Travelling to Malaysia in 2 months - few questions

docentore

Hi folks,

Me and my gf are travelling to Malaysia in 2 months time.
Does anyone have any tips re trip over there?

Also does anyone knows what kind of vacsination we would need and what would be the best way to get them. Being foreign imigrant here I never had to use Irish health services (6 years) and I'm kind of lost there.

Thanks

dakan

Hi docentore

I was in Malaysia last year. Some recommendations from memory are;

Go to the Batu caves just outside of Kualu Lumpur to the north. Try to get there early before the tourists and before the guys who work there start chasing the monkies away.

The Thean Hou Buddhist Temple was nice and quite while I was there. Apparently it is better to visit it in the evening when it's lit up. I was there during the day.

Go to have dinner some night in Chinatown in Pasar Seni. Go to Petaling Street, it is the one with the covering over the street and the night market. Half way up there are two smaller streets at the end of one, on either side are two restaurants. The food is very cheap, very delicious and a great place to sit and people watch.

The Petronas Towers are OK, it is kind of one of those places you have to go to while you're in KL. While I was there they were giving presents to tourists who spent a certain amount in the dept. store, so bring a passport to prove you're a tourist.

The restaurant/viewing platform in Kuala Lumpur tower is actually higher than the sky bridge for the Petronas Towers. Even though the P Towers are higher.

I thought the bird park was great as I am into animals and nature. The butterfly park was OK. I wouldn't go out of my way for it.

Did a day trip to Malacca. Enjoyed that a lot.

Depending on how long you are there I would definitely recommend going to Borneo. Air Asia (their low fares airline), have very cheap flights to Kota Kinabalu. While there I would recommend climbing Mnt Kinabalu. But make sure you book your accommodation in the huts near the top i.e. Laban Rata ahead of time. Also they don't take credit cards in the national park and there are no ATMs, so bring lots of cash. Otherwise its a long taxi ride to the next town like I had to do.

Also in Kota Kinabalu you can get very cheap scuba diving. Try and get the company that have a base on the TAR islands rather than just a crowd that use a boat. That way you can walk about between dives. Also there is a night time river cruise that can be done in KK. Lots of hotels offer the tour. Would recommend that, if anything to see the size of the bats that come out at night. Imagine rabbits with wings.

Finally you can get very cheap tickets on an overnight sleeper train to Singapore. You save on the hotel by travelling through the night.

That's all I can think of for now.
As for the vaccinations. I had been to Asia the year before so I think I only needed boosters. I went to the Tropical Medical Bureau in Dun Laoghaire - www.tmb.ie

Dakan