Traveling Malaysia - Travel Tips

Going to Malaysia? Then this post is for you!

Especially since it is winter, and that means the season is there. I think many have already bought tickets and pack their bags, so a little useful information will not hurt. Of course, you are experienced travelers and you know everything yourself, but you never know ... it is better to learn from the mistakes of others than from your own!

All tips are "tested" in my own skin, and for each of them I will answer)

Traveling domestically is the cheapest way by plane!

There are buses, there are trains, there are ferries, but in fact it turns out that a plane ticket costs almost as much as a train or bus ticket, and sometimes cheaper. Air Asia gives very good prices, and if you catch a share, you can fly for $ 1 altogether. But “tomorrow” is not worth postponing the purchase of tickets, planes, as a rule, are packed to capacity, and tickets can simply run out.

Buy a local sim card with the Internet!

Directly at the airport, tourist sims are sold with a couple of gigs of traffic. If you do not watch movies and do not hang on social networks (this is full of sloppy WiFi), the traffic will easily last for a couple of weeks. Use the Internet for Google, a translator, maps, instant messengers, vibers, and most importantly - a taxi.

Dress with restraint.

Malaysia is a Muslim country, so despite the heat, be covered. You don’t have to flaunt your credentials, and besides, you simply won’t be allowed to go to many places without normal clothes, and to visit holy places, carry a scarf or pareo with you. Although in large mosques, hoodies are given out for free. Malaysia is generally an amazing country, there are so many free things !!!

Drive to Uber taxi!

Unfortunately, I did not immediately open Uber in Malaysia. Could save a lot of money and time for moving. Uber works great in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, the prices are just ridiculous, if traveling together, it turns out the same way as on public transport, and sometimes cheaper! To fully use Uber, you need to buy a local SIM with the Internet. I did not do this, so to call a taxi I had to look for a free Wi-Fi, which is not always convenient. Uber was recently launched in Langkawi, and it's a bomb! There is no transport besides a taxi, and the tariffs bite slightly.

Make the taxi driver turn on the counter!

This applies to a trip in an ordinary city taxi. Taxi drivers are tricky there, they won’t turn on the meter and will require twice the normal price. And what to do, everyone earns as they can ... Again, in Uber, the fee is fixed and visible when ordering (if you know where to go) and no one will deceive you.

Free bus service is available in Kuala Lumpur and Penang.

Use, do not be shy! After all, they are made for this. Pink buses, called GO KL, run through the most popular tourist destinations. The schedule must be found on the spot or on the official website. Although in fact, due to scheduled traffic, they still do not go)

Do not change money at the airport, the rate is terribly indecent.

Well, as with us, a dollar worth 60 is bought at the airport at 40))) At the edge, change a little for travel to the city. You will reach KL Sentral, and there are already plenty of normal exchangers with a good exchange rate. Again, an express ticket or a bus to the city can be paid by card.

It is unprofitable to pay cash cards.

When converting, banks take a high commission and consider at a bad rate, so it is better to carry cash (Asia loves dollars and yuan), and only new and large bills. Old banknotes are not accepted at all, and small ones (less than 50) are changed at a low rate and then not everywhere.

Always have some small money.

Cards and hundreds of bucks is, of course, good, but you should always have a trifle, especially when traveling by public transport !! For example, in Penang, a ticket is bought on a bus, and the driver does not return change by default! Yes, and in Kuala, to buy tickets in vending machines, it is better to have small money, otherwise you will get change in the form of a bag of 50-cent coins)

The best place in Kuala Lumpur for the purchase of souvenirs, as well as unique handmade handmade items, is the Central Market in Chinatown near Petaling Street.

Stop Pasar Seni, the ultimate purple line of free buses.

If you buy something expensive, be sure to issue TAX FREE - 5% will be returned to you at the airport when you leave the country. Checked, it works!

Do not spend much time shopping in Kuala Lumpur.

Kuala Lumpur is one huge shopping mall, but the prices here I would not call cheap. The clothes are (good) expensive, but the electronics here are really cheaper than ours, especially taking into account the return of 5% TAX FREE. But in general, I would not recommend spending time hiking in the Malls. There is nothing special here, I didn’t see any super discounts and sales, but for me, as for a man with a height of 185 normal build, there are practically no things in size! Here the whole market is set up for small Chinese and other Asian peoples, and not for large Europeans. And do you need it? Better go to the park (birds, butterflies or orchids)!

The best place to stay in Kuala Lumpur with walking distance to the main places - Bukit Bintang.

The best place for transport accessibility is little India near KL Sentral. But I would still advise living in Bukit, there is food nearby and the towers are close at hand, and nightlife is in full swing, and free buses run. And housing prices ... for every taste, from cheap guesthouses and hostels (of which there is darkness) to expensive chain hotels.

Take free city maps in hotels, there you can find a lot of interesting things.

For example, in Penang, cards are issued with ready-made routes along the streets with street art. Google maps are great, of course, but a paper map never hurts, especially when it's free!

The best view of Kuala Lumpur is from the Menara TV Tower.

The bridge in Petronas, in my opinion, is less interesting.

Go to the most famous and popular places early in the morning if you do not want to get into the traffic of Chinese crowds of tourists.

For example, at 9:00 in the morning, we walked freely, without queues, comfortably took pictures and walked around the site. At 11 o’clock, when we left, the Chinese were crowding at the bottom of the elevators - bus tours began. If you overslept in the morning, then it may be worthwhile to go closer to the closure, but the main thing is to know exactly what time the closure is so as not to fly.

At 22-00, the park and the fountain near the Petronas Towers ends, and the local shopping center and its food court are closed (by the way, it’s very good and cheap).

So plan your time and don't be late. The tower fountain show is very beautiful and interesting!

Food in Malaysia is spicy.

Very spicy. This is Asia, everywhere is acute. In Malaysia, in addition to its Malaysian, the cuisines of neighboring countries such as India, China, Thailand are popular, and they are all spicy !. Be sure to check before ordering dishes "spicy" it or "spicy notes". If the dish is “spicy notes”, then it is spicy, but you can eat it, but if “spicy”, then it’s fire! I somehow took a spicy Tom Yum ... ate and cried, ate and cried ... although I like spicy. If you don’t digest spicy foods at all (or stomach problems), then it’s better not to experiment with street food. Go to the "grandfather" eat chicken, look for makdak or another European network. Kuala Lumpur is full of them, and there are even European "steakhouses", but in more remote and non-tourist places, spicy food can be a problem.

Do not be afraid to eat outside!

But do not forget about the rules of personal hygiene. Eat where there are a lot of people - there the products will be fresh and the chance of poisoning will be minimal! Although they add so much pepper to food that not a single microbe will survive)

Cheap and delicious in Kuala Lumpur, you can eat on Jalan Alor Street. This is the most popular restaurant street in the city in Bukit Bintang. Restaurants are all street, and here the choice is huge. You can also eat inexpensive and tasty food on the food court in the Petronas Towers shopping center. In George Town (Penang), I would suggest going to Gurney Drive for dinner or looking for something on Lebuh Chulia.

Swim carefully!

In Malaysian waters there are a lot of biting jellyfish !!! I especially do not recommend swimming at high tides and swimming far. The jellyfish bit my wife, sensations are unpleasant, can spoil the whole rest. And if you get a poisonous jellyfish or a person has an allergy, then you will be hospitalized (but this is an extreme case). How to protect yourself? Use the most closed swimsuits or choose hotels that block the place for swimming with special nets (but this one is usually not the cheapest hotels).

If a jellyfish bit, no amateur activity, you can only do harm! The best first aid is vinegar! Go to the reception of the hotel or to the lifeguards on the beach, say "jelly fish", and they will definitely help you (they will give vinegar - "vinaigère"). Coconut oil helps very well from a bite. Never rinse with fresh water, much less alcohol! If 8 hours after the bite, the condition is bad, dizzy and sick, then you need to go to the hospital and give an injection.