab as like the rest of the world they will rip you off, Hope you have good time a the place and the people are fantastic, remember its rude to point and don't pat children on the head
    something missing
  • khizman
    khizman Posts: 527 Forumite
    hmm, went there at christmas here is what i have to say
    1.) as stated in the above post DO NOT ask taxi drivers the price instead tell them to turn the meter on, sit at the front not the back glance at the meter occasionally as a few meters are rigged, easiest way to check is to look at the distance field if it is taped over or hidden get out of the cab and get another one otherwise look at it and cross check it with the cars odometer. depending on how many people there are trains/ buses may be cheaper than anything else.
    2) Shopping, all the usual malls are fun, for really cheap stuff go to liitle india and there is a place calle Myoudin wholesale emporium, this is really cheap and fixed prices, - its a deparment store. Dont go to chinatown - its a tourist trap, if u do go, dont bother buying anything, its all crappy stuff with no fixed price and imo haggling is a waste of time, and usually gets u nowhere, the prople there are really rude and are used to ripping tourists off so when u dont wanna buy anything they hurl abusive words at you, in short, forget chinatown.
    3) Food - malls etc, there is this nice grill restaurant i liked near KLCC - its next to the main entrance, i liked this place in times square mall its called hartz chicken buffet - they charge about 2 pounds and they have all sorts of chicken, salad, curry, pasta etc. but dont forget to pick up the magazine about the mall for free as it contains a discount coupon :)
    4) hotels - dont bother with hotels they are poor value for money for what you get instead get an apartment where the rooms are bigger and they are same price if not lower, search google for miscasa and sucasa, i stayed at micassa which were more expensive, but i booked late and all hotels were full at that time, sucasa is cheaper but i cant vouch for it.
    5) singapore - if u wanna go to singapore take a transtar bus. dont bother with areoline or anything - transtar is the best. go to the bus station which is near to the us embassy i think its called puta raya or similar, check with your hotel, buses go to singapore fromt here ,it cost about 20 pounds return but the buses are in a different league. they are basically what you would expexct from a first class plane service they have massaging chairs, personal tv, video games etc. buses also go to genteng with a company called go genteng that place is really cool you go up a mountain and there is a whole shopping mall, theme park and all sorts, it only costs a couple of pounds but ots worth it for the ride and fresh air.
    neway post back here if u need more help
  • Dimity
    Dimity Posts: 21 Forumite
    Thanks very much everyone! Much appreciated :)
  • I have been to Malaysia twice - KL and Pangkor in 2000 and KL, Penang and Langkawi in 2004. Penang and Pangkor are very different but still wonderful places to visit in their own ways. Pangkor is very sleepy and relaxing - we stayed at the Pan Pacific which had a lovely beach. Penang is busier, more city like and we stayed in the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion (the Blue House) in the town which was a fabulous experience - very historic and atmospheric. Flying between places in Malaysia is really cheap with Air Asia and they are very efficient too - we flew one way from KL to Langkawi for £8 each I think and I saw flights advertised last yr from KL to Penang for around £3 (prices include taxes!)

    I found the hotels in KL a bargain - we stayed in the Mutiara in town for £35 per double room including a vast international breakfast. It's a newly refurbed 5* hotel right next to a monorail station for getting around town - highly recommended!

    Hope you have a great time!
  • My husband and I went on our honeymoon last year to Lankawi, Penang and KL. We loved Lankawi although we did stay at The Datai which is first class. We then went on to stay at The Shangri La Rasa Sayang in Penang, quite a nice hotel but surrounding areas weren't very nice. It all felt very dirty, the beaches were dirty and the street area even worse. We went to Georgetown and thought it was a dump! Obviously that's our opinion and a lot of people really love it but I definitely wouldn't go back. We enjoyed KL and stayed in the Mandarin Oriental just by the Petronas Towers. The mall in the Petronas Towers is really good and shoes are good quality and cheap!!
    I Hope you have a nice time wherever you chose to go. :rotfl:
  • Dimity
    Dimity Posts: 21 Forumite
    Thank you, Pinseti. I think we will go for Pangkor - much more our style. I had been thinking this but all you ever hear about is Penang (package holiday capital) and was not able to get much info.

    We are fairly well travelled & do not mind roughing it, so we will probably end up at one of the guest houses on nipah bay. No flash resorts for us i'm afraid :)
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