Need help with a trip to Malaysia!

[Luv to Cook]

Okay Guys,

Need your help. DH and I are heading to Malaysia and Singapore in about a week and a half. Originally, we were going to go to Kuala Lumpur for about 5 days and then go to India for 3 weeks, but with the travel warnings to India, we decided to stick to Malaysia and Singapore. Having never been I don't want to miss out on a thing. We will be there for about 2 1/2 weeks and are both very flexible. I wanted to know about must sees, how much time to spend in each city, can we make it to Thailand, where to stay? Anything and everything. I have a lonely planet guidebook so we should be able to get around well, I just would love to hear some first hand experiences.

Thanks so much!

Anita

[sneezles]

While I lived in Singapore for 2 years that was 23 years ago and it has probably changed way too much for me to recommend much. The Raffles I guess would be a given (Home of the Singapore Sling), China Town (hard to believe that a country in Southeast Asia would have one but Singapore is made up of Chinese, Malay, with a touch of Indian, Arab, and Sri Lankans).
There used to be a place called Theives Market (it used to be an outdoor fence place-if anything was ever stolen you could find it for sale down there). Then it was just more like a flea market.
Then there was Boogie Street which only came to life at night and really only when ships were in port. There were "girls" there to entertain (some were actually female orthers were just wannabes).
Never made it to KL as I was pregnant and then had the baby so was more or less island bound.
Hope you have a wonderful time! Shopping is very very good there (and it's a lot cleaner than Hong Kong)

[valchemist]

I went to Penang (in Malaysia) years ago with my family. I was probably 10 or 11 years old at the time, but I still remember how fabulous and exotic it was.

Look into it...

I am sure you won't be sorry.

Maybe maizeyoats will chime in here...

val

[wallycat]

We were in Singapore a few years ago, so can't be specific; sorry...
It is hot there and if you take a bus anywhere, make sure you notice whether it is air-conditioned or not...it's extra for the air conditioned one, but not by much.
Jewelry is a great deal and their gold is 18-24K!! The food is amazing :D

[maizeyoats]

I really can't be of much help on Singapore even though I made several trips there it was over 20 years ago.
Sneezles was that you I passed on Orchard St?
My memories are about the same as Sneezles except I do remember going to beautiful gardens. The Raffles Hotel seemed pretty decrepit at the time but I believe it has been totally renovated since. I enjoyed the old hotel and having a singapore sling there.
The shopping was good (I liked Hong Kong better) and I bought lots of batik.

As Valerie mentioned Penang was great we had so much fun there. We stayed at the Shangi-La Rasa Sayang Resort. Had to take my son to see some snake temple eek snakes everywhere you looked mostly dozing all over the temple. The beach was wonderful there and lots to do; but remember this was all over 20 years ago.

Too bad you are missing out on India...and especially Kashmir. I stayed on a houseboat there and the scenery was some of the best on earth.

[valchemist]

mom...

don't forget the botanical garden in Penang where there were monkeys all over the place waiting to be hand fed by people.



the nice thing about Penang is that it isn't a tourist trap. at least it wasn't when we were there.

[sneezles]

maizeyoats,
You're mentioning the Shangri-La reminded me of the one in Singapore. There use to be a group that would perform there called "Matthew and the Mandarins" (the use to dress as cowboys, I guess because of all the Texas ex-pats there working in the oil field.

[Gail]

It's been a long time since I've been to Singapore and Thailand, so I don't see much point in recommending places to stay or eat. I will mention that Singapore is renowned for the great food (something for EVERYONE) and is an amazing place filled with cultural diversity. Back when I was working in travel, we used to send everyone to Jurong Bird Park and the Botanical Gardens, I recall, but at this point a lot of place names have faded. One thing I personally enjoyed was simply wandering the streets. You've got your Chinese quarter, Arab Street, and Little India, each with its distinctive atmospheres. Visiting Singapore is kind of like visiting several countries simultaneously! Do take in some of the Chettiar and Sri Mariamman Hindu temples with their distinctive architectural styles. Wander the streets. Even take in one of those corny-but-fun trishaw rides (at night.) If you like shopping, the big place to go is Orchard Road, with all its megashopping centers (and shady guys trying to sell you fake Rolexes from inside their jackets.) I remember getting some great (and fabulously inexpensive) batik at the Handicraft Center where Tanglin Road meets the foot of Orchard Road. Visit one of the hawker stalls (the only one I can think of right now is Newton Circus) for Singapore's answer to fast food (cheap, varied and very good.) Go down to the harbor district to admire the juxtaposition of the old and the new. Have a Singapore Sling at Raffles just to say you did it, plus it's rather a nifty place. (that's how I ushered in my 35th birthday.) Wander the markets and admire the live chickens.

Back when I was in Singapore I remember several things: it's an amazing clean city (Lord help the person who litters). You don't jaywalk, and the taxis are incredibly cheap, honest and reliable. Just look for one with a sign telling you it's air conditioned. Get used to sweating and steamed windows and have a wonderful time!

Do run a search on Thailand, 'cause you'll find some information about that here on this board. Much as I loved Singapore, I loved Thailand even more... (Wanna go back... whining...)

[wallycat]

One word of warning....they have a fruit there, Durian, that smells sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooo bad, I crossed the street several times to get away from it.....
carry a tissue doused with perfume :D
The fruit is supposed to be very delicious, but I wasn't brave enough to get near it.:rolleyes:

[Gail]

Hey Sneezles! Ever had a durian?

I was given a lovely and gigantic basket of native fruit by my hotel in Bangkok years ago, and I noticed they'd conveniently left out the durian. (Probably didn't want it stinking up the room!) I've been curious about it ever since...

[maizeyoats]

How about the red bean ice cream......I passed on that

[Gail]

Apparently I missed all the good stuff...

[ChristieinMB]

I just went to Thailand a few months ago, Bangkok for a week, then a week in the Golden Triangle and a week in Phuket. What area are you interested in? What kind of information do you want?
Wasn't the peel of the durian the smelly part?
BTW, we loved it. Here is BB I used for reasearching my trip.
http://www.travelforum.org/thailand/index.html
Christie

[MKSquared]

Originally posted by maizeyoats
How about the red bean ice cream......I passed on that

If it's anything similar to the Japanese red bean ice cream, it's really, really good! :)

[Luv to Cook]

Thank you for your replies everyone! We are so excited to go, but feel we have so much to do still. Your ideas are very helpful.

ChristieinMB, did you use that website to book hotels as well. They have some great prices, but I wonder if anyone has used it before I try.

I will let you all know if I get the courage to try the durian!

Anita

[ChristieinMB]

Anita,
I booked some rooms with PlanetHoliday, they seem to be the most popular, I also booked with Thaiconnection.com. I couldn't get the Peninsula Hotel(wonderful, BTW) through PlanetHoliday so I booked with the other firm. I was a little worried because I didn't get any feedback on them, but all was fine upon my arrival. Booking online through the agents was less than going direct. I was amazed at how inexpensive Thailand is. That Thai BB compares all the hotels and booking services. Enjoy
Christie