Malaysia? Is it truely Asia?

[Professor Redfern]

So I am looking at getting a mail order bride

Sorry that would be silly.


Let me start again,


Me and the missus are heading over for our honeymoon for about 12 days in late Feb early March. The plan is to go to Kota Kinabalu first for about 5 days then somewhere else and then spend the last three days in KL.


This will leave about 4-5 days to spend in the "somewhere else" part. So I put it to the PSb brains trust to tell us where that place could be.



Here is the rundown of what we would be looking for....


-First off we have been to Langkawi and Penang so not really that keen on either, but we did love Langkawi so if all else fails.

- We love nature, hiking, snorkeling, and relaxing, but have no interest in Nightclubs, or cities, but a local town with markets etc is always nice, also we dont know how to dive so we arent looking for dive locations.

- We would love opinions on amazing places to stay in the 100-150 range, this goes for Kota Kinabalu as well as we havent booked anywhere there yet and there is a huge range in price.

- I love a good animal experience so I know KK has some amazing shit but feel free to mention any specifics.


Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[emrys74]

why not hire a bike and do a ride though the country for a couple of days can hire out of KL and either do a tour or self guided.

Some amazing roads and places to see.

[Professor Redfern]

Ok back up a sec, great idea, but did I mention its my honeymoon, The missus likes getting on the back of the bike every now and then but I cant base my Honeymoon around it.

[emrys74]

We built an engine for ours.

Thought you were looking for a few days to kill wouldent suggest it as the whole trip we have done a bunch of trips over there good for up to 5 days but we had had enough by then but a couple of days not bad.

Malaysia Motorcycle Tour and Rentals

thats all we do when were there and eat. and eat.

[g0zer]

Penang is the foodie capital of SE Asia. It also has a nice mountain where you can watch monsoonal rains falling from the clouds at close to cloud level and the best bit is the cable car. Plus it has all the usual temple and such as well. iirc there is hotel on the beach which is nice.

Penang Hill cable car will re-open on Monday, April 25th! - Lonely Planet travel forum

^cable car into the mountains like in the james bond movie

for animals, they have a monkey garden and butterfly garden. if you go, DO NOT feed the monkeys with empty peanut shells or empty rambutan shells.. it makes them super angry and they might chomp you.

[emrys74]

Lankawi over Penang
the food is not as good as it once was found better food in KL now. Penang is becomeing like the blackpool of Malaysia.

[Professor Redfern]

Thanks for the Post but as mentioned we have been to Penang.

[SilentBob]

Hike up Mount Kinabalu?
Mount Kinabalu - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It does take some training and you need to be in relatively good condition.

[devolved]

There is some amazing country around KK - we stayed there for a little while, but I would have loved to adventure inland a bit further. How adventurous is the missus?

[Professor Redfern]

She is fairly adventurous, not afraid to go on a full days hike, but as its the honeymoon we dont want full on eco warrior. I have considered the Trek up Mount KK though and we are going to look into it.

[emrys74]

what about going to phuket for a few days pretty cheep with fire fly or airasia.

[Nifty]

You could go to Genting Highlands, it's not too far out of KL.

[dib]

While you're in the area
Gaya Island & Sapi Island Day Trip - Sabah Island Tours
or a bit more adventurous?
Tour Details - Borneo Island Escape - Pulau Tiga
Tour Details - Mt Kinabalu Climb - 3 Day
Or check out Sandakan or Sempora round the coast to the north east. One of them came highly recommended by a passenger i booked a few months back (can't remember which one though)
Fair bit of info on the smaller islands here: Islands of Malaysia - malaysia-islands.com

Either that or spend a bit more on airfares and hit up the south coast of Vietnam for a few days eg Nha-Trang

[emrys74]

You could go to Genting Highlands, it's not too far out of KL.

Thats a good day trip on the bike.

[kapyong]

I recently spent 10 days in KK with the family, it is OK but if you are into your nature stuff head over to Sandakan for a few days, visit the islands on the N/E coast for your snorkelling and the sanctuary’s on that side have larger populations of Orang-utans. The flight is around 45min and is not expensive, I think around $100 return.

The Islands off KK are just a short boat trip and I understand are pretty good, we didn't do that but wished we had again very cheap to get over there.

Do not bother with the Piping Hot Springs near Ranau which is about 2 hours out of KK where you go past the Mountain, the road trip is pretty good and lots on nice scenery, but forget the Springs, a long way to go for disappointment.


The trek up the mountain is fantastic (I believe) however unless you want to spent a day or so recuperating after and interrupt rootin time give it a miss.

One day trip out of KK that was very worthwhile was the Mari Mari Cultural Village, great demos of different ethnic groups and a top show afterwards.

I can't recommend accom as we stayed at one of the better resorts at around $350 per night.

[okitoki]

Well, I came from KK so probably can give you abit of pointers...

For hotel wise, there are 2 pretty good choice of hotels you can stay at (Not suggesting rates at the moment, as it they have plenty of rooms to choose from so the rates would varies)

- Shangri-La Tanjun Aru beach hotel: Kota Kinabalu Resort | Official Site Shangri-La's Tanjung Aru Resort and Spa Kota Kinabalu | Luxury Resort
about 20ish minute away from the city, next to the old beach area next to a yatch and golf club. good facility... one of the earlier big resorts build in KK... my uncle and aunt would travel from UK each year, and always stay in the delux rooms, service are great... and pretty sure they have boat service to go to islands from their jetty

- Sutera Harbour Resort... Sutera Harbour Resort, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
just outside the city area, newer than the previous hotel. Awesome golf courses on site, short drive to the city...

- Hyatt
Bang smack in the middle of the city... easy to go anywhere. next to 2 big shopping center, and walking distance to lots of older shops.

the other hotels near the city, like the Grand Promenade are ok, but near areas that have lots of "undesirables" that I would probably not walk alone at night time...

if you are after some nature stuff, then definitely should consider climbing Mt Kinabalu, go scuba diving and see the Orang Hutan at Sandakan... But you probably need more than 5 days.
I climbed the mountant when I was 14, and it wasnt that hard for me... It is a 2 day trip. The climb is mostly a hike uphill on clear path with steps. YOur will start mid morning on day 1, and by the time you reach the "rest house" it would be sun set. Be warned it will get cold at night/sunrise, so you will need to bring warm cloths. meals and drinks are available at the rest house, but on the way up suggest you pack your own drinks and some food.
next morning you would wake up at 4am, climb the rest of the mountain to reach the "Donkey's ear" Peak to see the magnificent sunrise (unless it is a cloudy day, but still be an awesome sight) Only this last part would be tricky, since it is on solid rock, and can be slippery with the morning dew. There are people who have suffered altitude sickness and unable to complete the climb. My cousins didnt make the climb because he had it (he was a fit boy) and my uncle slip and twisted his ankle. the climb down is pretty easy though... However, recovery time was 2 days for me...

For island hopping, either you can travel from your beach resorts, or there are jettys next to Hyatt hotel where you can hire a boat to take you to the islands... Pulau Gaya is pretty close, and the biggest island I can think of... there is a "resort" where you can stay on the island, but we used to joke about getting eaten alive by mosquito there, so I never tried it...

However, my mom has recently been to a "floating resort" while driving towards Sandakan which she said was great, and very romantic (hint from my mom to bring my GF there)... if you are interested, I can find out from my mom... However, it would be a drive and a half, and she said would need a few days or so...

If you want to go scuba diving, I can point you to my cousin who runs a diving tour guide place off a resort not far from city...

Shopping wise, you have Center Point and Merdeka shopping centers that are located in the city area, Karamunsing is just outside, and good for electrical stuff.. there is another at 1borneo (One Borneo) that is probably 30minute away, and is a pretty big shopping center... but to be honest, KL would be a cheaper and better option for shopping.. go to Lot 10 and Sungai Wang you probably can get all you need, and you can get all the branded stuff at Promenade (all 3 of them are in the same corner in KL)

Food wise, you have to eat Seafood... fresh and cheap... my favorite haunt is at Luyang Sea food restaurant... been going there since I was little... best dish is call "Bak Chok Har" which is pretty much steamed live prawns straight onto the plate, dip with garlic, chilly and soy sauce. me and my GF would probably polish off 3KG of it without problem

plenty of pubs around the city area, some with good live bands (some Filipinos bands are pretty good there)... just avoid the seedier place that gets you to buy "Lady's drinks" $30-50Ringit for a jug of beer is about the normal pub price last time...

overall, its a relaxing place to be for a holiday... but nothing much else

for hotel booking... have a look on Kota Kinabalu Hotels - Discount Rates for all Hotels in Kota Kinabalu-Malaysia

I always use this site to book my accommodations when I travel... and its been pretty good

[Professor Redfern]

Thanks Oki thats the kind of info I need.

Have you ever heard of Sipadan?

Some of the islands around there look amazing and even though they are dive resorts they look better than any other resorts in Malaysia.

Also we were thinking of getting this deal in KK, what do you reckon?

Malaysia: Five, Seven or Ten Nights for Two

[okitoki]

Yeah sipadan island is a great dive spot my friends love to go to. Off the town of tawau which is about 1.5hr from kk. Best place for sea food

Along there is where they get the birds nests that cost $1000s per 100gram. Which is a Chinese delicacy. (think of it made of bird spit )

Just be careful when going to remote island on the north east of Sabah off sandakan. As that was the area where Filipino pirates used to kidnap tourist (but was a long time ago lol)

The deal seems pretty good. Just check which room you getting.

[kapyong]

Not a good news story.

Australian killed by pygmy elephant on Borneo island, Malaysia | News.com.au

[Professor Redfern]

Bump, anyone know anymore about the place?