Indulge Asia

Malaysia is a fascinating holiday destination offering something for everyone to enjoy.There are three distinct destinations in the country - Peninsular Malaysia and the states of Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia. Visitors are often surprised to discover how developed the country is, yet rich and varied in cultural tradition.

As Malaysia has 3 major races; the Malay, Chinese and Indians, plus other tribes and indegenious people, culture and food is always rich. Malaysia isn't just about the hustling modern city of Kuala Lumpur or the Petronas Twin Towers. Some other places offer remote islands where the water is transparent, the National Park holds the oldest rainforest in the world, the villages welcomes you with homestays - learn what they cook and how they live, there are still aborigins who live without electricity in the deep jungle that you can visit.

If you do ever plan to come to Malaysia, here's a suggestion of an itenerary (also depends on how much time you have). This is for Malaysia's peninsular:

Kuala Lumpur	3 days
Taman Negara (National Park)	2 -3 days
Kuala Terengganu	1 day
Pulau Redang (more commercial) or Pulau Perhentian (less commercial)	3 -4 days
Kota Bharu	2 days
Penang	3 days
Cameron Highlands (to cool off)	2 -3 days
Melaka	3 days
Back to Kuala Lumpur	-

From KL, go to Taman Negara by bus/coach. Try not to take packages (which include transport, accomodation and tours) because it tends to get touristy. Taman Negara to Kuala Terengganu by car/taxi. There are taxi or travel agency coaches that ply this route. Hook up with thim and you can go straight to Kuala Terengganu. An overnight in Kuala Terengganu is enough unless you want to visit the outskirts. If you're going to Pulau Redang, take the taxi/car from Kuala Terengganu to Marang Jetty - which is the departure point to Redang Island, where you will connect with a boat. Always pre-book accomodations on islands. Each resorts have their own departure time and pier point. Mention your hotel to the boat driver. Stay at least 3 nights. If you're going to Pulau Perhentian, take taxi/car from Kuala Terengganu to Besut, which is the departure point to Perhentian Islands. From there, take a boat. Also pre-book accomodation. For islands, make sure to bring enough cash, as credit card acceptance maybe limited.

After the visit to the islands, go to Kota Bharu. This state/city is very different (in a good special way) from other states as it is held by the opposition political party. There are cultural shows everyday at the cultural center. Kota Bharu is a good place to wander on foot. From Kota Bharu, take the bus (in the morning) to Penang (about 6-7 hours, RM30 / USD$8.5). You'll be driving up through the Titiwangsa mountains (the backbone of Peninsular Malaysia) and the drive is magnificently scenic.

From Penang, take a coach to Cameron Highlands (about 5 hours, RM25 / USD$7). For a good relaxation, drink tea and eat scones while enjoying the mountain view of tea plantations. There are buses from Cameron Highlands to KL. To get to Melaka from KL, there are frequent coaches (every hour). Buses are generally the cheapest mode of tranportation. But trains offer nice views, and you can also save on accomodation on long distances as they have sleepers (beds).

For the Wester wage earner, Malaysia is considerably cheap. A small bottle of water would cost about USD $0.5. A normal cheap meal would be USD$1.5 - 2. Its also a fairly easy country to travel to. Almost everyone speaks English, or if they don't, they would know someone who des. People are friendly, the food is great. Its really worth considering..