Kristie

We are thinking of a holiday in Mayasia in February/March next year and are thinking of going to either Penang or Langkawi but don't really know much about either. We have heard that it is really cheap to eat in Malaysia, but can anyone tell us if alcohol is readily available - whilst we don't depend upon it we do enjoy the odd tipple! <BR>

fiona

It is readily available in hotels but if you want to go eat out it is not. You will get beer. In Penang (Batu Ferringhi) there were a few places that served alcohol but not many. However, my advice , do not stay in your hotel to eat. It is far more expensive and the food, even in the tiniest places , is fantastic.<BR>As to where to go- go to Langkawi if you want to "get away from it all." We have not been but met up with several couples who had been there before Penang. The consesus is that it is a beautiful place but very quiet. Batu Ferringhi is a little more lively and if you like to shop there are stalls galore at night! If you have any more queries please feel free to write directly.

jaffar

i am planing to vesit malaysia ( penang island and jenting ), do have any information abut jenting area.

Wen

For Kristie:<BR><BR>Penang is more of a "real" town (it's the 3rd or 4th largest city in Malaysia), whereas Langkawi is a tourist destination. Langkawi is good for a getaway (especially if you stay in a really nice resort hotel), but if you want to taste local flavour, Penang gives a more realistic view.<BR><BR>Food-wise, Penang is famous for great food. Try the local hawker stalls - yummy and quite atmospheric. You will be able to get beer in most places, as well as wine & spirits in hotel restaurants, and most upmarket restaurants.<BR><BR>Do remember that there are seasons - wet or dry. Penang and Langkawi are good (dry) between Oct - March. Wet season really means wet, as in, an umbrella will keep your head and shoulders dry, but expect to be wet from waist-down. During the wet season, this will be every day, for anywhere from 1 hour to 4 hours. Kinda cramps your style.<BR><BR>For jaffar:<BR><BR>Don't know anywhere called jenting, but there is "Genting" (pronounced as "jenting") which is a gambling paradise. To attract families, they've also built up other attractions, but they're very much a secondary attraction.

medusa

Penang has a mixture of city and also beach atmosphere. Great cheap food in Penang too especially along Gurney Drive at night. It is a long stretch of hawker food stalls along a beach. Langkawi is suitable if you want to get away from it all. The Andaman Resort, Langkawi is very popular but for a much cheaper hotel you may want to consider Pelangi Beach Resort, Awana Purto Malai and Kampung Tok Senik. The Andaman is situated north-west Langkawi and is sandwiched between some mountains and a tropical forest overlooking the Andaman Sea. Kampung Tok Senik is a 46 acre resort tailor made for the 'kampung' (village/country) lover and seeker of different culture., where you can experince typical malay 'kampung' life.

local

Excuse me! Penang is the second largest city in Malaysia. It may not mean much to you people in the west but we Malaysian are obessed with numbers! Anyway thank you all for your interest in visiting Malaysia.

puzzled

Local<BR>how can Penang be the second largest city when it is an island with the town of Georgetown and the tourist destination of Batu Ferringhi on it?

wayne

Penang(1m) is the 2nd largest city after KL(2m). Johor Bahru(0.8m) is the 3rd largest followed by Ipoh(0.5m).Penang has alot of colonial architecture and good food. Its beaches are average.It's like Singapore 30 yrs ago. Langkawi is isolated and peaceful but not much else to do.It is tax free and thus have cheap drinks and smokes.There is not much nitelife in Langkawi.Genting is pronounced the same way as guitar.IT is a malay word which means col(valley in between teo peaks) Only Singaporeans pronounce it as Jenting which is wrong.There is nothing to do there except gamble..

stillpuzzled

Is what I call Georgetown really Penang , the city. or does the city include the whole island?

AG

I am plannin a 8 day trip with about 3 days in Cameron Highlands, couple of days in Kuala Lumpur and another 3 days in a beach resort in Mallaca. After that I plan to fly to Singapore. Would appreciate if someone can suggest good beach resorts in mallacca and the best way to get there from kuala lumpur

Jen

Kristie: food is cheap and good everywhere, yes (better on Penang than Langkawi, guaranteed). The booze will flow most freely and cheaply on Langkawi - it's a duty free island. You can buy beer at most restaurants and food courts in Malaysia (just not in Malay or Muslim Indian places). Liquor and wine is only to be found at more upscale restaurants (I don't mean only hotel or fancy places, though, just not your typical local restaurants), and pubs, of course. It's kind of depressing getting a bottle of wine with dinner and that ends up being 75% of your bill, but what the heck. It's your vacation, right?<BR><BR>If you are staying on the west coast only, don't worry about what are considered wet and dry seasons. It rains regularly all year and after living here for over a year and a half I have never noted any real difference in the seasons. The east coast is another matter, though.<BR><BR>Jaffar - Genting, pronounced with a g sound as in 'great', is anything BUT great. What a tacky dump. Only go there if you like to gamble or hang out at tourist traps (and spend way too much money on accommodations and food).<BR><BR>Stillpuzzled: Penang is a state, and Pulau Penang is an island in that state, and Georgetown is the city on the island. However, most people in Malaysia refer to Georgetown as Penang, and that's what "local" is doing. It's like the whole island of Penang is "Greater Georgetown", know what I mean? Hope that clears things up!<BR><BR>AG: Melaka/Malacca isn't known for great beach resorts, sorry. Especially not near town. Your best bet is about 10km north of the city in Tanjung Kling, at the Riviera Bay Resort. The beach is nothing special, but as far as beaches go in Melaka, it's the best you're going to get. I live just down the road from the Riviera (we have dinner at Papagallos at the Riviera quite often), and I can tell you that nobody with any sense would dare swim in there... makes for a nice view, that's all. The Riviera is nice, but it is kind of remote, and if you leave the resort there aren't many places to eat (it's all Malay food courts out at this end, and that's not too interesting).<BR><BR>If you want to relax on a beach, go elsewhere. Melaka is all about history and food. Beaches, no. For beach resorts you could maybe fly from KL to Tioman, hang out there, then ferry to Singapore? Just a thought.<BR><BR>To get to Melaka from KL take a bus. 2 hours maximum. Or long distance taxi, but the bus is cheap, and then you can catch a cab to the resort from the bus depot. <BR><BR>One question: why would you fly to Singapore after your visit to Melaka? Just take a bus! Four hours maximum. I don't even think you can fly from Melaka to Singapore - you'd have to bus it back to KL for a flight, and in the end you would end up wasting time by flying.<BR><BR>

stillpuzzled

thanks for clearing that up Jen!

AG

Thanks Jen. Would it be a better idea if I visit Georgetown / Penang after Cameron Highland ?. What are the best travel options from Kuala Lumpur - Cameron - Georgetown(Penang) - Kuala Lumpur ? Road, Rail whatever. Also please indicate the approximate time required to travel between these places. Thanks in advance once again

Jen

AG:<BR><BR>I think the bus system is better than the train in Malaysia... but I'm not the best person to ask. We have a car and I've never taken either. Check out a Lonely Planet's guidebook for bus and train travel times.<BR><BR>There are also long distance taxis, but I don't know anything about those.<BR><BR>I never went to the beaches at Penang, but from what I've read they are over-rated. What is that you're looking for? If you just want a beach and sunshine, go to Langkawi, Perhentians/Redang, or Tioman. If you want history and sight-seeing and an okay beach, go to Penang. If you want history and sight-seeing and don't care much about the beach, come to Melaka.

Carrie

Jen, Malacca Tourist office should snap you up as their PR, You push Malacca more enthusiatically than the Malaysian Tourist office in London! I visited Malacca seven years ago, Chinatown and Portugese Square are the two places I remember, anything else is a blur. Perhaps I should stop by Malacca on my way to Sydney this October. By then, probably you'll be too busy with your baby to be my guide. Just a thought.

local

You can buy all the booze you want in Kuah town, Langkawi. Most of the shops are owned by Chinese so they are not bound by the muslim laws. The alcohol sold in hotels and restaurants are marked-up at least 200 per cent. I would stick to beer as you don't get many choices on wine ( Australian wine mainly) and pricey too. The wines are generally not stored properly so even if the wine is from well known vineyard, the quality is not guranteed.

Happy

Malaysia has a very extensive network of coaches for travel between cities or states. Ask for a Super VIP (or SVIP in short) coach if you prefer plenty of leg room. The SVIP coaches are comfortable enough for overnight travel. Check out a few coach companies for a comparison of schedule, costs and the type of coaches they offer. Ticket booths are usually located close by the terminals.

wayne

I was born in Penang. Penang(or Pulau Pinang in malay) is a state comprising Penang Island and Province Wellesley on the mainland. Province was given to the British by the Kedah sultanate 200 yrs ago.Georgetown is the capital and it is like what manhattan is to New York. When census is taken it is the whole state's population they take into account as it is so small.An example would be Singapore's population of 4m takes into acct the whole island/state/country.<BR><BR>On another note: It is easier to drive from KL to Camerons to Penang.Each segment takes 3 hours because of the climb on narrow road uphill.<BR><BR>Agree with Jen, Genting is a dump. You can see Malacca or Melaka in old parts of Penang. If you really want to see Peninsula Malaysia I suggest 3 places:<BR><BR>1. Taman Negara the 100m yr old rainforest (you can't see something like that anywhere else besides the Amazon)<BR>2. Pulau Redang or Pulau Perhentian for best corals and dives this part of Malaysia.<BR>3. Penang, for old town and colonial architecture and the best food.<BR><BR>If you can include East Malaysia then I recommend:<BR><BR>4. Pulau Sipadan- one of the best dive sites in the world.<BR>5. Mulu National Park to see the probosis monkey and the pinnacle rock formation<BR>6. Niah caves- one of the biggest cavern systems in the world.<BR><BR>

marnie

Langkawi is paradise!<BR><BR>Why not be brave and try staying somewhere other than an all inclusive air con resort - then you might experience a bit more. <BR>Cenang has lots of lovely non-5star places to stay, lots of places to eat...and also lots of locals happy to get pissed with you and chat about anything and everything. Far more interesting than being shut away with all the other rich tourists in excessive luxury.<BR>Also Kristie, you can always nip along to the duty free place and buy ridiculously cheap alcohol and enjoy a drink or 3 on your balcony.

Lin

Hi Jen<BR>I have been reading your posts with regard to visiting Malaysia and you seem to be offering great advice. We are traveling to Singapore in January to visit my son and daughter-in-law who have been transferred there from Canada. Our first grandchild will be born in Sing in January. We are hoping to be able to do a little sightseeing in Malaysia and would like a beach stay of a few days (maybe a week). What would you suggest from Sing? My son has a vehicle but his help would depend on baby status! We will probably return to Sing in March after some time in Oz. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks,<BR>Lin