Malaysia Track: Travel Experience

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Hello Malaysia ! (By Camille)

Here it is! As promised, more photos from my trip to Malaysia.

Our first stop upon landing was the Putrajaya Lake Club. It has the most beautiful view! We had our lunch here then we proceeded to a short boat ride around the lake where we were able to see the Pink Mosque and many more beautiful structures around Putrajaya more closely.

The Pink Mosque

Such a cool bridge!

There’s a point at Putrajaya where you can view the whole city from higher ground. You see that bridge? That whole thing is adorned with real bronze! It’s worth millions!! And look at the amount of greenery in this city! I think that’s what I love the most about Malaysia, their cities are so well-developed but they put great importance to nature.

Then off to Kuala Lumpur we went. The main event of our trip to Malaysia was held at Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa. I wish we stayed here!!! It’s one big complex! One of its many attractions is the Sunway Lagoon. It’s a water theme park and has the longest hanging bridge in Malaysia! I’m definitely going here the next time I visit KL.

Of course, Sunway also has a mall, called the Sunway Pyramid Mall. It’s Egyptian-inspired so everything from the facade to the walls to the ceilings are designed accordingly. Most of the stores here are at mid price range.

I couldn’t stop staring at the ceilings haha!

As I’ve mentioned, the main event was held here. It was the launching of the Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival (MMSC). It’s the Malaysian counterpart of the Great Singapore Sale. I had no idea they’ve been doing this for so long already! I’ve been missing out! I mean, imagine, just for Malaysia’s main shopping district alone, namely Bukit Bintang KLCC (BBKLCC), there’s already 9 malls with over 3000 stores. Aside from the Mega Sale, they also offer a special BBKLCC Tourist Privilege Card that gives additional discounts. Add to that the fact that Malaysia is now a duty free shopping destination (which means hello luxury brands)! How can a shopaholic not go crazy in this place? I’VE BEEN MISSING OUT I TELL YOU!

This is the BBKLCC shopping district. Some of the malls here are Sungei Wang Plaza (for more affordable shopping), Plaza Low Yat (for CRAZY cheap electronics), Starhill Gallery ( for your favorite designer labels), Fahrenheit 88 (which houses South East Asia’s largest UNIQLO store) and Suria KLCC (located at the base of Petronas Twin Towers and has your favorite mix of high and low brands).

My personal favorite is Pavillion. I love this place because it has a great mix of high low brands (much like Suria KLCC) plus it’s the only mall where TYPO can be found. (Check out my cute buys from Typo on my Instagram @itscamilleco.) Proof of how crazy the sale is? I found a pair of YSL Tributes and a pair of Guiseppe Zanottis here at more than half the price off!!! Remember my blue Guiseppe Zanottis? Those are on sale too!!!! *heart breaks* I remember the saleslady who assisted me saying that they actually got sold out the first time they arrived. BUT, just before the mega sale was launched, a pair of the blue Zanottis were delivered. And lucky me, it just had to be in my size. *heart shatters* The world is a cruel cruel place.

Oh well, nothing better than food to drown my shopping sorrows away. Good thing Malaysia has great dining options. I remember the food trip I went on the first time I visited Malaysia for the Nuffnang Blog Awards. Even their street food is yummy!

This time, I was able to try something new. No street food, just authentic Malay cuisine at Bijan Restaurant.

Yummmmmyyyyyyy!

LOVE THIS DESSERT! I’m really a dessert person and this did not disappoint.

So aside from the sights, shopping and dining, Malaysia has a thriving nightlife as well. One of the bars we were able to visit was Sky Bar. It’s located at the 33rd floor of Traders Hotel. This place is definitely unique! I love the ambience. It’s a nice chill place for drinking with friends. Just don’t drink too much because you might end up taking an unintentional and very embarrassing dip in the pool haha!

The best thing about Sky Bar? It’s definitely the view. I mean look at that! It’s the Petronas Twin Towers and the Skybridge. Beautiful, isn’t it?

Needless to say, I had a great time at Malaysia. The posts are not over yet! Thank you Tourism Malaysia for your hospitality. I’m definitely adding Malaysia to my list of quick escape destinations. The food, the nightlife, the sights and most importantly, the shopping is great. If you’re planning to visit the country, make sure you do so before the mega sale ends this September 2. And I must mention, in service of the shopaholics out there, that Malaysia now has Johor Premium Outlets! Wooot! It’s the first of the Premium Outlet Franchise within the South East Asian Region, featuring more than 80 designer labels! Ahhh! My poor poor wallet.

Camilie
http://itscamilleco.com

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Trip to Malaysia: KL #1 (By Darya)

Jul21

Here’s a very belated travellog of my trip to Malaysia:

My flight from Dubai to Kuala Lumpur had an hour stop at Singapore airport. Though i only got to roam about this airport for 45 minutes, i officially declared it as my fav airport straight away. The whole airport looked like a hotel lobby…so quiet…so clean…so cozy :D…my first though was that if I’m ever forced to live in an airport for the rest of my life–you know like Tom Hanks in the Terminal (which FYI was loosely based on an Iranian dude who lived in Charles De Gaulle airport for 14 years)–I would pick to live in this airport:

So, I arrived at KL airport around 1 o’clock in the morning. I was told that i could get visa right at the airport, so as soon as I arrived my little observant eyes radared around for the Visa Issue desk…couldn’t locate any…so I approach the first airport officer:

ME: xcuse me…where can i get a visa?

HER: over there

ME: no, that’s passport control…i still need to get a visa

HER: (all smiles, in the sweetest voice ever) yeah, same place

OK, that was my first encounter with a Malaysian and my first thought then was, boy they are so sweet, so friendly :D

Well, the whole visa issuing and passport control process took about 25 seconds…

Now i had done my homework so I knew there are many different types of taxis I could get (even a rapid train) and that the best choice for me would be the budget taxi since I only had 1 suitcase and that ride to my hotel should be around 60 RM (about 5 KD or $20) ….and I KNEW I had to be wary of being swamped by non-airport taxis…but hey i was dead tired. I had left Kuwait at 3 in the morning and had arrived in KL at 12 midnight…that’s about 15 hours….so when the guy said the ride to my hotel would be 150 RM i didn’t haggle or turn him down…so as he was writing out the receipt, i just smiled and said:

ME: I read online that it’s suppose to be 60 RM

HIM: Don’t believe things you read online…they are outdated…

ME: Yeah but you are more than double charging me…i’ll pay..but i want you to know i know you are over charging me

HIM: ok, i know

…and here i bursted out laughing at my own idiosy :D…

but when i got to the taxi i saw it was the ones that online described as limos (they aren’t real limos)…the price for those was RM 120 and the site did mention that after mid-night they might charge more…so i wasn’t being over-charged after all :D :D

Enjoy these random pics of KL:

KFH in KL

View of KLCC from the Petrona Tower’s Sky Bridge

The Petronas Towers at night (these were the tallest towers in the world till 2004). There’s a rumor that the film Entrapment is banned in Malaysia coz of a super-imposed scene that show these Towers near the ‘slumps’ of the city of Malacca which is about 90km away from KL. Apparently the Malaysian government was upset. Now I’ll post pics of Malacca soon, I actually liked the ‘slump’ i thought it had soul and a past, it didn’t look anything like a ‘slump’ to me.

The KL Tower (aka Menara Tower). First thought, doesn’t Menara in Arabic mean Tower? So the name of this tower is Tower Tower??) Anyway, I recommend that whoever goes to KL, they should first go to the observation desk over here and check out the audio-visual tour guide of the whole city from up there. You can even see the Batu Caves from up there. Oh and when you go there definitely try the flying fox ride.

Me on the Flying Fox Ride at KL Tower (aka Menara Tower)

A notice board about a special tree at the base of the Tower. They spent RM 430,000 (about KD35,000 or $133,000 to save this single tree during the construction of the tower!!!

And here’s that special tree:

The ceiling of the dome inside the tower. The ceiling was designed by an Iranian from Isfahan.

Inside the tower

Another activity you can try at the KL Tower is to take a guided walk through the Bukit Nanas Forest. This forest is the oldest virgin forest in the world located within a city. What I really liked about KL is that it was a city in the middle of a rain forest. So if you live there and one day you need to take a short break from the fast pace of city life, you could just take a detoxifying walk in a rain forest. The plant species I saw over there looked like something out of Jurassic Park. Here’s a pic of the back of our guide and two other vistors. BTW, that couple were Indians who also lived in Kuwait for a while…how small is the world!!!

Darya

http://mymagicaldroplets.wordpress.com

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Searching for Wild Orangutans in Borneo (By Amy Blyth)

My only plan for our three-week trip to Malaysia was to find wild orangutans in Borneo. I’ve long dreamed of seeing these incredible human-like creatures in their natural environment and was prepared to do whatever it took to achieve my goal. Our search for the so-called man of the forest took us deep into the jungles of Borneo; we sailed down rivers and spent hours trekking through tropical heat to try and catch a glimpse of these secretive and endangered primates, but did we succeed?

The Search for Orangutans in Borneo

Our quest to find wild orangutans began with a difficult but extremely rewarding trip to Batang Ai National Park which took us well off the beaten track. We stayed with a local family in their longhouse and camped out in the jungle, but although we had an incredible experience we didn’t see any orangutans. According to locals we would have had to trek for days into the dense jungle, camping along the way to have a chance of spotting any.

The WWF says that there are only between 45,000 and 69,000 orangutans left in the wild due to deforestation, hunting and the illegal pet trade. This means that sadly there are very few places left to spot wild orangutans in Borneo; one of which is Sabah in Eastern Borneo, which is where we headed next to continue our search.

Our Trip to Danum Valley Field Centre

On arriving in Sabah we stayed at Bike and Tours, one of the nicest guesthouses we’ve come across on our trip so far. Our hosts Simon and Tish cooked us an amazing Indian-Malaysian meal and told us about the Danum Valley Field Centre, a scientific camp located in a prime location for spotting orangutans. While it’s not really meant as tourist accommodation, Simon and Tish were able to arrange for us to stay there a couple of nights and even agreed to drive us over the next day.

The field centre is set deep in the heart of Danum Valley next to a river; bearded pigs, deer and monkeys regularly wander into camp from the surrounding jungle. The first morning we were there we set our alarm for 5am and ventured out into the pale half-light of the jungle. Within minutes of shining the torch around we were met by two amber eyes gazing unblinkingly back at us – a deer perhaps. We slipped on the muddy uneven path until we got to a huge fig tree with a very precarious looking ladder attached leading up to viewing platforms. From there we could see the tree tops and part of the camp obscured in morning mist.

We spent the next day and a half trekking the jungle paths surrounding the camp searching for orangutans while being attacked by leeches and mosquitoes. Even though it was hot, sticky and exhausting work I loved exploring the maze of trees, spotting leaf monkeys and macaques, hearing the calls of birds and watching hornbills soar high above us – I felt so small surrounded by the vast infinity of the jungle.

All through our visit to Danum we kept hearing maddening rumours of orangutan sightings but as the final morning of our stay arrived we still hadn’t spotted any and we were beginning to feel desperate – we had only one more destination left to search for the elusive creatures.

Cruising the Kinabatangan River

Kinabatangan is supposedly one of the easiest places to spot wild orangutans in Malaysian Borneo. Sadly, the fact that the forest surrounding the Kinabatangan river has been so severely logged means that only a narrow strip remains on either side of the water, forcing all the animals into this small area. The best way to view the wildlife is to take a boat trip straight down the river; we arranged afternoon, night and morning boat trips, certain that we would finally spot orangutans on one of them.

We spent hours whizzing down the river, stopping to watch leaf monkeys, macaques and rare long-nosed proboscis monkeys in trees lining the river banks. We spotted all kinds of birds, from kingfishers to huge hornbills and we even floated just feet from a huge crocodile but sadly, we still didn’t spot any orangutans. Despite all the time and effort we’d put into our search, the hundreds of pounds we’d spent and miles we’d travelled we had somehow failed to find any wild orangutans in Borneo.

Visiting Rescued Orangutans in Sepilok Rehabitilition Centre

Although we were pretty disappointed about the outcome of our orangutan quest we did have some incredible experiences during the course of our journey. While our trip to Borneo had been all about orangutans to begin with, somewhere along the way it became more to do with the journey than the end destination. The experiences we had in the jungle, all the amazing people we met and the incredible animals we did see more than justified our visit to Malaysia.

In addition, the fact that we didn’t spot any wild orangutans in Borneo just goes to show how endangered they’ve become. We learnt even more about the plight of orangutans when we visited the Sepilok Rehabilition Centre before we left Borneo. The centre rescues orphaned orangutans and attempts to teach them the skills they need to go back to the wild while still providing food and support for them if they need it.

We got the chance to see some of these orangutans feeding when we visited Sepilok. Although the experience wasn’t what we’d hoped for, especially since we were surrounded by hordes of noisy and pushy tourists, it was still a magical experience seeing the rusty-red creatures swinging out of the jungle to feed. We’re determined to return to Borneo one day to see orangutans where they truly belong: in the wild.

Amy

http://www.ourbigfattraveladventure.com

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Malaysia on a Budget: Flying to Kuala Lumpur with Airphil Express (By Lost Boy)

I just got back from an exciting trip to Malaysia in partnership with the wonderful people of Airphil Express, the country’s fastest-growing carrier, and Tourism Malaysia. The trip was different because we were free to travel anywhere but on limited budget.

Airphil Express invited me and seven other bloggers to their maiden flight to Kuala Lumpur. While I was very happy that I was invited to travel to Malaysia, it also made me feel nice and somewhat proud that I was the youngest blogger in the junket by age and experience. Hence, I swore to myself that I will make the most of the experience.

Days before the inaugural flight, we were briefed on how the trip will go. Like I mentioned, we were to travel around Malaysia for three days with 10,000 PHP on hand. The challenge was to do the most experiences out of the money to prove that Kuala Lumpur, with the help of cheap fares from Airphil Express, can be a budget travel destination for Filipinos.

I arrived a little late to the airport because of the usual Manila traffic. Still, Ms. Van, Sir Jojo, and Ms. Line, the warm people from Airphil Express, welcomed me with my boarding pass. Right at that moment, embarrassed as I was, I realized I should’ve done their convenient web or mobile check-in instead, since I had to be at NAIA Terminal 3 during rush hour.

After border formalities, I was able to reach the gate where they put up a simple ceremony that celebrated the airline’s newest value destination. Present were representatives from Tourism Malaysia, the Malaysian Embassy, and of course, Airphil Express.

The ribbon was cut, and I excitedly boarded flight 2P 875. The flight was scheduled to last three hours and 45 minutes, but I didn’t mind because Ms. Bianca Tamayo, the marketing executive of Tourism Malaysia in Manila, Sir Melo of Out of Town Blog, and I had a great chat during the flight. Our inaugural flight too was smooth and so comfortable that I was able to find some time for much-needed quality napping.

Before I knew it, we already landed at the LCC Terminal of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (IATA: KUL) 32 minutes ahead of schedule. Malaysia Airports set up a welcome ceremony and press conference and handed us gifts for being in the flight.

After a small booboo at the airport that I’d rather not remember, we were received by the jolly and witty Mr. Eddie of Pearl Holidays. Our bus transfer to Radius International Hotel in the bustling Bukit Bintang took “one hour plus or minus” in Mr. Eddie’s words.

As soon as I finished freshening up a little in our room, we went to the nearby Jalan Alor for our first bite into Malay-Chinese cuisine. We were looking forward to the days ahead and how they were to unfold. We had a small budget, but we barely had plans.

Anyway, allow me to talk about the Manila-Kuala Lumpur flight of Airphil Express. As usual, the carrier is providing really affordable fares for budget travellers, transit passengers, and OFWs in Malaysia. I was just checking how much their fares are for next month, and they really are the cheapest option when flying out from Manila to Kuala Lumpur.

One of the many things I like about them is their free 10kg baggage allowance, which was useful for our international trip. Sure, I favor light packing, but being out of the country for a number of days required a piece of checked luggage. Indeed, free is better than a fee.

I also recently learned about their mobile check-in for smartphones, which is available three to 24 hours before flights. Passengers can choose seats and generate boarding passes with the service. This is aside from their various convenient services like web check-in, advanced seat selection, travel insurance, and prepaid excess baggage.

Initially, Airphil Express leaves Manila every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday at 7:40 PM and arrives in Kuala Lumpur at 11:25 PM. The return flight, meanwhile, departs Kuala Lumpur at 11:55 PM on the same days and lands in Manila 4:05 AM the following day. Low fares can be booked through their website, ticketing offices, and travel agents. Those in Malaysia may email KUL2P@pacificworld.travel or call +603 2142 3030.

Airphil Express now flies to Kuala Lumpur three times a week with free 10kg baggage allowance. Book the lowest fares from Manila through www.airphilexpress.com. For exciting promos and discounts to their destinations, follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Lost Boy

http://www.thelostboylloyd.com

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