[Archived] Malaysia

[john.leigh]

We are holidaying in Kuala Lumpur later in the year and was wondering if there's anyone on here that lives or has lived there?

Always good to get some local info...

[Sparky Marky]

Shebby might be waiting for you......

[desrover]

Alright John,

Yes moved here this summer but have spent time here most years since 2007.

Its a nice place with a good climate and you can watch all the football you want at the weekend.

What is it you want to know about KL? Are you visiting other places?

Thankfully not bumped into Shebby yet!

[john.leigh]

Hey mate - big list of stuff...

On our way out to the UK we're there in KL for a day -

what can we do to fill in that day?

On our way back to Bris we're there in KL for longer so what's the best places to visit during a three night stop over?

Do you need to book for Petronas Towers?

Best shopping? What's the best bargains to look out for? How hot will it be in January? Do we need any injections? What to avoid - where are we most likely to get ripped off?

[desrover]

ok for the day visit you wont have lots of time so i would just stay near the centre - you probably want to be in the golden triangle where some

of the smarter bars and restaurants are. If the mrs likes shopping head to the pavillion. I would do some of the main sights such as

the petronas towers, merdeka square and chinatown - which is great for food.

For the longer stay try to book tickets to the top of the petronas towers. Unfortunately you have to go early to get them as they are limited.

I think they start at 8am but you have to be there earlier to get them. During the week should be a bit quieter. If you cant be bothered just go the

the kl tower instead which isnt as tall but has good views as well. I would then get out of KL for a day. Maybe go to the batu caves which are

quite close or the genting highlands which has a cable car above the rainforest as well as a casino. A couple of other places in KL are the

central market for souvenir type stuff and lake titiwangsa which has good views of the city. Malacca might also be worth a day trip.

Will be hot in january but might have the odd rain shower also. Dont think you will need any injections for a short stay. Just avoid the mossies.

Not sure about bargains. Shopping centres here arent that cheap but the locals get much lower prices elsewhere. Its not dear though except

for a beer in a decent place. You shouldnt get ripped off as long as you have your head screwed on and dont wave your money about.

The locals are quite friendly and its a pretty safe place. Just google some of the places and see what you might like.

Will pm you also. Hope that helps.

[PAFELL]

I don't know KL apart from the airport. I normally go to penang, been about 5 times. I love Malaysia though.

[PAFELL]

My Mrs is from Malaysia so we've been back there a couple of times.

The thing you'll find about Malaysia is that it's all about the food. You might have heard that already. Shopping in KL is also quite a big thing. There are malls all over the place. If you like those two things then you'll have a blast in KL. We've never really bothered with the sightseeing stuff but that's just our choice; I'm sure going up KL Tower or the Petronas Towers would give you a great view of the city but I can't really comment on what else to do. desrover seems to have a better measure of that.

My favourite part of KL has to be Petaling Street (Chinatown). The market there is what you'd expect; knock-off goods that you can haggle over! I got a great fake Rolex watch for about £20 as a joke present for my Dad for work. I've never haggled before in my life but it was a fun experience. They have all sorts there so if you don't want to splash out in the expensive malls then get thee to Petaling Street. The nearest monorail station is Maharajalela. You sort of walk downhill and past a Chinese temple to get there (it's not clearly signposted).

With the malls you'll probably be amazed by any one of them. They really do like their malls and they build them big and sparkly.

I prefer The Gardens at Mid Valley City. While Pavilion is a nice mall near Bukit Bintang in the centre of KL I found it was full of your Gucci's, Prada's, and so on, so for us it was mostly window shopping. The Gardens seemed to be more of a middle of the road mall with a big market setup in the basement. I think it might be a taxi ride slightly out of the city centre, though, but as an all-rounder I think it's the best one.

A couple of other malls that are good are Suria KLCC (the concourse part of the Petronas Towers) and One Utama. The latter is probably a bit far out of the centre (we had access to a car at the time... lucky me, going to all these malls).

A couple of malls I wouldn't bother with are Berjaya Times Square and Publika. Berjaya Times Square has very few high street shops but lots of junk shops. It's also bizarrely spread out on about fifteen floors and by the sixth floor it's a ghost town. If you want to go here you need to take the monorail to Imbi. Publika is actually really nice and seems to be based on the Liverpool One concept but it's just a bit sparse with not many choices of shops.

One sightseeing thing I'd avoid is Aquaria KLCC. It was just a bit boring, really. Tickets weren't so cheap, either.

Just a word of advice on the food... Street food in Malaysia is very cheap. If you decide to eat in the street cafes just be prepared for the food to be great but the décor/surroundings to be not so great. There can be hygiene issues but street food is the soul of Malaysia and I was surprised that it didn't massively bother me in the end. If you do prefer to eat in the malls then there are still plenty of choices and the food can still be good but it is a lot more expensive (in-line with UK prices).

First advice my wife gave me when I first went to malaysia - don't look at where the food is cooked, just eat it. We always use the street markets. Roti Canai for breakfast for me. Had Nasi Kander from Penang on many occasions.

[john.leigh]

Many many thanks for all that info - looking forward to the stopovers there and back during my trip to the UK.

One last question; vaccinations - is there any need?

[dave birch]

John, check out www.smarttraveller.gov.au that should give you the info you need.

As for insect repellant; it's a must. Take some "Bushmans", you can get it in most places, including chemists. It contains "DEET" a full strength insect repellant. Having used it in Sri Lanka recently, I can vouch for it's effectiveness.