Malaysia Track

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HIM: Don’t believe things you read online…they are outdated…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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My top 5 dream experiences on my bucket list for Malaysia (By Getsetandgo)

“Malaysia” – just the mention of this name is enough to conjure images of a country with a mix of everything – from a multitude of cultures to landscapes to experiences and as a tourist / traveler you are definitely spoilt for choices. Malaysia or “Truly Asia”, as its campaign says, has been on my bucket list for a while, but somehow a trip here has never materialized. Hence when MalaysiaJao Blogathon Contest was announced by Blogadda, I saw a chance to finally visit this exotic destination and hence jumped on the participation bandwagon.

For this contest, we need to write a blog post about 5 things we would want to experience in Malaysia. Tough isn’t it? More so for me since I am a budget off-beat traveler and Malaysia has numerous things for me to see and do. But I somehow managed to prioritize and create a mix of every thing i.e. art, culture, nature, kiddy, etc to be a part of 5 dream experiences on my bucket list for Malaysia.

1. Heritage trails in George Town, Penang – This heritage walk (or rather my aimless wandering) through George Town in Penang is for the Art and Culture buff in me. George Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has a 200 year history with well-preserved colonial buildings and historical architecture.It is said that the architecture here is unparalleled anywhere in East or South East Asia. I have seen numerous pics of other fellow bloggers and feel that this should be on the travel list of every off beat traveler to Malaysia.

2. Scale the Kinabalu Park in Sabah – A visit here is a must for the Adventure Traveler in me and a way for me to train and challenge myself. This park is again a UNESCO World Heritage Site, home to Mount Kinabalu (Malaysia’s highest mountain and one of Southeast Asia’s highest peaks) and one of the most important biological sites in the world, with between 5000 and 6000 species of plants, 326 species of birds, and more than 100 mammalian species identified. One of the most famous species found here is the gigantic Rafflesia (large parasitic plant).

3. Walking through the Mangrove swamps and meeting the orangutans in Kabili-Sepilok Nature Reserve, Sabah – I recently saw a travel documentary made on a walk through the mangrove swamps & meeting with orangutans in this nature reserve and the animal lover in me was completely sold on it. This Reserve has been named after two rivers that flow through it and has interesting and diverse array of wildlife and vegetation, various nature trails and the world-famous Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. The centre opened in 1964 as the first official orangutan rehabilitation project for rescued orphaned baby orangutans from logging sites, plantations, illegal hunting or kept as pets. The orphaned orangutans are treated for injuries and then trained to survive in the wild and are released as soon as they are ready. On many occasions I have even considered volunteering here.

4. Relaxing on the beaches of Tioman Island, Pahang – I recently heard from a friend about the beautiful beaches of Tioman Island and decided that these beautiful beaches would be an ideal place to relax and rewind after scaling Mount Kinabalu. The beaches here are picturesque with twin volcanic peaks, golden sands, lush tropical rainforest and clear waters with some amazing dive sites. There is also a local legend according which Tioman Island is the resting place of a beautiful dragon princess. While flying from China to meet her Prince Charming in Singapore, she stopped to seek solace in the crystal-clear waters of the South China Sea, was enraptured by the charms of the place and decided to discontinue her journey. She then took the form of an island and pledged to offer shelter and comfort to passing travelers.

5. Legoland and Hello Kitty Town, Johor – For the kid in me who’s grown up with Lego blocks (smaller version) a chance to visit Legoland is like a kiddy dream come true. This international park is an out of world experience with thrilling rides, interactive displays, themed areas and Lego stores :). As a kid I used to ask my dad to always get me Hello Kitty stuff on every visit to Hong Kong and now a chance to see a world of Hello Kitty is just too good to resist.

Since I havent been to any of these places myself, detailed information about the locales is courtesy Malaysia Tourism and Wikipedia and the pictures are courtesy Wikipedia.

Now that the wish list is complete, day dreams are on and fingers are crossed. Hope to be one of the three lucky winners who get a chance to be in Malaysia this year :)

Getsetandgo

http://getsetandgo.wordpress.com

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An Italian's Adventurous Food Trip to Malaysia (By Happysuffer)

Tuesday, April 22

Cinzia Greco, who loves travelling made a trip to Kuala Lumpur recently and enjoyed it so much that she wants to share her wonderful experience.

Food, good food at that, elevates a travel experience. Here. Cinzia (Cynthia) shares the food she eat at her friend's new outlet. And if you are in Kuala Lumpur, you may want to give the Gastro Project in Section 17, Petaling Jaya a try and be blown away by their food, the decor, well, the whole experience!

Cinzia also shares some travel booking sites that she uses for her travel needs. Images are also courtesy of Cinzia.

Thank you, Cinzia, for sharing your experience. I hope you enjoyed yourself here in Malaysia and will be back soon.

Read Cinzia's travel story:

One visit to Malaysia is enough to make you fall in love with it and to inspire in you the desire to travel there again.

However, if you are expecting a post describing the countless natural beauties of this country, you should not be reading this as I would rather focus on a specific aspect of my most recent experience in Malaysia. So, keep on reading if you like to find it out.

What is so great about Malaysia is the extraordinary melting pot of races and cultures, the balanced mash-up of traditions and religions where diversity is seen as something positive, an enrichment rather than a limitation.

Perfect evidence for this is the local cuisine, an explosive combination of gastronomic ingredients that, if combined together in the right way, can create exquisite recipes and dishes.

During my last trip to Malaysia, I got the chance to have an excellent guide: a good old friend of mine I met in UK several years ago.

I was really excited to see him after so long (unfortunately, in my previous visit to Malaysia we could not meet up as he was abroad for work).

Plus, I was particularly excited as I knew he and his family had open a new fusion restaurant and bar in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, near the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, just for the sake of their shared passion: food.

I could not wait any longer to go there and try what they describe as a sublime culinary experience and not only.

This time, I did not have to bother with accommodation search as my friend was putting me up in his apartment. But just to provide readers with useful information, during my very first visit to Malaysia I checked the various accommodation options listed in the main hotel booking portals, such as Booking.com and Expedia. Eventually I ended up choosing a nice hotel through the HotelsClick website simply because they were offering the best price. Before booking my room, I gathered some information about this site that was previously unknown to me and, although opinions were different and not all positive, I just clicked the book now button… And I have to admit that everything went great!

For my next trip in general, I’d like to use this site http://www.homestaybooking.com/ that put travellers in contact with local host families: I think it could be a different way of travelling.

But let’s go back to my latest trip. My friend couldn't pick me up at the airport and, to tell you the truth, that was better for me as, when I travel on long distances, I tend to suffer from jet-lag quite a lot. So I was happy to have some time to recover and to meet my friend at the top of my shape.

We had arranged to meet the day after my arrival at The Gastro Project, their restaurant. He didn't tell me much about the place so it was a great surprise to find out that, apart from food, they had conceived it almost as a movie sanctuary with plenty of photos and posters from the film-making industry (loved the Godfather series!). That was a goal for me considering my passion for movies: the combination between food and cinema is a winning one! (They also have a wall screen projecting movies on a daily schedule).

Cocktailing at the bar

So, on my friend’s tip, I started my experience at The Gastro Project at the bar with a cocktail, of course. I had Hmmmm which is made of fresh strawberries, almonds, brown sugar, dark rum and midori liqueur. Sublime!

They also serve beers and different types of wines. To make sure you have something to taste along with your cocktail, finger foods and canapés are always handy.

Chatting with my friend made me hungry: time had come for dinner!

Dining at the restaurant

So we moved to the restaurant area where, you know what… I could not make my mind up while I was reading the menu. So I had to trust my friend once again. According to him, one of most popular dishes, something The Gastro Project has become famous for, is the Japanese salad. And after tasting it, I understood why!

I don’t think there is a better dish to begin your dinner with: your belly will be grateful to enjoy this delicate salad made of greens, avocado, pomegranate, pine nuts and edamame with a delicious topping of sesame dressing.

After the salad, I opted for a selection of two pasta dishes: spaghetti aglio e olio with crabmeat andorecchiette with lamb and cumino sauce.

My friend had pumpkin ravioli: of course I tasted them and I must say they were excellent.

Being a lover of lamb meat and couscous, my second course choice was obvious: lamb stewed with carrot and apricot and served with aromatic couscous. The meat literally melt in my mouth as though it was butter.

I was ready for dessert, but first I need to refresh my palate with a mint sorbet. I have to say that I am not passionate about dessert, but still I had to taste their offer. So I went for a trio of dessert including:

• an English strawberry trifle with layers of fresh cream, custard and strawberries

• some chocolate cake balls with rum cocoa sauce (a must for chocolate lovers)

• a truly original cardamon pannacotta with a caramel sauce

I don’t need to say that every dish was paired with the most appropriate selection of wines.

I am Italian and the passion for good food is ingrained in my DNA. Also when I am travelling, I’d love to enjoy the most typical local recipes or, as in this case, the combination of different influences merging into the same dish.

So, it was a pleasure for me to discover that we Italians have this passion in common with the Malaysian people.

By Happysuffer

http://all-about-malaysia.blogspot.com

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