Island holiday in Malaysia
Apr 12th, 2012, 11:52 PM
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Island holiday in Malaysia
My husband and I are traveling to Kuala Lumpur for a couple of days in end-May and would like to visit one of the nearby islands for another 4 days of beach downtime (somewhere within an hour's flight.) We've been recommended Redang, Langkawi and Tioman and have done some research on each, but aren't sure how to narrow it down.... We're looking for a quiet, secluded, beautiful place with clear calm waters, white sands and a good hotel (but not in the price range of a Four Seasons, unfortunately!) The idea is to relax, swim and eat well.
Any recommendations would be appreciated!
We are real food-lovers so any restaurant suggestions, especially in KL, would also be great. Thanks.
Any recommendations would be appreciated!
We are real food-lovers so any restaurant suggestions, especially in KL, would also be great. Thanks.
Apr 13th, 2012, 01:22 AM
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Take a look at the weather charts for peninsular Malayasia and you will see that Redang and Tioman are on the east coast where the weather is likely to be a lot better in May than say Langkawi or Penang on the east coast.
It has been a long time since I have visited Redang but it used to be very quiet with only a couple of hotels on the island (Berjaya?). It is great for diving and snorkelling with at lot of the sites close to the shore. It used to be accessible only by ferry but I dare say that has changed by now.
Langkawi certainly will have a much better choice of hotels and, arguably better beaches - you could be lucky with the weather. We stayed at several hotels over the years The Datai, very nice but similar rates to the 4Seasons, The Tanjung Rhu is also very nice and and close to the 4S (some good inclusive meal deals there). Bon Ton would be an excellent choice for a smaller hotel.
KL has, IMO some of teh best and most varied food in Asia. Virtually all cuisines are well represented. Chinatown is great for informal street food stalls and smaller restaurants. The big hotels have some fantastic and (sometimes) reasonably priced buffets. Mandarin Oriental and shangri-la are both good - there is also a terric Japanese restaurant in the MO.
biggest collection of roadside restaurants sprawls along Jln Alor, just north of Jln Bukit Bintang. From around 17:00 till late every evening, the street transforms into a continuous open-air restaurant, with hundreds of plastic tables and chairs and rival caterers shouting out to passers-by to drum up business.
Jln Alor, just north of Jln Bukit Bintang. From around 17:00 till late every evening, the street transforms into a continuous open-air restaurant, with hundreds of plastic tables and chairs and rival caterers shouting out to passers-by to drum up business.
Jalan Alor close to Bukit Bintang has the biggest selection of streetside restaurants. literally 100's of tables line the street at night making it difficult to determine which table belong to which restaurants. Some of the best fish and seafood I have eaten anywhere plus some good chinese food.
Little India is good for indian curries. If you are feeling adventuous and looking for something a bit different try one of the "Banana leaf mess" places - a variety of curries and rice served on a big banana leaf and no cutlery - messy but very good.
It has been a long time since I have visited Redang but it used to be very quiet with only a couple of hotels on the island (Berjaya?). It is great for diving and snorkelling with at lot of the sites close to the shore. It used to be accessible only by ferry but I dare say that has changed by now.
Langkawi certainly will have a much better choice of hotels and, arguably better beaches - you could be lucky with the weather. We stayed at several hotels over the years The Datai, very nice but similar rates to the 4Seasons, The Tanjung Rhu is also very nice and and close to the 4S (some good inclusive meal deals there). Bon Ton would be an excellent choice for a smaller hotel.
KL has, IMO some of teh best and most varied food in Asia. Virtually all cuisines are well represented. Chinatown is great for informal street food stalls and smaller restaurants. The big hotels have some fantastic and (sometimes) reasonably priced buffets. Mandarin Oriental and shangri-la are both good - there is also a terric Japanese restaurant in the MO.
biggest collection of roadside restaurants sprawls along Jln Alor, just north of Jln Bukit Bintang. From around 17:00 till late every evening, the street transforms into a continuous open-air restaurant, with hundreds of plastic tables and chairs and rival caterers shouting out to passers-by to drum up business.
Jln Alor, just north of Jln Bukit Bintang. From around 17:00 till late every evening, the street transforms into a continuous open-air restaurant, with hundreds of plastic tables and chairs and rival caterers shouting out to passers-by to drum up business.
Jalan Alor close to Bukit Bintang has the biggest selection of streetside restaurants. literally 100's of tables line the street at night making it difficult to determine which table belong to which restaurants. Some of the best fish and seafood I have eaten anywhere plus some good chinese food.
Little India is good for indian curries. If you are feeling adventuous and looking for something a bit different try one of the "Banana leaf mess" places - a variety of curries and rice served on a big banana leaf and no cutlery - messy but very good.
Apr 13th, 2012, 06:19 PM
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Both Redang and Tioman have airports with regular flights from KL's Subang airport (note: NOT KLIA). I've been to Tioman, which has several secluded bays that are only reachable by boat. There's a very high end resort on the southern tip of the island, along with a couple of Berjaya resorts. The rest are nice, but not luxurious.
Apr 14th, 2012, 02:04 AM
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anees - my favourite hotel would be the Mandarin Oriental. great location in KLCCC right next to the Petronas Towers and great for getting around the centre of the city. a good club lounge if you are prepared to pay the extra. A little expensive these days, but I am sure there are deals to be had if you search around. The club rooms with free canapes & booze in the evenings was good value (but it was a few years ago. 2nd choice would be the Shangri la - an older hotel but still excellent with great service.
At the other end of the scale we have also stay at budget pleces (on a RTW trip) in Little India and Chinatown. One of these, stay@organge, had possibly the smallest rooms i have ever seen but a great, if busy location and certainly cheap.
At the other end of the scale we have also stay at budget pleces (on a RTW trip) in Little India and Chinatown. One of these, stay@organge, had possibly the smallest rooms i have ever seen but a great, if busy location and certainly cheap.
Apr 14th, 2012, 06:02 AM
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We have visited the Redang Islands twice. The flight from the city airport is less than 1 hour and on our last trip they flew 5 days a week and the rate was $170RT. The best hotel was not a FS but was a 3+star for that part of the world. I am spelling it wrong but it is the Berijaha Beach Resort. There are 2 of the same name on the island but stay at the more expensive one. The rate was $250-$275/night for 2 with meals (pretty good) in 2009. The snorkeling is excellent, the beaches are very nice, not gorgeous, but the place is restful and the accommodations are nice and they are well air conditioned.
Apr 15th, 2012, 11:20 AM
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I highly recommend the Eden Village restaurant if you like quality seafood. During a two year assignment in Malaysia my family and I ate there at least once a month and on most "special occasions"!! With out a doubt, I feel the seafood here was the best I ate in Asia!!
Apr 18th, 2012, 12:08 AM
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Hi Crellston, thanks again - the MO looks good, so I think we'll stay there. The Japanese restaurant you recommended at the hotel sounds like a great bonus 
@ StanKase - thanks for the information.
@ Joe_Ruszczyk - we love seafood, thanks for the tip. Will check it out!
@ StanKase - thanks for the information.
@ Joe_Ruszczyk - we love seafood, thanks for the tip. Will check it out!
Apr 20th, 2012, 11:09 AM
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Top hat is a nice restaurant in KL and it's walkable from the MO ( where we stayed too) you may find it useful to know that if you contact the concierge at the MO they can get tickets for you for the petronas towers sky bridge walk, saving you having to queue!
