And where would that be, Bisbee? Location and hotel please.

Need a better understanding of your personal preferences, as that might illuminate your responses.

Oh, weasel, weasel words. But then that might be all you understand.

So where are you now and how much is that room costing you? Waiting to hear.

And does anyone know if Zanne is still listening? Probably not - his son has booked mega expensive chain hotels in both destinations and we are all wasting our time.

Come on, Zanne, say it isn't true.

afterall, Bisbee lives in HCMC.

Well, Kathie, I guess familiarity breeds discontent. I hear what you are saying, but just because you live there and are (clearly) not too enamoured of the place, does not give you the right to discourage people who have never been there to experience it for themselves.

Unless that is he/she prefaces all their posts with "I live in HCMC" to give those seeking information an honest context.

Afterall, you read Bisbee's posts differently than I do. By no means does he appear in these posts to hold HCMC in contempt (nor in any of the other many, many posts of his that I have read over the years). He was making some specific comments about this particular cruise program, the semester at sea course requirements and what he thought made sense.

I'm afraid, afterall, that you are one of the few posters on this site that seem to express contempt for fellow posters on a regular basis. I respectfully suggest that you lighten up.

Very well put Kathie.

Thank you all! Yes, zanne is still around and listening but had to deal with a family emergency. Been out of touch for a couple of weeks.
I am forwarding this on to my son. They arrive in Malaysia on the 22nd. He was asking about Langkawi. There are about 10 of them that want to share a nice place on the beach, also how about Pangkor Laut?

Kathie
That is probably the politest telling off i have read on here... fabulous

In Penang, he can get some cheap eats at the hawker stalls at night. We went to the Red Garden, and to New Lane. These offer authentic local fare at good prices.

For sightseeing, his group might want to hire a guide to take them to the Spice Gardens and the Butterfly Farm. I was enthralled by the Butterfly Farm because we only have monarch butterflies here in Hawaii. They also have other creatures.....the Spice Garden is a botanical garden and is kinda neat. Each of these has admission fees, though.

Another one that is interesting is the Blue Mansion, which offers daily tours (also at a fee).

One day we walked around and happened upon the oldest mosque there. The staff allowed us to go in and lent us cover-ups so that we could enter in keeping with Muslim tradition. This was free....I was really impressed with their warmth and eagerness to share their religion--if not to convert us, at least to give us a good understanding of what they are about.

Zanne, I am not sure what you mean by "how about Pangkor Laut?". Are you wondering about budget, activity or experience for your son ? Pangkor Laut is upmarket honeymooners' type with tagline "One island, one resort". So it's anything but cheap; unless your son is travelling with platinum credit card. But all is not lost. There are cheaper hotels and chalets on the main island. You can try looking up Pangkor Island Beach Resort, Nipah Bay or Seaview. I think your kid will like it. Firstly, Pangkor itself is not a touristy island. Islander's main source of income is seafood. For RM10-20, he can hire a bicycle and comb the island, giving him a great insight on local life.

Langkawi wise, it's purely a holidaymaking island.