naxos

Have Delta miles to burn- and am looking for a summer vacation spot- been to Viet Nam, Thailand and Bali. I understand that hotels in KUL are good and inexpensive- can anyone suggest a 2-3 week itinerary ?

Is KUL a destination worth a week or more?

Thanks

Naxos

jpatokal

No, there's very little to see in KL and a few days there is plenty. There's quite a bit to eat and shop though!

As usual the answer for where to go depends on your interests, but if you want to see a breathtakingly beautiful tropical island and don't require five-star comforts then I'd strongly recommend heading over to the Perhentians on the east coast.

naxos

Are there safety concerns on the east coast islands for western tourists ar are they limited to certain places?

what abou Tioman?
Thanks for the help!

Naxos

GK

a day in KUL at each end of your trip is all you need. you can then roam around the AirAsia low cost network for a week or two and enjoy plenty that the region has to offer. http://www.airasia.com/general.php?p=pmain&l=en

jpatokal

The East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, which I was referring to, is completely safe. The dodgier bit is the eastern edge of Borneo (East Malaysia), where the Abu Sayyaf and random Philippine outlaws roam -- although the security situation even there is much better than it used to be.

RichardInSF

We liked Taman Negara, Pangkor Laut, and Penang. Not that much to see in Malacca. We rented a car and drove, drivers are fairly crazy, but longer distances can be covered on the main toll road which isn't quite as crazy. Beware of road maps, many of which showed a bunch of toll roads that existed only in the mind of the last Prime Minister. Also, if you rent, pay extra if you can to avoid renting a Proton or (heaven forbid!) a Kancil, the locally made vehicles -- the last Prime Minister is currently an "advisor" to Proton.

mario33

While certain parts of the cities may look fairly modern and developed (KLCC etc) one must not forget that one is actually in the Third World; and the mentality of most drivers here is no better than those in the lesser developed Third World countries, only difference being that car ownership is more common here.

The North-South Highway (Malaysia's equivalent to UK's M1) was completed more than a decade ago. The ring roads around Kuala Lumpur has also been completed over the last few years. If theres any highway planned that is still under construction, its normally indicated with dotted lines etc on road maps.

Most cars on Malaysian roads are locally made/ assembled with Proton being the dominant player. To completely avoid a Proton car may not leave you with many choices. While I dont personally own a Proton; I have rented a "Proton Waja" in Langkawi which is reasonably comfortable, and the "Proton Perdana" is quite similar to a mid-sized Japanese saloon (eg Mitsubishi Galant). Yes, by all means avoid the "Perodua Kancil" which I wont even describe as a car, maybe a golf-buggy with 4 doors !!

RichardInSF

It's true that it may be difficult to avoid Protons, but try. To get a Toyota Camry from Avis (in Johore Bahru), we had to go to their top rental category.

The first Proton I ever drove was rented to me by Avis at Heathrow, when they were going through some sort of money-saving period. It started to self-destruct as I was loading my baggage into the rear end. I didn't buy petrol, instead I just loaded up on Chipmunk Chow.

OK, a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea.

globetrekker84

I hear that Bintan, Indonesia is very nice too. (Angsana Resort ) It's only a 45-minute high-speed ferry away from Singapore, and people say it's much nicer than Bali. I can't say from experience, though I might go there this summer. Another (supposedly) nice place is the Maldives (which is out there), but it's supposed to be wonderful. But if you're thinking close by, then Langkawi is amazing. They have a Four Seasons Resort and The Datai there. Looks great there.

jpatokal

Bintan is a completely characterless artificial resort colony designed and implemented from scratch by Singapore. It's OK if you want to hole up in a luxury resort, but it's quite different from Bali.