Go to the night time GP in Singapore.

The Perhentian Islands off Terengganu were pretty fab
* *except for the fish head stew and giant spiders

Thought about Singapore, but 14 days there might be abit too long and too expensive.

Was looking at that HEB. Would working my way from Kuala Lumpur to the area around Terengganu and back kill two weeks? Or worth heading off to Brunei?

bumpity bump

i'm going in june/july but only for a few days - not much help here otherwise. there's a little info here

i'd like to go there if only for the food. it is meant to be crazy!

I had about 4 days stopover spread between Malaysia and Singapore a few years back, and would have liked to have had more time in Malaysia, travelled a bit around the provinces. Given that I was a) a girl (still am), b) travelling alone c) not terribly solo 'intrepid' and d) stricken by the heat having come direct from a London winter (thought I was going to peg out in an orchid garden one time), I probably would have liked either a brave/experienced travelling companion, or a tour group. It's a bit hard as a cultural 'outsider' to know when people have crossed the line from really REALLY friendly to just a bit creepy - particularly when you're a) and b) - or even if they have. But I liked the jungles, the food, the lettering on the signs outside shops, the uncalculatedness, the garlands of hanging flowers on the trees over the roads... lots of stuff. In this day and age of booking flights online it seems taking the stopover option - all transfers, cheap nice hotel with breakfast - has become that bit more tricky to organize (unless you're through an agent). I haven't done one for ages despite a fair few frequent flyer miles, and this thread is just reminding me of that fact.
I hope you have a great time there, Tago, and I'm a wee bit jealous too.

I have heard wonderful things about the Islands (Langkawi etc).

Penang is pretty cool... sorta like a mini Hong Kong with really expensive beer

Thanks for the advice/tales of experience so far. I'm slowly getting my itinerary mapped out. I'll likely be extending it to 3 or so weeks (though thats seriously pushing my budget) and heading to the Cameron Highlands for a few days from KL, and then catching a bus to Penang, checking out the islands around Langkawi, for however long and then heading to Parenthian Islands from there. Internal flights are supercheap, so I could probably still could extend it further and visit a few more places. I've just found out that AirAsia from Malaysia does flights to Hong Kong for about $90aus and flights all round the place to Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand for about $25aus, which is reeeaaalllly tempting, but i'll restrain myself.

But yeah, things are still wide open to change, so if theres anywhere that I desperately need to see, let me know. Thanks,

Going to extend the trip to 3 weeks minimum. Should $950 be enough to survive?

Yup, $950 is probably enough

If costs around $40 to fly over to Kota Kinabalu on Air Asia, and it's definitely worth a look. Hop on a bus to Sukau and jump on a river cruise - when I went we saw wild elephants from like 3m away (they were traipsing through the jungle and we were in our little boats) and a whole bunch of orang utans. Sukau is reasonably un-touristy but really relaxed and lovely.

i'm flying in on june 26 - managed to hook up free pick up at the airport, free accomodation and some free trips with my new recently deported friends in daighila! fuck, those guys are awesome and i've never even met them.

If you go to KL, make sure you go to the Old China Cafe for the most amazing Laksa and other Nonya cuisine.

I'm off to Malaysia via Singapore (2 days) on June 1. Just a short 2 week holiday though. No idea what I'm going to do yet, but I want to chill out on a beach or near a pool in a resort and eat banana pancakes while drinking drinks with little umbrellas.

Mess and Noise gatecrashes Malaysia in June.

Any idea what time it gets dark over there this time of year? My flight arrives there around about 8pm local time, and I dont really want to wander around in the dark looking for somewhere to discard my jetlagged corpse. Any semi-decent backpacker/hostels I can book over the net anyone would recommend?

Cheers Roasty, i'll check it it. I presume it's in Chinatown?

And i'll likely be sticking to the penninsula, but i'm keeping my options open and $40 doesnt sound too bad. So i'll keep it in mind. Cheers.

I have booked into the Traders Hotel in KL, Park view room for the first week. Then have booked a 1st class overnight sleeper train to Arau, will then get a ferry to Langkawi, and have booked a resort for a couple of days. I'll sort out what I'm gonna do after that - not sure how long I'll stay there, but will fly back to KL - thinking about taking off to vietnam for a couple of days..

Cheers Roasty, i'll check it it. I presume it's in Chinatown?

near the cop shop.

Whoa, wayyyy to expensive for me k2, I won't last a week there!

I'm thinking spending most of my time in KL, Penang; Georgetown, and the catch a Bus to Tioman Islands for the last week, though what should I expect from a 10 hour bus ride? Easier to just fly?

My suggestions if you're only having a quickie (all in and out of Singapore, coz that's how I usually do it);

(1) Monsoon (twelve days, West Coast cities)
Singapore (2 days) > bus > Melaka (2 days) > bus > KL (2 days) > bus/ferry > Penang (2 days) > ferry/bus > Taiping/Ipoh (1 day) > train (1 day) > Singapore (1 day)

(2) Non-monsoon (seventeen days, West Coast cities, Taman Negara, East Coast islands)
Singapore (2 days) > bus > Melaka (2 days) > bus > KL (2 days) > Penang (2 days) > tourist mini-bus/ferry > Perhentian/Redang Islands (3 days) > tourist mini-bus/ferry > Taman Negara National Park trekking (3 days) > jungle railway (1 day) > Singapore (1 day)

anyone got any suggestions for about 10-12 days there?? My Thai visa runs out in a week so I gotsa bail, and am leaving from KL to fly home so makes financial and organizational sense to head in that direction....anyone got tips? (i've been to KL before so dont need anytime there...)

have you been to ricecooker already?

hook up with some folks to go north or northeast. or maybe down to malacca and JB and hit singapore for a day or two as well.

like every other Asian country & mostly all Asians, it's full of fucking hepatitis. ever wondered why? look at the way the fucking animals eat. sharing their saliva at every meal. if it wasn't for the fact of asia's sex worker exports, the US would blown these pin dick nations off the face of the Earth ages ago.

Is ricecooker currently open?

if you like eating good food you are gonna lose your shit mate.

Pulau Pinang is great, Malacca is great, Singapore is worth visiting for sure.

as far as i know ricecooker is open again...

Ricecooker wasn't open when I was there in late March.

Spending a few days in KL in December, anyone have any tips?

We'll be staying at the Traders Hotel and plan to eat street food, get drunk in the Skybar, and are a little out of ideas after that.

islamic arts museum.

not sure other than that right now, but heading there saturday, can let you know!

daytrip to malacca also seems worthwhile.

Just make sure you eat some of the Thai food around Jalan Alor — it's faaaaaarking amazing. As is the Malay food of course. The Central Market area is also good for a wander. Take the monorail around and explore stuff. Um, that's all I've got!

There are one or two art museums (ARI style) as well as the usual bigger GLAMs that you can check out too. There's a contemporary art gallery upstairs at the back of the Central Market that was okay. Sometimes they have shows as well (Damo Suzuki played there last year).

Malacca is cool, yeah. Dutch!

Just make sure you eat some of the Thai food around Jalan Alor — it's faaaaaarking
amazing.

YES.

penang tips also welcomed if anyone has some.

DON'T DRINK THE DUNNY WATER

penang tips also welcomed if anyone has some.

Just the obvious stuff. Walk around Lebuh Pantai (Beach St) and the main temples and clan houses. Eat at night at Guerney Drive. Go to the Penang Museum, Fort Cornwallis, and the Cheong Fatt Tze mansion.

need at least a night in mallaca - is a 3-4 hour bus ride down there. and its worth a night at least.
if your staying at Traders - just stay at Traders. otherwise, just wander around. there's not much to do, but it\s an OK city to wander the streets around.

Don't know if anyone has mentioned the Perhentian Islands yet. I stayed there quite a few years back on a small family owned hostel type place. Beautiful beaches, great food...pretty basic but my favourite experience in Malaysia. Went stupidly walking in the rainforest with nothing but shorts on and was chased by a massive pair of monitor lizards.

ricecooker records in kl is top stuff.

off to find something else ridiculously cheap to eat before singapore tomorrow.