Itinerary for Malaysia
South of Thailand lies Malaysia which has two distinct parts, peninsular Malaysia (West) and East Malaysia. The peninsular shares a border with Thailand to the north and Singapore to the south and is the only part of Malaysia that I will have time to visit on this trip. I will be in Malaysia towards the end of January which means that the east coast of the peninsular will still be in monsoon season, I therefore intend to stick mainly to the west.
If I cross the Thailand/Malaysia border by boat I will be spending a couple of days on Langkawi Island before getting another boat to Penang and if I cross the border overland, I will most likely head straight to Penang.
The highest area in Malaysia is the Cameron Highlands which are famous for their tea plantations. The height means that it is cooler than the rest of Malaysia, which I imagine will be quite refreshing for a few days. They are reachable by bus from Ipoh, just south of Penang. Also near Ipoh is Gua Tempurung, the largest limestone cave in peninsular Malaysia. Various tours of the caves are on offer from walking along viewing platforms to being chest deep in water in the underground river, climbing through holes and sliding down slippery rock faces. Sounds like fun!
Home to a large array of wildlife including elephants, rhinos and monkeys, Taman Negara is the oldest National Park in Malaysia. Access to the park is by boat from Kuala Tembeling, sailing upstream to Kuala Tahan, a village within the park itself. Taman Negara has 1300 square km of tropical jungle. Its possible to join guided treks to go deep into it over several days. Camping in the jungle is sure to be a unique experience. There is also the opportunity to go on a night safari to see the nocturnal wildlife and the park boasts of having the longest canopy walk in the world giving visitors an another view of the jungle.
Following my jungle expedition, I will be heading towards the capital, Kuala Lumpur for a couple of days before heading towards Singapore. If time permits, Melaka would be nice to stop at before I reach the border. Singapore will be my final destination in Asia as I fly from here to Australia in early February.
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Penang is not massively interesting – we were there for 2 days and very ready to leave by the time we did!! Same with Malaka…worth an afternoon if you have time but that’s about it. Our overnight stop there wasn’t necessary. KL is obviously interesting but again small and the 2 nights we stayed were more than enough – it’s a great city but very western but lacks the slickness of Singapore and so I found it quite disappointing to be honest…it’s almost as if it’s still trying to find the balance of its identity between east and west.
Singapore is great – the Switzerland of the East – it is very western and so a nice transition between Asia and Australia. It’s tiny though so you only need a couple of days to do everything. The night zoo has to be done out of duty i suppose, and although usually naff, the tour busses are actually great – one ticket allows you to use them all day so you can do both routes (yellow and blue i think?) and see the whole city before picking out what are going to be your highlights. The merlion has to be seen and the opera house is actually really interesting. Of course a singapor sling in the long bar at Raffles has to be done…and exploring China Town is a great afternoon
As a Malaysian *self-important harrumph* I feel qualified to give advice on some parts.
Penang: Completely worth it to me, but I suppose I’m biased since I’m a Penangite. Georgetown, of course, needs a wander. I wouldn’t bother with the beaches, though you might enjoy the night market at Batu Ferringhi. Penang Hill is worth a trip up if it isn’t too busy. The thing about Penang though, is the food. I see far too many tourists at hawker centres drinking Coca-cola and eating bad pizza. They’re missing half the Penang experience. The local food is to die for, and people from Singapore will travel up for it.
Good dishes: char koay teow (fried noodles with eggs, cockles, chives, beansprouts, prawns and chili), koay teow th’ng (noodles in soup with fishcakes, shredded duck/chicken, fishballs), chicken rice, wan tan mee (not like the dodgy ‘won tons’ of the UK, but divine pockets of pork (and sometimes prawns) and noodles with char sui and veg; served either in soup, or ‘dry’ (with a gravy)), oh chien (oyster omelette), laksa, hokkien mee, char hor fun…the list goes on and on, really.
Langkawi – Relaxing. Check out the Lake of the Pregnant Maiden (you can swim in it!), the mangroves and eagles, and generally just chill on a beach. It’s a good place for a bit of a break. Also, if you want anything, it’s a duty-free zone.
Cameron Highlands – Lovely and cool. You’re right about that. Can be a bit of a nightmare to get to during public holidays but otherwise it’s generally alright. Check out the Boh tea plantations, Ye Olde Smoke Inn, the Rose Valley, etc. If you’re feeling a touch homesick for the UK in general, it’s a nice place to have a English-y tea with scones, and strawberry jam, etc.
Kuala Lumpur – I’m not particularly enamoured of Kuala Lumpur, but I suppose that’s because I’m not really a city girl. Mainly, KL is about shopping. The Petronas Twin Towers are worth a visit though, but unless you’re going to shop/want the nightlife, you don’t really need to stay there long.
Singapore – Ditto KL. Singapore is more active than KL, but in terms of tourism, I don’t think there are a lot of things that are a ‘must-see’. The zoo is a nice experience, and the shopping is good (though it can be quite pricey, depending on where you go).
Hope that was of some use to you! Good luck on your travels
All very helpful