Help me in preparing itinerary for my Malaysian trip starting from mid-June
 

Hi, I am from India and will be travelling to Malaysia for the second time. My first trip was limited to just Kuala Lumpur. This time, I will be visiting few other Malaysian cities. Below is the list of cities and their travel respective dates. I will be travelling alone and looking for suggestions to stay, eat, and places to look around.

Anyone visiting the same cities on the same days can poke me, so that we can form a group.

Hello. How do you plan to get to each city? Do you have a budget? Do your international flights arrive and depart from the same city (KL)?

kk
 

for kk food i recommend the outdooor eating area that serves grilled seafood. the one near the filipino market.

they serve a tamarind sambal sauce that is very good with the fish.

My flight from India lands in KL and return is also from KL. I already booked the tickets for this whole trip. Everything except the flight journey has to be planned out.

7 days is an awfully long time to spend in JB. Do you intend to day trip across the border to visit Singapore?

Yes, will visit SG for four days.

Do you plan every day go to Singapore from Johor an then come back? If so, please note that in morning times (before 9AM) there will be 10000 other people doing the same and around 4-7PM the same situation on other direction. Better to avoid these times unless you want to spend 2h in each direction crossing the border.

You might speed up the process crossing border if you have ABCT card by skipping line, but lines for buses after immigration control will still require at least 30min wait time. You might want to cross by foot, it is about 20-25min walking across the causeway.

Can I get more information about the ABCT card, hearing it for the first time or is it ABTC?

Latter. APEC Business Traveller Card.

Yikes. I'm generally a real fan of Malaysia and have been to all those places, but I'm not sure I'd recommend any except as jumping off points. I thought Penang was a bit disappointing but maybe you can make a go with a car rent or something. JB is horribly deprived of focal points by being bisected so much by roads and cars, KB is the conservative Muslim heartland (enforced boredom) and best as a transit point to the Perhentians, and I guess KK is least-worst though a bit drab because of being flattened in WWII. Kuching is much better and has some atmosphere and also a base for nearby national parks. With KK there's the TAR national park (islands, beaches) and maybe an overnight climbing Mt. Kinabalu, plus a few good places to eat. Sandakan was very drab but workable for the orangutan place and a trek to the lower Kinabatangan (one of the best short trips I've ever been on).

As far as just the city goes I've liked Kuching and Labuan the best, but if you factor in daytrip possibilities then some others become viable. You can also get good value for lodging dollars in the lower midrange.

Hey RustyC!

I'm planning a trip now and thinking seriously about Kuching - which daytrips would you recommend?

Thank you!

I would definitely go to Bako national park...it's one of the oldest forests on the planet and there are even noticeable microclimates in ascending the hills. Kubah national park is also within easy reach though I didn't get there. Besides the rainforests, the meet-the-natives experience is a must, though the better longhouse trips inland require at least an overnight (and some outlay). This can create a dilemma if in Kuching on limited time because one of the attractions of the city is how cheap the 4-star and above accoms in town can be if you time it right. The riverfront and all the cafes and restaurants in the colonial buildings can be an easy walk from some hotels.

The hurried alternative to the longhouse trips is the Sarawak cultural village, which is a bit touristy but thankfully had just about the right number of visitors (not too many, not too few) when I went.

Wonderful - thank you so much! This is very helpful!