lovefly88

My wife and I need to be in Jakarta from in Nov from a Monday - Monday, that whole week is booked. We will be flying in to KUL arriving on the previous Tuesday evening. The plan is to get a hotel (even 5 stars look dirt cheap) in KL and then Wednesday head to somewhere else. Questions are:
1) Is there much to do in KL besides the towers? We just moved out of NYC, one of the biggest cities on earth, and aren't too keen on seeing just another big city. However when we were in MAD we loved going to their "Central Park" - Retiro Park. When we were in BCN on another trip we drove up the Costa Brava and was amazed. In South Africa Cape Town was amazing. But just seeing big buildings isn't that impressive to us.
2) So many options for beaches. Some say Bali is way over rated. From looking around on here a popular destination is Penang but w/ a population of 1.5 million + it seems like might be to busy. We would love to just relax on a beach for a few days.
3) Any recommendations for good but cheap hotels on a beach?
4) We're open for going to any where in the area that is moderately priced, the cheaper the better. We would like to stay in one area from say Wednesday evening until Monday morning. Options we've thought of -
Bali, Sin (<- though doesn't seem like they have beaches), Phuket, Vietnam, any other advice?
I went to Boracay 2 years ago and loved every minute of it.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

bostonbali

Just came back from a week in Malaysia - spent 6 days in Langkawi and night in KL. Definitely recommend Langkawi - there are hotels for every budget (we got a great deal at the new St. Regis Langkawi, and also burned points at The Andaman).
Island is low-key and duty free booze makes drinks cheap. Beaches are very nice, and it never seemed too busy. Best of all - it was only a 45 min flight away, and fares are low on MH/Malindo/AirAsia.

Either way, enjoy Malaysia!

lovefly88

After doing more research I found Langkawi. It looks like an incredible place and only $18 rt with Air Asia. Thanks for the tip.

kevincrumbs

Penang's main attractions are really the UNESCO World Heritage Site of George Town along with all of the delicious food but if you are looking for the beach, the general consensus is that Penang is not the place to go. That being said, my co-worker was just there in late November explicitly for a beach vacation and they had no complaints about the beach. However, seeing that you have travelled to Boracay in the past, I feel like the beaches of Penang would be a let down.

Sweet Willie

more Langkawi info on this thread: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/asia/...ng-advice.html
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CJKatl

The suggestions seem good, so I won't add anything there, but wanted to let you know your instincts are likely good on not spending too much time in KL. I was scheduled to be there for four days, but after two, thought I'd seen everything I wanted to see. AirAsia allowed me to change my ticket for free, so I left a couple days early. No regrets on that.

JMR

The correct answer when anyone asked "where should I go" from an Asia embarkment is always "Siem Reap." Home to Angkor Wat and getting more commercial everyday you'll appreciate having gotten there now instead of later.

AirAsia has dirt cheap fares and there are several decent hotels. I am partial to the Le Meridian.

Safe travels, wherever you decide to go!