Malaysia, Singapore, Bali in 3-4 weeks?
 

We are thinking of visiting Malaysia(East and little of West), Singapore and Bali for 3-4 weeks. Would this be a good amount of time to allow for visit or should we eliminate Bali? We do not have any time constraints. Also, is mid-April till early May the best time to go for all 3 places considering weather and holidays.

We are in our mid- 50's, Chinese American and have travelled independently to Thailand, Japan, China, Vietnam and Cambodia. We like culture, scenery, nature, are foodies and like to explore in depth. The only thing we don't care for is lying around on the beach unless it is really special.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

It really depends on what you want to do and see in each place. As you know, Malaysia is a big country and you could spend many weeks trying to see all of it!

Bali should be at least a week, and Singapore depends on what you wan to do there, most people are satisfied with perhaps 4 days, though you could easily spend more time.

In Malaysia, You could easily spend a week each in Sabah and in Sarawak, plus you'll want a little time for KL, some time in Georgetown in Penang for the historic area and for the fabulous hawker food, which is at least another week. I would consider these four places musts if you want a sense of Malaysia. There is much more, of course.

I have two trip reports here on Fodors that might interest you, one on Malaysian Borneo http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34716301

and one on Penang
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34904681

Photos are at www.marlandc.com

Work you way from Spore to Penang all in 2 weeks and set aside 1 week for Bali. It's easy to wing Bali and there is enough research material over the net to help you decide where to go. As for the Spore-Penang route, here's my take ....

Singapore 2 nights - urban glitz
Malacca 1 night - colonial leftovers
Kuala Lumpur 2 night - urban glitz
Cameron Highland 2 nights - highland farms and tea hills
Ipoh 2 nights - food, rain forest, waterfalls, cave temples
Taiping 1 night - food, colonial leftovers (like Penang, but minus the tourists), lake garden and a great museum
Penang 4 nights - you know the drill

This corridor is easy to script by bus or taxi and most locals speak English. You would most probably bump into a fistful of locals who speaks perfect Mandarin, Cantonese, Fujian and Teochew too. I live in Ipoh and everyone speaks Cantonese, Hong Kong twang.