The Malaysia and KL master thread

[LD27]

TicknBash wrote:

Just done a road trip for 2 nights in Cameron and 4 nights in Penang.
Would recommend avoiding the weekend for both places as it is popular local tourist destinations which also helps with lower hotel rates and queues for attractions.

Stayed 2 nights at Jawi Peranakan Mansion in Penang which is a restored old mansion with plenty of character and close to plenty of local food options and reasonably priced.

2 nights at Shangri La Rasa Sayang which is a beach front resort but the beach was underwhelming but the resort itself is maintained at a good standard. So if it’s relaxed luxury E&O will be the go to choice.

Locals say there’s an unusual heatwave now midday reaching a burning 35 degrees and some days definitely feels more especially with the humidity here.

Back in KL now before setting off to Perhentian islands next week.

Have been to the Perhentians twice and had great holidays. Last visit was probably nearly 8 years ago. Good for diving and relaxing. Would return. Hope you enjoy your stay.

[Aston100]

@LD27 do you have any feedback about the Perhentians?
The accommodation looks like its suited to backpackers, students and hippies.

[LD27]

At the time we stayed, there were no luxury hotels or chains, just simple locally run hotels. The islands were recommended to us by friends living in Singapore who are keen divers. We were travelling through Malaysia and flew to Kota Bahru on one occasion and drove the other from Taman Negara.

We were there when our kids were late teens. From what I can recall there are two Islands. We stayed on Besar at the Perhentian Island Resort and the Tuna Bay Hotel. For someone who prefers pools to sea, I actually spent all my time in the sea snorkelling and swimming. On second visit, the kids went off to Pulau Perhentian Kecil which was more for youngsters/backpackers and more basic. The islands are small and there was not much there. But we found it very relaxing after a number of weeks of travelling. We stayed for about 4/5 days before moving on. If you want further information, do ask again.

[RS]

@TicknBash Where did you stay in the Cameron Highlands?
We’ve got a 2 night stay booked at the Cameron Highlands Resort in August so I’m wondering if anyone has stayed there what they think of it? We’re also looking forward to 3 nights at the E&O which seems to be viewed favourably by everyone who’s stayed there.

[TunnocksTeaCake]

RS wrote:

@TicknBash Where did you stay in the Cameron Highlands?
We’ve got a 2 night stay booked at the Cameron Highlands Resort in August so I’m wondering if anyone has stayed there what they think of it? We’re also looking forward to 3 nights at the E&O which seems to be viewed favourably by everyone who’s stayed there.

We stayed 3 nights at The Cameron Highlands Resort in January 2024. It is a very nice hotel, comfortable rooms and nice breakfast. It is a little noisy as it sits on a main road. It is out of town but only a short and cheap Grab ride to Tanah Rata. However we were underwhelmed by Tanah Rata, finding not much to see or do there.

[runnerbean]

I have a somewhat different view of the Cameron Highlands Resort ie the breakfast was limited and not great, and breakfast service was a bit hit and miss. The hotel and room was ok, but the food in the restaurant was not great, the beer expensive even by Malaysian standards and the wine was eye- wateringly expensive.

If we were to do the trip again I’d swap the trip up to the highlands and do some beach time instead.

[TicknBash]

RS wrote:

@TicknBash Where did you stay in the Cameron Highlands?
We’ve got a 2 night stay booked at the Cameron Highlands Resort in August so I’m wondering if anyone has stayed there what they think of it? We’re also looking forward to 3 nights at the E&O which seems to be viewed favourably by everyone who’s stayed there.

We opted to Airbnb a 4 bed house house outside the main towns because we had a car and prefer the access to a larger space also being able to do our own laundry etc especially when travelling with 2 young kids. We thought 2 nights was sufficient given most activities were similar to UK ie strawberry picking / animal farms. Alcohol is generally UK prices around the main cities but I did pick up a decent single malt at the airport.

Stopped over at Ipoh on the way up from KL and the drive to Cameron is akin to driving in the Scottish Highlands albeit double the traffic.

Setting off to east coast Malaysia today and have been advised that traffic will be very heavy. The government is subsidising toll free highways for the Eid celebration. I wonder how bad it’ll be considering ‘normal’ traffic is meant to be a 6 hour drive.

In terms of islands, local friends have recommended
Redang and Perhentian over Tioman. There’s an unheard of island called Lang Tengah is highly recommended for the beauty but not one equipped with a decent resort for our spoilt comfort palate unfortunately.

Thought that Perhentian will be a happy medium…until of course the Mrs tells me otherwise in the next 6 hours. Like LD27, we are also booked at Tuna Bay. Will report back in a few days.

My 5 year old has learnt to demand for me to ‘put more fresh cold air’ in the car now.

I suppose that’s the sort of memory I’m aiming for before she sets off to the likes of Magaluf next decade.

[S879]

Travelling to KL, KK and Sandakan in August. For people who have travelled to Borneo, which vaccinations did you consider a must and actually get? Asking as we checked with the GP and the list is so long; typhoid, malaria, Hep A, tetanus, diptheria etc. Overall, we are not keen on extra vaccinations. Are these absolutely essential? We don’t have any underlying medical issues, but since Covid, feel that we are getting respiratory illnesses a lot more (like 2-3 times a year). Just not sure if we wish to pump ourselves and our teenage kids with so many vsccinations though. I am more worried about dengue in that region! Any thoughts appreciated.

[Roberto]

FWIW we went to Borneo for a couple of weeks about 20 years ago with our kids and had no jabs. I can’t say if it was wise or foolish – it’s just what we did.

Your GP would have a far better understanding today than I did back then but post covid I like you would rather not load up on vaccinations.

Keep researching…

[Aston100]

Travelling to KL, KK and Sandakan in August. For people who have travelled to Borneo, which vaccinations did you consider a must and actually get?

I did those places in August last year, as described up thread.
We didn’t get any vaccinations and the worst thing that happened was watching with horror as Mrs Aston enthusiastically joined in with a tribal dance in KK.
Unfortunately there’s no medicine that can prevent that sort of thing.

However, as Roberto suggests, you should ask a real doctor.

[JenT]

@S859 – if your teenagers have completed year 9 at school and have followed the UK vaccination schedule, they will already have had vaccinations for diphtheria and tetanus. TravelHealthPro.org (which the FCO and my GP uses) doesn’t strongly recommend some of the others you mention, unless you are planning on staying long term or in rural/family settings.

Tetanus/polio/diphtheria vaccines, as well as Hep A, are usually well tolerated and useful boosters for travellers, but you have to make your own decisions. I recently had MMR as a adult as it wasn’t available when I was a child and some countries have very high rates of measles right now. Speak to your GP.

[S879]

Thanks all.

Regarding insect repellent sprays, ones with deet are still getting better reviews such as Jungle Formula. I know ones with picardin is safer. I have read one should ofcourse wear covered up clothes, but many are recommending spraying clothes. We have 2 days in KL, 4 in KK and 2 in Sandakan. As a family of 4, am wondering how many of these aerosols or roll on repellents I should take? Leech socks are also being recommended. As before, what worked for people who went? Since we have so many flights, don’t want to carry unnecessary stuff. If you made a list of essentuals, please do share.

In Shangri-La Rasa Ria, reading a lot about sand flies too.

[Jon]

Buy it when you arrive in KL. Most pharmacies sell various types of spray or roll-on repellent. I use one by Tiger Balm that seems to work quite well – smells awful though 😉 You’re unlikely to need it in KL itself, unless you’re out and about just after it’s rained, or right at dusk possibly. Different matter out in the jungle.

Leech socks are probably a good idea if you’ll be doing a lot of hiking in the jungle or wading through streams etc. But ordinary long cotton socks (rugby socks, perhaps) are a better-than-nothing fallback. Take a small container or bag of salt with you, and/or a lighter, to remove any leeches that do find their way onto your skin. But stay observant and with any luck you’ll be able to flick them away before they get that far 😉 Also Google “Adidas Kampung” for footwear – may be useful.

[JDB]

@S879 – unfortunately repellents bought locally are often more effective because they use formulations/ingredients not allowed in Europe which may or may not be a good thing. Also, you need to be sure they will be available locally – I doubt there’s a problem in Malaysia but for instance last year in South America there was a major local supply shortage owing to a surge of Dengue cases.

The reality is that none of these repellents are so effective – some mosquitoes seem to find them quite tasty so, as you say, long sleeves and trousers are a big plus to reduce available biting area and you mention spraying clothes so it’s worth considering insect repellent clothing and hats/caps. I don’t get bitten a lot, but family and friends who do swear by Rohan clothes for hiking but also for more static activities like fishing and golf.

[yorkshireRich]

We have booked our flights for late Feb arriving in Bangkok. Our plan upto now is have 2 nights Bangkok and then 6 nights Phuket before then flying on Malaysia airlines via Kl to Langkawi. We toyed with the idea of flying straight to Penang and then Langkawi, but we have conceded that we can do Penang another time.

The wife is adamant with an 18 month old, it must be a relatively chilled holiday. I’ve had a look at various accommodation and for now, I’ve booked the Westin on points for 5 nights. As always, advice from fellows HFP”ers is much apprecited.
We will then be flying upto KL for 2 nights before flight home.

[S879]

JDB wrote:

@S879 – unfortunately repellents bought locally are often more effective because they use formulations/ingredients not allowed in Europe which may or may not be a good thing. Also, you need to be sure they will be available locally – I doubt there’s a problem in Malaysia but for instance last year in South America there was a major local supply shortage owing to a surge of Dengue cases.

The reality is that none of these repellents are so effective – some mosquitoes seem to find them quite tasty so, as you say, long sleeves and trousers are a big plus to reduce available biting area and you mention spraying clothes so it’s worth considering insect repellent clothing and hats/caps. I don’t get bitten a lot, but family and friends who do swear by Rohan clothes for hiking but also for more static activities like fishing and golf.

Thank you all for the helpful comments.

[Richie]

With the land journey between Singapore and KL, is there an interesting night stop to be had at all? Or is flying just the better way to travel?

[LD27]

Richie wrote:

With the land journey between Singapore and KL, is there an interesting night stop to be had at all? Or is flying just the better way to travel?

It depends to some extent how much time you have and where else you plan to go. But would definitely suggest Melaka if nowhere else. It’s en route up the west coast and has a very diverse history. Chinese trading port, Portuguese, Dutch and British all in control at some point. One/two nights should be enough depending on arrival departure times.

[LD27]

S879 wrote:

Thanks all.

Regarding insect repellent sprays, ones with deet are still getting better reviews such as Jungle Formula. I know ones with picardin is safer. I have read one should ofcourse wear covered up clothes, but many are recommending spraying clothes. We have 2 days in KL, 4 in KK and 2 in Sandakan. As a family of 4, am wondering how many of these aerosols or roll on repellents I should take? Leech socks are also being recommended. As before, what worked for people who went? Since we have so many flights, don’t want to carry unnecessary stuff. If you made a list of essentuals, please do share.

In Shangri-La Rasa Ria, reading a lot about sand flies too.

We usually buy insect repellent locally. However we also stock up in places like Australia and US. Products are often cheaper than in UK for high deet content. Walmart Supercentres have good supplies of insect repellent and other hiking gear. REI is also excellent in US. Huge store in Denver and other tourist cities including NYC and Las Vegas. Not sure this will help you though for this trip, but maybe to bear in mind for the future.

We have done a number of long hikes in Borneo (mainly Sarawak) both with guide and alone. Have always used insect repellent spray to remove leeches. I think you will find that with the high humidity any salt will be solid within minutes of starting your trek. As for anti leech socks, we’ll they may protect your feet, ankles and lower legs, but we found wearing trousers and long sleeve tops impossible in the humidity so took the bottoms off our trousers and wore short sleeved tops. Walking through streams and rivers and through the jungle you will find leeches don’t stay at ground level. Some are high up on bushes so when you brush by, you will find they will get under tops, on thighs and wherever they can. So every so often we stopped and checked each other. Hiking through the rainforest and mangroves and staying in longhouses is an amazing experience.

Can’t comment on the Rasa Ria, but we have stayed a number of times at the Shangri-La Tanjung Aru where sandflies weren’t an issue. Have been a couple of times to Sandakan and Kinabatangan river area and can’t recall having major issues with sand flies or mosquitoes (Easter and summer school holidays).

Hope this might be of help. Happy to answer any other questions you may have.

[S879]

Thanks LD27, just read your reply. This is all very useful. We will be in Sandakan for 2 days, but not going to Sarawak.

I posted the below in the daily chat, but got no reply. I should have posted here as many here mentioned going to Rasa Ria. Reposting:

I booked the Shangr-La Rasa Ria in KK for 5 days about 6 months ago. Since we have 2 teenage kids, we booked two Garden Wing rooms at a considerable cost. However, worryingly, every third/fourth review in the last few months mentions how poor and dated the Garden Wing is. Service reviews are hit and miss, but I know that varies from review to review. However, the photos of GW rooms don’t look great and in the main, only Ocean Wing rooms get good reviews. Even the AI summary on Trip Advisor mentions this theme. Since we have a 2.5 weeks trip over multiple countries, I am not in a position to pay more for the OW as the price difference per room per night is quite a lot and we have two rooms. I wrote a polite email to the GM whose email was easily available on the Internet, but there has been no response. Disappointingly, on Trip Advisor, she responds to positive reviews only and the negative ones are just ignored! Perhaps Shangr-La Tanjung Aru would have been a better choice.

Has anyone been there recently? Also, experienced travellers, please suggest what I should do. Should I write to the main Shangr-La customer service email. It’s a very special 18th birthday trip so don’t want to end up in a 3 star room when I have paid peak season prices. I don’t mind less facilities, but shabby, mouldy places are a no-no.

[The real Swiss Tony]

We were at the Rasa Ria last summer and it’s showing its age. Even the Ocean Wing rooms were starting to look a bit tired and service in general was a bit hit or miss (but given the rudeness of some of the guests I can imagine staff retention is a problem and to be honest I find Malaysian service culture far less polished than you get in SG, VN, TH or HK).

We did a brilliant – and way cheaper per night than the SL – jungle trip near Sandakan as well on that holiday. Completely brilliant experience – no frills but real close to nature stuff. We also stayed in the Hilton in KK which was better (not perfect) but the club floor was affordable and added a degree of finesse. This was all with kids age 18, 16 & 13.

I loved the Rasa Ria when the kids were younger (and they had the Orangutans in the sanctuary on site) but it’s not as good as it used to be. Sorry!

[S879]

Thanks for your account. I’m just a bit apprehensive and unsure about the stay and feel maybe I should request Shangri-La to transfer us to Tanjung Aru. I know they won’t refund. Not happy with the manager not even responding with a brief email. I am not looking for a free upgrade, but some reassurance that it wouldn’t be a down point of our trip with really tired rooms. It’s also quite far from the airport. Anyway, will have a rethink.

[The real Swiss Tony]

Yikes. Hadn’t appreciated it was a pre-paid booking. The issue is it’s a big resort so when it’s busy it struggles to cope. Ocean Wing breakfast was a godsend. I have in the past found service recovery on site very good (although you don’t really want it to get to that point) and I believe they have done some proactive things to expand the size of the breakfast area etc as that was chaotic on our first visit 12 yrs ago or so.

And to heap further downside on this, I found their revenue team rather detached. We had a 4 night stay booked but a change in flight schedules meant we had to drop it to 3. I had a flex rate booked that had since lapsed, they refused to pro-rate the offer so I instead found something else (can’t remember the detail) which was even cheaper for me. They got to stick to their rules but lost a couple of hundred dollars in the process.

I think it’s a case of managing expectations. This place is on the side of the rainforest, it’s wet. Wood warps and plaster decays. Make sure you take advantage of some of the other facilities/activities. And if it is bad (especially breakfast service) just be nice but firm with the management. Hopefully they will find a solution.

[YC]

There is a new Marriott on Prehentian which looks pretty nice. Prices seem high for Malaysia though.

Also, dengue is prevalent in Malaysia so I would encourage repellents as much as possible. Caught it over there and was hospitalised for a short while.

[S879]

Thank you to everyone who helped. We had a wonderful trip to KL, KKB and Sandakan.

To update on Rasa Ria, I would agree that Garden Wing is no not worth travelling so far for. It’s got nice views but requires a lot of maintenance. We moved to Ocean Wing and that’s still nice although I’d agree that that too is showing it’s age a bit. Nevertheless, it was very clean. We did the fireflies trip but the person booking never told us that it was a full moon so we only saw about 10 fireflies and we paid for 4 people! It’s the jellyfish season so having a few watersports perks etc. in our package were useless as we are not very strong swimmers so gave kayaking a miss. Food was enjoyable and affordable given we earn in GBP, but expensive for locals perhaps.