West Coast Malaysia What to Expect

In Malaysia I usually stay at the Coronade hotel in Bukit Bintang. This is the best area to stay if you are on holiday since the hotel is located slap bang in the middle of the shopping and entertainment area. The hotel is very good (a 3 star or more I think) and very reasonably priced and you can book online at the following links. I would recommend a booking basis of BB (maximum) since there is plenty of good food just outside the hotel. Half or full board would be a waste of money. There is only one problem I have faced in this hotel and that is the pool. The pool of the hotel is on the roof top (together with the gym) and is under cover and thus does not get any sun. The water tends to be very very cold (freezing sometimes) because of this. If the you are not too keen on the pool this would not be an issue. In any event you guys will be doing water parks that should negate the need for a pool at then hotel. The hotel is located at Bukit Bintang in the heart of Kuala Lumpur 's Golden Triangle which is the premier tourist area in KL. There is an excellent hawkers street which serves about 10 to 12 different kinds of food at very reasonable prices and plenty of restaurants just outside the hotel. If you are going to KL on the train from Singapore , the train stops at KL Sentral (the last stop) and from there you can get a cab. Print out the address of the hotel and show it to both the booking counter and the cabbie. The first time I went to KL the cabbie dropped me off at the wrong hotel. If the cabbie is confused, tell him that the hotel used to be known as the Fariline hotel earlier. All cabbies speak English. There is an alternative way which is faster and very much cheaper. That is to take the monorail to the hotel. If luggage is not too much of a hassle go to the monorail station at KL Sentral and buy tickets to BUKIT BINTANG station. The hotel is about 30 meters from the monorail station at Bukit Bintang. Things to do in KL Shopping For shopping the location of the hotel is ideal. Right opposite the hotel (other side of the road) is the Sungei Wang Plaza ( http://www.sungeiwang.com ) and the BB plaza which are interconnected and you wouldn’t know which one you are in most of the time. This is a huge mall. On the right (same side of the road) is a mall named Lot 10 ( http://www.ytlcommunity.com/lot10/index.asp ) and behind that is the KL Plaza. The Berjaya Times Square Mall (BTS) ( http://www.timessquarekl.com ) is a mere 3 – 5 minutes walk (about 300 meters away) and is another huge mall with over 1000 outlets. Sungei Wang and BB are mid market malls whilst Lot 10 and BTS are slightly more upmarket. Quality in all these malls is excellent and the prices very very good. Another shopping destination is the Petaling Street (PS) market at China town. This is a street market with all kinds of goods for sale. PS is away from the area of the hotel, but getting there is easy, just get into a cab and say Petaling street market. PS is a very touristy place and I have found that some times goods tend to be slightly more expensive compared to the malls like Sungei Wang. Bargaining is a must and don’t be shy to ask for deep discounts. If the vendor does not oblige, move on. Most likely the vendor will call you back or you might find better quality and price in the malls. Another place that may interest you is the Low Yat Plaza which is near the hotel. The latest in gadgets, computers, software, video games, computer accessories can be found in abundance here. Theme Parks Cosmo’s World Theme Park The nearest theme park is the Cosmo’s World Theme Park which is located at Berjaya Times Square Mall and is the largest indoor theme park in Malaysia . ( http://www.timesquarekl.com/ ). This place has among other things a very nice area of activity for the smaller children. Sunway Lagoon ( http://www.sunwaylagoon.com/attract/attract.asp ) SL is a large outdoor theme park with accent on water parks. Sunway Lagoon won 2007 Asian Attractions Award b eating Hong Kong , Singapore , Thailand and The Philippines. They have just added an interactive zoo and extreme sports section. This is a great place where you can easily spend a whole day. SL is closed on Tuesdays. Desa Water Park ( http://www.desawaterpark.com.my ) I have not been here but it is supposed to be quite good and has the longest uphill water coaster in Asia . This place is closed on Wednesdays. Genting Highlands theme park ( http://www.genting.com.my/en/themepark/index.htm ) Genting theme park is a part of the genting highlands mountain resort which also includes hotels, entertainment, casino’s etc. It’s a lovely place to go to as the weather is on the colder side and in fact some times pleasantly misty. It’s about 1 hour from Bukit Bintang. The easiest way is by taxi just ask your hotel to organize it. A cheaper way would be to go to the genting taxi stand in KL and take a genting taxi. An even cheaper way would be to take the monorail to Titiwangsa and go across to the bus station and take the bus to the theme park. The bus goes right into the theme park and is very comfortable. This may be a bit of a hassle though if you are with kids. Coming back you have the same options. This would be a whole day trip. You can book your tickets online at the above website and there is an extensive FAQ too. They have listed several travel options on the website that you may want to see. ( http://www.genting.com.my/en/eg/g_there/index.htm ). Make sure you take a change of clothes to all the theme parks as you are sure to get wet (except Cosmo’s). Also, most theme parks do not allow food to be brought in (especially sunway lagoon) as they serve/sell food inside the park. Other attractions Bird Park , Butterfly Park , Deer Park and Orchid Garden at the lake gardens Really nice place to be especially Kids, who will love the bird park where they can feed the birds and photos taken with the birds. This is on the outskirts of the city and takes about 20 mins to get there. Petronas Twin Towers The 88-storey Petronas Twin Towers , otherwise known as KLCC the world's tallest twin structures. Located in the heart of the capital city, the crown of the Kuala Lumpur contains a complex of office buildings, conference halls, a sprawling park and an upmarket shopping complex. Visitors are allowed to go up to the sky bridge between 8.30 am and 5.00 pm from Tuesday to Sunday. Though they say till 5.00 pm, they have an allocation on the number of visitors that they allow and hence its best to get there early. KL tower Soaring to 421m, and considered a main feature of the city skyline, the KL Tower is the world's fourth tallest communications tower. To experience the exhilarating view from the KL Tower, you can go to the 335-metre high observation deck on a high-speed lift. From here, you get a birds eye view of the entire city. The Bukit Nanas Forest reserve, also known as the 'Green Lung' of KL City, is located just beside the KL Tower. This uniquely 'real' plot of ancient rainforest offers a walking trail and has flora and fauna indigenous to Malaysia . Here, you get the frankly surreal opportunity to see colourful butterflies, insects, monkeys, squirrels and exotic birds in their natural habitat - all within earshot of the hum of downtown traffic! The latest attraction at KL Tower and Bukit Nanas is a reverse bungee called The G-Force. Not for the faint of heart, your ride will be recorded and given to you on a DVD. On top of the KL Tower is the Seri Angkasa revolving restaurant where you can sample an international buffet spread while watching a continuously revolving view of the Kuala Lumpur skyline. Take a taxi if you are going here since there is a very steep walk upto the entrance of the tower. Cheers and have fun Ryann

Tanya and I had a single night stopover in Kuala Lumpur on the way to the Pangkor Laut resort on the west coast of Malaysia, mainly as it was the only place we could stay relatively cheaply between two expensive destinations, and it was one of the few places on our trip that neither of us knew anything about prior to arrival. We hadn't planned to spend much time at all in major cities during our trip, but it simply hadn't turned out to be possible to book into Pangkor Laut on the date we had wanted and the only option available to us had been to slot in a last minute stopover in KL (as the locals call it) en route. I suppose that, if we'd had more time, we would've booked some excursions or perhaps forced ourselves to try some of the obvious tourist traps such as visiting the Petronas Twin Towers - the tallest twin towers in the world and until recently the tallest overall building - or having dinner in the revolving restaurant at the top of the Kuala Lumpur Tower. As it was, we didn't have time to do any of these things and opted instead to spend what little time we had wandering the streets around our hotel in an attempt to soak up some of the atmosphere of the city. Tanya has never liked cities, and Kuala Lumpur seemed to us to be particularly polluted and smelly, even compared to Bangkok. It didn't take long for her to show signs of becoming sick from the fumes around the city centre, so we ended up cutting our explorations short and heading back to the hotel. Not, I think you'll agree, the most auspicious of starts to our time in Malaysia. The only thing we really had any time to do was take a look around a local indoor market, which reminded me of the large market buildings in Hong Kong. Entry was through a small doorway off of the street, and once inside we found ourselves presented with several levels of shops - mostly small cubicles selling cheap (and possibly not quite so legal in some cases) computer software and hardware as well as trinkets and tacky souvenirs. At the back of the building was a large food market selling meat, fruits and vegetables, but we didn't get too far in before the crowds were too much for us and we headed straight for the door. I have no idea whether McDonalds is a new arrival in KL or not, but eating there certainly seemed to be an exercise in propaganda on their part. When we first walked through the door, it appeared that they were playing choir music through the public address system, and my first reaction was to think how much nicer it was than the rubbish they play back home. While eating, however, I started to listen to the words and realised quite quickly that the music was, in fact, a choir of children singing about how delicious the food was at McDonalds. No sooner had the song finished, than a deep voiced jazz singer came on to replace it and started singing about Big Macs. This went on throughout our short time at the restaurant, apparently on a loop, until it really did start to get on our nerves. Needless to say, the whole thing became a bit of a joke for a while afterwards, with one of us turning to the other and starting to sing the McDonalds song whenever we felt like winding each other up. I guess the sales team at McDonalds would probably take that as a victory.You can read my complete travel journals at http://www.offexploring.com/globalwanderer and http://www.offexploring.com/globalwanderer2

Petronas Towers spectacular!! fantastic shopping centre at the bottom, with excellent, well kept grounds and lake, lake is actually tiled (like a swimming pool) also includes a large paddling pool. Watch the local kids paddling after school, in full dress!

In Malaysia I usually stay at the Coronade hotel in Bukit Bintang. This is the best area to stay if you are on holiday since the hotel is located slap bang in the middle of the shopping and entertainment area. The hotel is very good (a 3 star or more I think) and very reasonably priced and you can book online at the following links.


http://www.kl-hotels.com/coronade/

http://www.holidaycity.com/fairlane-kl/index.htm

http://www.asiatravel.com/malaysia/fairlane/index.html


The hotel was formerly known as the Fairlane hotel about three years ago. Of the above links the best seems to be the first one which seems to have the best rates. Your travel agent may be able to get a better rate as they can bundle deals for holidays.

I would recommend a booking basis of BB (maximum) since there is plenty of good food just outside the hotel. Half or full board would be a waste of money. There is only one problem I have faced in this hotel and that is the pool. The pool of the hotel is on the roof top (together with the gym) and is under cover and thus does not get any sun. The water tends to be very very cold (freezing sometimes) because of this. If the family is not too keen on the pool this would not be an issue. In any event you will be doing water parks that should negate the need for a pool at then hotel.

The hotel is located at Bukit Bintang in the heart of Kuala Lumpur 's Golden Triangle which is the premier tourist area in KL. There is an excellent hawkers street which serves about 10 to 12 different kinds of food at very reasonable prices and plenty of restaurants just outside the hotel.

If you will be going to KL on the train from Singapore . The train stops at KL Sentral (the last stop) and from there you can get a cab. Print out the address of the hotel and show it to both the booking counter and the cabbie. The first time I went to KL the cabbie dropped me off at the wrong hotel. If the cabbie is confused, tell him that the hotel used to be known as the Fariline hotel earlier. All cabbies speak English.

There is an alternative way which is faster and very much cheaper. That is to take the monorail to the hotel. If luggage is not too much of a hassle go to the monorail station at KL Sentral and buy tickets to BUKIT BINTANG station. The hotel is about 30 meters from the monorail station at Bukit Bintang. Things to do in KL


Shopping

For shopping the location of the hotel is ideal. Right opposite the hotel (other side of the road) is the Sungei Wang Plaza ( http://www.sungeiwang.com ) and the BB plaza which are interconnected and you wouldn’t know which one you are in most of the time. This is a huge mall. On the right (same side of the road) is a mall named Lot 10 ( http://www.ytlcommunity.com/lot10/index.asp ) and behind that is the KL Plaza. The Berjaya Times Square Mall (BTS) ( http://www.timessquarekl.com ) is a mere 3 – 5 minutes walk (about 300 meters away) and is another huge mall with over 1000 outlets. Sungei Wang and BB are mid market malls whilst Lot 10 and BTS are slightly more upmarket. Quality in all these malls is excellent and the prices very very good.

Another shopping destination is the Petaling Street (PS) market at China town. This is a street market with all kinds of goods for sale. PS is away from the area of the hotel, but getting there is easy, just get into a cab and say Petaling street market. PS is a very touristy place and I have found that some times goods tend to be slightly more expensive compared to the malls like Sungei Wang. Bargaining is a must and don’t be shy to ask for deep discounts. If the vendor does not oblige, move on. Most likely the vendor will call you back or you might find better quality and price in the malls.


Another place that may interest you is the Low Yat Plaza which is near the hotel. The latest in gadgets, computers, software, video games, computer accessories can be found in abundance here.


Cosmo’s World Theme Park

The nearest theme park is the Cosmo’s World Theme Park which is located at Berjaya Times Square Mall and is the largest indoor theme park in Malaysia . ( http://www.timesquarekl.com/ ). This place has among other things a very nice area of activity for the smaller children.


Sunway Lagoon ( http://www.sunwaylagoon.com/attract/attract.asp )

SL is a large outdoor theme park with accent on water parks. Sunway Lagoon won 2007 Asian Attractions Award b eating Hong Kong , Singapore , Thailand and The Philippines. They have just added an interactive zoo and extreme sports section. This is a great place where you can easily spend a whole day. SL is closed on Tuesdays.


Desa Water Park ( http://www.desawaterpark.com.my )

I have not been here but it is supposed to be quite good and has the longest uphill water coaster in Asia . This place is closed on Wednesdays.


Genting Highlands theme park ( http://www.genting.com.my/en/themepark/index.htm )

Genting theme park is a part of the genting highlands mountain resort which also includes hotels, entertainment, casino’s etc. It’s a lovely place to go to as the weather is on the colder side and in fact some times pleasantly misty. It’s about 1 hour from Bukit Bintang. The easiest way is by taxi just ask your hotel to organize it. A cheaper way would be to go to the genting taxi stand in KL and take a genting taxi. An even cheaper way would be to take the monorail to Titiwangsa and go across to the bus station and take the bus to the theme park. The bus goes right into the theme park and is very comfortable. This may be a bit of a hassle though with the kids. Coming back you have the same options. This would be a whole day trip. You can book your tickets online at the above website and there is an extensive FAQ too. They have listed several travel options on the website that you may want to see. ( http://www.genting.com.my/en/eg/g_there/index.htm ).

Make sure you take a change of clothes to all the theme parks as you are sure to get wet (except Cosmo’s). Also, most theme parks do not allow food to be brought in (especially sunway lagoon) as they serve food inside the park.


Other attractions

Bird Park , Butterfly Park , Deer Park and Orchid Garden at the lake gardens

We did the bird and butterfly parks when we were there. The kids will love the bird park where they can feed the birds and photos taken with the birds. This is on the outskirts of the city and takes about 20 mins to get there.


Petronas Twin Towers

The 88-storey Petronas Twin Towers , otherwise known as KLCC the world's tallest twin structures. Located in the heart of the capital city, the crown of the Kuala Lumpur contains a complex of office buildings, conference halls, a sprawling park and an upmarket shopping complex. Visitors are allowed to go up to the sky bridge between 8.30 am and 5.00 pm from Tuesday to Sunday. Though they say till 5.00 pm, they have an allocation on the number of visitors that they allow and hence its best to get there early.


KL tower
Soaring to 421m, and considered a main feature of the city skyline, the KL Tower is the world's fourth tallest communications tower. To experience the exhilarating view from the KL Tower, you can go to the 335-metre high observation deck on a high-speed lift. From here, you get a birds eye view of the entire city.
The Bukit Nanas Forest reserve, also known as the 'Green Lung' of KL City, is located just beside the KL Tower. This uniquely 'real' plot of ancient rainforest offers a walking trail and has flora and fauna indigenous to Malaysia . Here, you get the frankly surreal opportunity to see colourful butterflies, insects, monkeys, squirrels and exotic birds in their natural habitat - all within earshot of the hum of downtown traffic!
The latest attraction at KL Tower and Bukit Nanas is a reverse bungee called The G-Force. Not for the faint of heart, your ride will be recorded and given to you on a DVD.
On top of the KL Tower is the Seri Angkasa revolving restaurant where you can sample an international buffet spread while watching a continuously revolving view of the Kuala Lumpur skyline.
Take a taxi if you are going here since there is a very steep walk upto the entrance of the tower.


Well, that’s all I can think of for the moment. That should fill up your days. There are many more lovely things to do in Malaysia but involves a lot of travel.

Sunway Resort - great fun time for adults kids! Theme park's better than Genting, i feel.. maybe cos of the Water Park..

It is a great city to live in. Even though it is a developing country but Kuala Lumpur is a place that you will have a great time in it. You will find Church, Mosque, Shrine, and night clubs all in one neighborhood!
I just to everyone to visit there, live there, and have some fun. But don't just stay in the city, go for jungle trekking there ;)

George Town, Penang, is one of the nicest cities I've been to in Asia. The shopping is great the food is FANTASTIC and the general atmospher provides long term asia-travellers with a welcome rest from havoc and roughing it. Check out little India, next to China town, the Indian food cannot be beaten anywhere. It's better than the real thing, as you know it's safe and it's sooo cheap. Go to a banana-leaf restaurant in little India. Check out the music dvd stores for a huge collection of Bollywood films. Don't be afraid of street vendors, the food is safe, and a must is (oddly enough) a hamburger - this sounds strange the Malaysians love them and they are filled with wierd sauces, and a great salad mix. But just try it once - as there's so much else to try. The snake temple is pretty cool, if a bit far to go, but check out the local buses to get around. They're inexpensive and reliable.

During our travels, a friend warned that Langkawi was `pretty, but boring as hell`. Likewise, the tour operator in KL advised we should only go to Langkawi for a day trip because there wasn’t much to see there. Both of these opinions were way off base, as we found out for ourselves.

Langkawi is a series of one hundred small islands (give or take a few, depending on the tide level), clustered together near the Malaysian-Thai border. The terrain is lush and mountainous, with beautiful beaches. You won’t see any high-rise hotels on Pulau Langkawi, the main island of the group; the government requires that hotels may not be taller than a coconut tree. As a result, the island’s businesses have remained in the hands of the locals, and few tourists venture out here. The result is a very quiet, laid-back atmosphere with friendly local folks.

We arrived at the Langkawi airport and immediately rented a proton wira car at RM100 for 3 days droved to our 4- star Langkasuka Beach Resort. Our modus operandi is to travel without hotel reservations, allowing us maximum flexibility; we crossed our fingers that Langkasuka Beach Resort would have a vacancy because it sounded like a peaceful place. Luckily they had two vacant chalets set in a lush garden tastefully adorned with orchids, palms, statues, fountains and ponds. It was quite charming, to say the least. The beachfront was pristine and secluded.

One of the highlights of our visit to Langkawi was a breathtaking gondola ride up the mountainside. The Swiss-made gondola opened in 2002, each car seating up to six passengers. The first leg of the ride glides straight up the mountain for an awe-inspiring distance, while the second leg takes you from one mountaintop station to a second station. The top lookout point has a 360-degree panoramic view of the surrounding islands and sea. In addition, there is a steep trekking path between the two peaks for those who wish to explore the jungle on foot (which, of course, included us). The station at the base of the mountain sits next to an Oriental Village (read: shopping mall for tourists). Also nearby is a short and very, very steep trek to the Seven Pools - a legendary series of waterfalls where you can slide from one pool to the next on the smooth, slippery rocks. This was a refreshing dip for us after our grueling trek. Sitting under a pounding waterfall is pretty exhilarating!.

Another highlight of our trip was gourmet cuisine - at very reasonable prices, I might add. The first night we sat at a beachside table at the Lighthouse Restaurant and enjoyed a leisurely dinner as the sun sank down beyond the horizon. For dessert we shared peach gelati molded into the shape of a peach, covered with a delicate white chocolate shell (dyed peach, of course) and adorned with a real leaf. There was even a “peach pit” inside, made of a chocolate hazelnut truffle. The entertainment for the evening came when a herd of water buffalo ambled down the beach for their nightly stroll - definitely not something you would see in the City! Buffalos have traditionally been used to work the fields on the island, although modern machinery is starting to make them obsolete. Some of the residents still keep their herds of buffalo though, as a means of preserving cultural traditions. Apparently, the herds used to roam freely and cause all kinds of traffic jams by walking down the middle of the road in packs of thirty or more. Some restrictions have been put in place, but few farmers actually abide by them. As a result, you never know when you might be graced by the presence of a water buffalo sauntering down the sidewalk.

The second night in Langkawi we ate dinner at the Sun Village Seafood Restaurant. Once again, dinner dessert was superb and dessert was very delicious. We had four orders of the traditional Malay dessert, sago. Sago comes from a tree, and is similar to tapioca pearls (about 1/8” in diameter). The emerald green jelly-like pearls were molded into three little mounds, and presented in a bowl of brown sugar and cream. We were instructed to stir everything up to sweeten the sago with the brown sugar, resulting in a unique flavor. This dessert is traditionally eaten during Ramadan. Sago is the staple of the Penan tribe’s diet; they are a nomadic tribe, known for their stealth and accuracy when hunting with blowdarts.

Our third and final night in Langkawi, we decided to be adventurous and drove to the opposite side of the island for dinner. We parked the car embarked on a 15 minute walk through the mangrove jungle to reach the restaurant. This place was built with eco-tourism in mind; instead of knocking down trees, the building was constructed around them. The main dining room has trees coming up through the floor and reaching towards the towering skylight above. A wraparound deck allows diners to view the mangrove wildlife between courses.

We loved Langkawi, and will probably go back there someday - as long as it doesn't get too built-up and touristy! Maybe that\'s why people kept telling us not to go there...maybe they just secretly wanted the island to remain quiet. In that case, I don't blame them in the least.

u must visit twin tower and genting

Gardens City Of Light -Kuala Lumpur (KL) is the capital of Malaysia. There're many art galleries, museum historical ruins for the ultimate cultural learning experience. Must visit - the world famous Petronas Towers, once at the top; it feels like the whole word under your feet. Beside the Petronas Towers is the Maxis Tower, there is a revolving restaurant in the Maxis Tower where able to have a bird's eye view to KL.

It is a great city to live in. Even though it is a developing country but Kuala Lumpur is a place that you will have a great time in it. You will find Church, Mosque, Shrine, and night clubs all in one neighborhood!
I just to everyone to visit there, live there, and have some fun. But don't just stay in the city, go for jungle trekking there ;)

George Town, Penang, is one of the nicest cities I've been to in Asia. The shopping is great the food is FANTASTIC and the general atmospher provides long term asia-travellers with a welcome rest from havoc and roughing it. Check out little India, next to China town, the Indian food cannot be beaten anywhere. It's better than the real thing, as you know it's safe and it's sooo cheap. Go to a banana-leaf restaurant in little India. Check out the music dvd stores for a huge collection of Bollywood films. Don't be afraid of street vendors, the food is safe, and a must is (oddly enough) a hamburger - this sounds strange the Malaysians love them and they are filled with wierd sauces, and a great salad mix. But just try it once - as there's so much else to try. The snake temple is pretty cool, if a bit far to go, but check out the local buses to get around. They're inexpensive and reliable.

During our travels, a friend warned that Langkawi was `pretty, but boring as hell`. Likewise, the tour operator in KL advised we should only go to Langkawi for a day trip because there wasn’t much to see there. Both of these opinions were way off base, as we found out for ourselves.

Langkawi is a series of one hundred small islands (give or take a few, depending on the tide level), clustered together near the Malaysian-Thai border. The terrain is lush and mountainous, with beautiful beaches. You won’t see any high-rise hotels on Pulau Langkawi, the main island of the group; the government requires that hotels may not be taller than a coconut tree. As a result, the island’s businesses have remained in the hands of the locals, and few tourists venture out here. The result is a very quiet, laid-back atmosphere with friendly local folks.

We arrived at the Langkawi airport and immediately rented a proton wira car at RM100 for 3 days droved to our 4- star Langkasuka Beach Resort. Our modus operandi is to travel without hotel reservations, allowing us maximum flexibility; we crossed our fingers that Langkasuka Beach Resort would have a vacancy because it sounded like a peaceful place. Luckily they had two vacant chalets set in a lush garden tastefully adorned with orchids, palms, statues, fountains and ponds. It was quite charming, to say the least. The beachfront was pristine and secluded.

One of the highlights of our visit to Langkawi was a breathtaking gondola ride up the mountainside. The Swiss-made gondola opened in 2002, each car seating up to six passengers. The first leg of the ride glides straight up the mountain for an awe-inspiring distance, while the second leg takes you from one mountaintop station to a second station. The top lookout point has a 360-degree panoramic view of the surrounding islands and sea. In addition, there is a steep trekking path between the two peaks for those who wish to explore the jungle on foot (which, of course, included us). The station at the base of the mountain sits next to an Oriental Village (read: shopping mall for tourists). Also nearby is a short and very, very steep trek to the Seven Pools - a legendary series of waterfalls where you can slide from one pool to the next on the smooth, slippery rocks. This was a refreshing dip for us after our grueling trek. Sitting under a pounding waterfall is pretty exhilarating!.

Another highlight of our trip was gourmet cuisine - at very reasonable prices, I might add. The first night we sat at a beachside table at the Lighthouse Restaurant and enjoyed a leisurely dinner as the sun sank down beyond the horizon. For dessert we shared peach gelati molded into the shape of a peach, covered with a delicate white chocolate shell (dyed peach, of course) and adorned with a real leaf. There was even a “peach pit” inside, made of a chocolate hazelnut truffle. The entertainment for the evening came when a herd of water buffalo ambled down the beach for their nightly stroll - definitely not something you would see in the City! Buffalos have traditionally been used to work the fields on the island, although modern machinery is starting to make them obsolete. Some of the residents still keep their herds of buffalo though, as a means of preserving cultural traditions. Apparently, the herds used to roam freely and cause all kinds of traffic jams by walking down the middle of the road in packs of thirty or more. Some restrictions have been put in place, but few farmers actually abide by them. As a result, you never know when you might be graced by the presence of a water buffalo sauntering down the sidewalk.

The second night in Langkawi we ate dinner at the Sun Village Seafood Restaurant. Once again, dinner dessert was superb and dessert was very delicious. We had four orders of the traditional Malay dessert, sago. Sago comes from a tree, and is similar to tapioca pearls (about 1/8” in diameter). The emerald green jelly-like pearls were molded into three little mounds, and presented in a bowl of brown sugar and cream. We were instructed to stir everything up to sweeten the sago with the brown sugar, resulting in a unique flavor. This dessert is traditionally eaten during Ramadan. Sago is the staple of the Penan tribe’s diet; they are a nomadic tribe, known for their stealth and accuracy when hunting with blowdarts.

Our third and final night in Langkawi, we decided to be adventurous and drove to the opposite side of the island for dinner. We parked the car embarked on a 15 minute walk through the mangrove jungle to reach the restaurant. This place was built with eco-tourism in mind; instead of knocking down trees, the building was constructed around them. The main dining room has trees coming up through the floor and reaching towards the towering skylight above. A wraparound deck allows diners to view the mangrove wildlife between courses.

We loved Langkawi, and will probably go back there someday - as long as it doesn't get too built-up and touristy! Maybe that\'s why people kept telling us not to go there...maybe they just secretly wanted the island to remain quiet. In that case, I don't blame them in the least.

u must visit twin tower and genting

Gardens City Of Light -Kuala Lumpur (KL) is the capital of Malaysia. There're many art galleries, museum historical ruins for the ultimate cultural learning experience. Must visit - the world famous Petronas Towers, once at the top; it feels like the whole word under your feet. Beside the Petronas Towers is the Maxis Tower, there is a revolving restaurant in the Maxis Tower where able to have a bird's eye view to KL.

Kuala Lumpur est une grande ville possédant par endroit de vastes espaces verts mais gardant tout de même un fort taux de pollution. La Société de consommation y est très présente. De gigantesques Building commerciaux sont a la disposition des plus courageux. Le change en argent s'y fait assez facilement et la barrière de la langue n'est pas un problème si vous maitrisez un peu l'anglais. La vie y est très peu chère. Un repas copieux ne vous coutera pas plus de quelques euros. C'est une ville qui vaut vraiment le détour !!

always bring your own bottle of water

Pickpockets- beware of them
Hotels are nice. Choose the right ones. Legacy is okay.
Bring mosquito repellant it may help
Get the best bargain when in streets
Hospital is good. If you fall sick go to a SPECIALIST HOSPITAL- Malaysia sponsors all their healthcare. wanna good hospital go to a SPECIALIST hospital. good service- $100 ringgit plus minus if you need medication.
Try all their food...
Shopping: Makhota Parade (:

I would like find some plece where my mind and soul can say, yes, this is the place of tranquility without stress, without lines to wait every day.... I'm walking every day on a long white line..

Juann C.

very silent village lots of cattles and pigs to see not a big tourist attraction but a nice scenic place good veggie food