The Malaysia and KL master thread

[yorkshireRich]

Now I’ve finalised my new flights after the BA cancellation, I think I have now finalised our plan for end of Feb/March. I will be travelling with the wife and the daughter who will be 18 months. We won’t be doing lots of sight seeing as we need to do things at a relaxed pace. With that in mind, please feel free to critique.

UK to Bangkok. 2 nights in Bangkok before flying from Bangkok don Mueang on Air Asia to Penang.

6 nights in Penang. Parkroyal is the front runner so far with it appearing quite family friendly. I looked at the new Marriot which looks smart, but don’t think it’s as suitable as the Parkroyal on this occasion.

We will then fly to Langkawi where we will spend 5 nights. I looked at the Danna and read the comments on here, so I think I”m going to opt for the Westin on points.

We will then fly upto Kl where we will spend 2 nights at the Mandarin Oriental before flying MH to Singapore, and BA in Premium economy (with our companion voucher) back to LHR.

[SamG]

I think it’s a good itinerary. It is a real shame The Andaman Langkawi hasn’t been rebuilt yet, one of our favourite hotel stays in Asia. The beach is stunning, not sure if you can go for a meal at the Datai and check it out!

I’d consider hiring a car on both islands if you aren’t already to give you some flexibility to explore, left hand drive so nice and easy.

You can fly Firefly from Langkawi to Subang which is much closer to the city

[SamG]

Aston100 wrote:

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

Super delayed response but we stayed here – https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/29744007? – very well run and well located. Otherwise you are right – a lot of the accomodation is VERY basic and was expensive for what you got. A lot of it is more set up to book on arrival but when we were there every day there would be people who couldn’t find any accomodation and were either facing a night outdoors or going back on the ferry!

[runnerbean]

@yorkshireRich is there a specific reason for wanting to go to Bangkok?

I ask because 2 nights implies 1 full day, which may be enough to get your body clocks onto Asia time, and either a flop by a pool or an uber/ underground to the Grand Palace or similar.

We found loads to see and do in Bangkok in Feb/March this year but it was baking hot and no 18 month old to look after.

Penang was similarly v hot but less to see and do, and spending time by the pool was fabulous. I would certainly have ditched Penang for longer in Bangkok.

[SamG]

runnerbean wrote:

@yorkshireRich is there a specific reason for wanting to go to Bangkok?

I ask because 2 nights implies 1 full day, which may be enough to get your body clocks onto Asia time, and either a flop by a pool or an uber/ underground to the Grand Palace or similar.

We found loads to see and do in Bangkok in Feb/March this year but it was baking hot and no 18 month old to look after.

Penang was similarly v hot but less to see and do, and spending time by the pool was fabulous. I would certainly have ditched Penang for longer in Bangkok.

I think it’s a sensible amount of time, by end Feb it’s starting to get very hot and attempting to sightsee for multiple days on end with a toddler won’t be enjoyable. Get into a well located hotel e.g. Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit & maybe pick one or two easy things to do on full day and then head off on the next leg

[yorkshireRich]

runnerbean wrote:

@yorkshireRich is there a specific reason for wanting to go to Bangkok?

I ask because 2 nights implies 1 full day, which may be enough to get your body clocks onto Asia time, and either a flop by a pool or an uber/ underground to the Grand Palace or similar.

We found loads to see and do in Bangkok in Feb/March this year but it was baking hot and no 18 month old to look after.

Penang was similarly v hot but less to see and do, and spending time by the pool was fabulous. I would certainly have ditched Penang for longer in Bangkok.

one of the reasons, and I know people will shudder is the fact Qatar A380 fly there. My holiday planning is abit like a jigsaw, and with our business class flying coming to an end for the foreseeable, my wife mentioned how she loved Qatar A380 and had fond memories of flying to Sydney on it. With that in mind, and thinking we were going to Phuket, we opted for those flights to Bangkok. I do recognise that at no stage should anyone be daft enough to book a flight and a destination solely on the aircraft type, especially when one is booking on Qatar.

Anyway back to Bangkok. It’s a place we have fond memories of pre covid having visited quite frequently either at the start of end of our holidays. We appreciate now with an 18 month old in tow (or leading us), we will barely get to see any of it, but as you eluded to, it gives us a chance to get the body clocks adjusted, and gently ease into our surroundings.
As it stands (I have a tendency to chop and change), we have booked the Eastin Grand Sathorn for 2 nights in a suite which includes club room. I used my £300 Expedia points up (and a spare 50 quid) in the process. I was tempted with the Peninsula, but seems daft spending more than I need to on this occasion, especially with a early-ish departure to the airport after our 2nd night.

I will just add, having been to a fair bit of SEA Asia, We have never been to Langkawi or Penang, so thought a that a holiday predominately in Malaysia could be good. Ive just booked the Parkroyal tonight on free cancellation.

Thankyou Sam G on the tip to fly to the other airport in KL.

[runnerbean]

yorkshireRich wrote:

runnerbean wrote:

@yorkshireRich is there a specific reason for wanting to go to Bangkok?

I ask because 2 nights implies 1 full day, which may be enough to get your body clocks onto Asia time, and either a flop by a pool or an uber/ underground to the Grand Palace or similar.

We found loads to see and do in Bangkok in Feb/March this year but it was baking hot and no 18 month old to look after.

Penang was similarly v hot but less to see and do, and spending time by the pool was fabulous. I would certainly have ditched Penang for longer in Bangkok.

one of the reasons, and I know people will shudder is the fact Qatar A380 fly there. My holiday planning is abit like a jigsaw, and with our business class flying coming to an end for the foreseeable, my wife mentioned how she loved Qatar A380 and had fond memories of flying to Sydney on it. With that in mind, and thinking we were going to Phuket, we opted for those flights to Bangkok. I do recognise that at no stage should anyone be daft enough to book a flight and a destination solely on the aircraft type, especially when one is booking on Qatar.

Anyway back to Bangkok. It’s a place we have fond memories of pre covid having visited quite frequently either at the start of end of our holidays. We appreciate now with an 18 month old in tow (or leading us), we will barely get to see any of it, but as you eluded to, it gives us a chance to get the body clocks adjusted, and gently ease into our surroundings.
As it stands (I have a tendency to chop and change), we have booked the Eastin Grand Sathorn for 2 nights in a suite which includes club room. I used my £300 Expedia points up (and a spare 50 quid) in the process. I was tempted with the Peninsula, but seems daft spending more than I need to on this occasion, especially with a early-ish departure to the airport after our 2nd night.

I will just add, having been to a fair bit of SEA Asia, We have never been to Langkawi or Penang, so thought a that a holiday predominately in Malaysia could be good. Ive just booked the Parkroyal tonight on free cancellation.

Thankyou Sam G on the tip to fly to the other airport in KL.

That explains the short stay! I see know why you’ve balanced out the trip that way. Have a wonderful time.

[BBbetter]

Have you considered Shangri La at Penang? They are popular with families that have small kids. But can be a bit dated and outside the city.

Personally not a fan of hiring a car for self driving in Asia, even though Malaysia has some of the best roads in SE Asia. The hassle of finding a suitable parking space, different payment systems, etc, especially in a place where booking a car with a driver is not expensive. Parking can be far off a restaurant or the entrance of a sightseeing spot, so you need to carry everything including the toddler and walk back. A driver would drop you at the entrance conveniently and might know shortcuts or better routes. Grab is cheap by UK standards and can be best option for restaurants. For sightseeing, just book a car with driver for a day.

[SamG]

Unless they’ve had a refurb the Shangri-La Rasa Sayang will be getting very tired by now I’d have thought, I haven’t been for years and it was a bit past it then. I was very surprised at the high amount of Brits there !

I wouldn’t usually hire a car in SE Asia either but I’ve driven in both and it was very easy. I’d especially consider it with a toddler as Grab does not have car seats there so you’d be able to take your own without carrying it about and you’d have the flexibility to get out and about for short periods when you want vs all day with a driver. Just an idea 🙂

[Michael C]

Ideas from when we did a similar trip at a similar age.
-in BKK we stayed at the Shangri-La and had a river-based trip with
the little one, which was very relaxing compared to the usual (albeit beloved) craziness.
Think the Anantara Riverside would be great for you, but actually, any hotel with a
pool will be great for your child!
-Also thought Shangri-La was dated in the early 90s! Moved to the E&O which is so beautiful it
would make you cry, but all depends on location/prices, obviously.
-As an outlier option…ferry to Langkawi? Just to avoid another airport schlep/check-in, etc.

It will of course be totally fabulous: can’t wait to hear back and am sure youngster will be
healthy with all those reinforced antibodies!!

Actually, just had a flashback, as our son was 23 months on the way back, and was over
a metre tall (long?) and I had him on my Y seat…it made the transition to paying for 3 seats much easier!

[BBbetter]

SamG wrote:

I’d especially consider it with a toddler as Grab does not have car seats there so you’d be able to take your own without carrying it about

Good point.
I was surprised when in singapore a grab driver refused to pickup as we had a child and we had not selected the car with child seat option before booking. But I think this only applies to grab. Regular taxis don’t seem to have a problem.

[executiveclubber]

Would you head to Langkawi or somewhere else (Koh Samui?) for a relaxed getaway for Christmas? Trying to plan but nothing is striking me as having that “special” Christmas factor without being eye-poppingly expensive

[SamG]

BBbetter wrote:

SamG wrote:

I’d especially consider it with a toddler as Grab does not have car seats there so you’d be able to take your own without carrying it about

Good point.
I was surprised when in singapore a grab driver refused to pickup as we had a child and we had not selected the car with child seat option before booking. But I think this only applies to grab. Regular taxis don’t seem to have a problem.

yes in Singapore a private hire cannot take without the car seat but a taxi can – though this is not my preference at all as the standard of driving in Singapore can be surprisingly poor, I was in multiple accidents whilst living there!

The issue we had was we have 2 kids and the Grab kids service only carry 1 car seat. We booked an airport transfer with 2 seats otherwise we managed everything else on public transport or walking except 1 taxi back from the zoo (which in hindsight I wished we’d taken 2 x Grabs, my boy was very keen on getting in the front to drive!)

In Malaysia I believe it’s also illegal for the kid to not have a car seat but on the ground they wouldn’t have an issue with it, but it’s far from ideal and of course public transport is a lot more limited on Penang/Langkawi than in Singapore.

[SamG]

executiveclubber wrote:

Would you head to Langkawi or somewhere else (Koh Samui?) for a relaxed getaway for Christmas? Trying to plan but nothing is striking me as having that “special” Christmas factor without being eye-poppingly expensive

I’m not sure that Langkawi will be very Christmasy. Koh Samui will have more western/Christmas options and of course more high end properties if that is what you’re looking for but it’s expensive! You’d likely get better weather going to Phuket though it’s still the end of rainy season in the south east

[Hbommie]

yorkshireRich wrote:

6 nights in Penang. Parkroyal is the front runner so far with it appearing quite family friendly. I looked at the new Marriot which looks smart, but don’t think it’s as suitable as the Parkroyal on this occasion.

If you stick with Parkroyal then GHA discovery will be your friend.

[BBbetter]

executiveclubber wrote:

Would you head to Langkawi or somewhere else (Koh Samui?) for a relaxed getaway for Christmas? Trying to plan but nothing is striking me as having that “special” Christmas factor without being eye-poppingly expensive

They are on different coasts, so weather can be different. Langkawi (or Phuket as per SamG) seems a better bet than Koh Samui at that time if you want to avoid rain.
https://www.selectiveasia.com/weather/december

SE Asia in general is not that ‘christmassy’, but are busy as thats usually holiday period. If you can go further, Philippines is more catholic and you might get a ‘special’ Christmas feel.

[Michael C]

executiveclubber wrote:

Would you head to Langkawi or somewhere else (Koh Samui?) for a relaxed getaway for Christmas? Trying to plan but nothing is striking me as having that “special” Christmas factor without being eye-poppingly expensive

If you fancied a different sort of trip, both Singapore and HKG are fab at Christmas!

[yorkshireRich]

Thanks to all the posts. I need to get my head around the GHA discovery programme I reckon and use the status match.

I’ve had a look and there’s a Thai airways flight at 19:30. That may be better for as we wouldn’t have to get up early with the child and let her have a full nights sleep.

With that in mind, we may change hotel now. If we can utilise early check in and late check out, we will have arrived Friday at 13:00 and leave the hotel at 16:00 on the Sunday.

There are so many options for hotels in Bangkok though. Anyway, I appreciate this is the thread on Malaysia. Some very valid points raised for pro and cons of car hire. Looking forward to both Langkawi and Penang as never been to either.

[qc]

@yorkshireRich I’m with those who are suggesting staying on the river in Bangkok. I’ve stayed at the Shangri-La and the Oriental a couple of times and the Hilton once but there is also the Anantara Riverside (also GHA Discovery) which looks nice.

[qc]

Michael C wrote:

executiveclubber wrote:

Would you head to Langkawi or somewhere else (Koh Samui?) for a relaxed getaway for Christmas? Trying to plan but nothing is striking me as having that “special” Christmas factor without being eye-poppingly expensive

If you fancied a different sort of trip, both Singapore and HKG are fab at Christmas!

I agree regarding Christmas in HK and Singapore. Over 30 years we were on a trip to the Far East – we decided to stay in Macau as we thought it might be more Christmassy – as we left our HK hotel there was a choir singing Carols around the Christmas tree and although there were Christmas decorations in our hotel – the long gone wonderful Bella Vista in Macau there little sign of Christmas elsewhere. On Christmas Day there was building work going on as normal.

[executiveclubber]

Thanks for the suggestions! Think my partner would veto Hong Kong as it’s not relaxing enough. We found Singapore a bit lacking in stuff to do but the Four Seasons is reasonable and all I want to do is relax.

[Michael C]

executiveclubber wrote:

We found Singapore a bit lacking in stuff to do

Nooooo!

Seek and ye shall find!!!

[qc]

I saw that the Lone Pine at Batu Ferringhi was mentioned earlier in this discussion – I’ve just discovered that it has joined Marriott having at first been totally independent and then when we were last there part of the same ownership as the E&O.

We like the hotel – we first stayed in 1983 and have stayed I think 3 or 4 times since – the last in 2019. It has a boutiquey hotel feel and is fairly comfortable. The grounds are lovely – my only gripe is they don’t have loungers on the beach.

[qc]

If staying at the IC is it better to just take a Grab or taxi all the way to the hotel or take the train to Sentral and taxi or Grab from there.

We will be arriving at KUL at 18.20 on MH1.

[e14]

qc wrote:

If staying at the IC is it better to just take a Grab or taxi all the way to the hotel or take the train to Sentral and taxi or Grab from there.

We will be arriving at KUL at 18.20 on MH1.

Grab