The weather is cooling, temperature is at about 16-20 degrees all year round. There is a theme park for the kids, and a shopping mall at the peak of Genting, inside 1st World Hotel, this is the hotel with the highest number of rooms with over 6,000 rooms and was in the guiness world record in 2004, having said that, the rooms are very tiny, the shower can only fit one person, there are not much space between the bed and the walls, but it is fairly cheap. The bus will bring you half way up, then you need to get a cable car to get to the peak of Genting Highlands.

Frankly speaking there is nothing much to do here, unless you fancy a cool weather and casino, and the theme park. There are quite a few choices of hotels in Genting, and it is very easy to make bookings. It can be fully booked during peak times, so be sure you book in advance. Or you can just go for a day trip by bus.

I would say it is not worth visiting if you are only in Malaysia for a short stay- 2weeks. Genting Highlands is a famous weekend getaway for couples or group of friends to just chill and have a drink whilst catching up. The locals enjoy going to genting mainly due to the cooling weather, that we don’t get back in KL.

If you love shopping this is the place, we have several huge malls i.e. Mid Valley, One Utama, Sunway Pyramid, KLCC (where the petronas twin tower is) there are variety of shops in the mall from clothings and electronics to perfumes and make ups to restaurants and even cinema, everything is in 1 mall, no frills, and they are all fully air-conditioned.

You must visit the KL tower and the Petronas Twin Towers in the centre of KL, it was once the world’s tallest building from 1998-2004 until Taipei 101 surpassed it in year 2004, but it remains the tallest twin buildings in the world. One can also enjoy watching fireflies in Kuala Selangor, then you can enjoy great seafood at Kuala Selangor too. You will take a boat late evening when it is dark to see firefly colony that live in the mangrove.

If you want to be out in the sun instead of indoor shopping, you can visit China town in Petaling street (chee cheong kai), it is situated in the centre of KL, where you can find cheap goods, they may not necessarily be the best quality, but they are dirt cheap. This is the bargain hunter’s paradise, be sure you don’t get conned, please be aware that you can bargain, by at least 50% or more! There are many stalls selling similar stuff, if you don’t get the price you want in one store, don’t worry just check out another until you are happy with the price. They sell clothes, fabrics, souvenirs, electronics, dvds, cds, watches, wallets, bags etc, most of it are imitation items that is why you must bargain! If you don’t fancy imitation goods, then go to the malls.

How about some night life? Don’t worry, there are plenty of bars and clubs in the centre, you will not miss it if you are staying in KLCC area, or you can drive to Bangsar, or Hartamas.  But if you want a nice bar with great KL view to catch up with friends, please check out Luna Bar.

If you are travelling with kids, don’t forget to bring them to Sunway Lagoon, there is a water theme park and a dry theme park or you can pay for both. I personally think the water theme park is a better option, dipping into the cool water would be great in such hot weather. It is adjacent to the shopping mall – Sunway Pyramid. You can even do some shopping or enjoy your dinner after that, it is just less than 5 minutes walk away from the theme park. There is a skating rink in the mall, and is open till the mall shuts, so children can enjoy skating at any time.

Langkawi

If you enjoy snorkelling or diving but havn’t got extra time to visit other Malaysian beaches (In my previous post), then you could take a Ferry to Pulau Payar, Langkawi for a dive or just snorkelling, It is 1 hour away from Penang jetty. There are only 2 ferries that brings you there, the ferry leaves the jetty at 8am and 8.30am everyday and brings you back in the evening. You will have lunch there as well but there aren’t any hotels around, it is just for snorkelling and diving purposes. The water is very clear, as good as the water in Phuket, Thailand, you get to swim with the sharks too

Berjaya Langkawi Beach and Spa resort

If you want to stay in Langkawi, you can go by the same ferry, but it takes a longer duration, approximately 2.5 hours to get there, but there are plenty of hotels in Langkawi, and many activities you can enjoy whilst you are there. My family and I have stayed in Berjaya Langkawi Beach and Spa resort in the past and we absolutely loved it.

Lumut and Pangkor Island, Perak

If you like to play golf, you can visit Swiss Garden Golf Resort and Spa Damai Laut in Lumut, Perak, it is 3 hours drive from Penang. There is really nothing much to do if you stay in Damai Laut, Lumut, but if you do not want the hassle of traveling by ferry to pangkor, and worrying about car parking etc, then this would be ideal just for a relaxing holiday.

The hotel is quite isolated from the city centre, if you want to drive out to town for food i.e. in Setiawan, it would take about 30 minutes drive. But it is worth driving if you have nothing much to do, the food in Kampung Cina (Chinese village) is really good, and there are more than 10 chinese restaurants you can choose from, they are equally good. When you are in Setiawan, you must order their coconut drink, its famous there, and very refresing especially in this hot weather, dont forget Perak is famous for their mangoes too, make sure you get some on the way home, its yum and cheap! RM 10 for 8 mangoes, relatively huge ones too. These restaurants cater to seafood lovers, they have very fresh fish, crabs, prawns, clams, squids and you can ask them to cook it in any way you prefer.  However if you don’t fancy seafood, they do normal chicken and vegetable dishes too. However it is all Halal (no pork). For a full review on the chinese restaurants in Setiawan, check my post in www.mysavourylife.com

Pangkor Laut Resort

Pangkor Island is 30 minutes away from Lumut Jetty, you can take a ferry across to Pangkor conveniently, the ferries are quite frequent, 1 every 30 minutes and it brings you to your hotel. There are more choices of hotels in Pangkor Island and more things to do there, one of the most prestigious resort is Pangkor Laut Resort, it cost over RM1,000 a night, it is a chalet style hotel, some of the chalets are on water where you get direct sea views, but you pay for what you get, it is very expensive. Pangkor Laut is a privately owned island located three miles off the West Coast of Malaysia along the Straits of Malacca.You will find no other resorts there, just secluded bays curled around pristine beaches, evening skies woven with colour, and a deep sense of serenity reserved exclusively for their guests. It is the ideal place for honeymooners or couples to enjoy a quiet time together.

One warning for all, do not go snorkelling in Pangkor Island, they make u pay RM70 and bring you out on a speed boat to the ‘snorkeling paradise’ but there are limited sea life there, and most of the corals are dead, and the sea water is filthy, it is by far the worst snorkelling place I’v seen so far, it is a con! Besides the snorkeling, everything else is fine.

Penang is a state in Malaysia, located on the northwest coast of peninsular Malaysia by the straits of Malacca, it is second smallest after Perlis.

                                 Picture shows – regular hawker stalls in Penang

Penang island is a food paradise for Malaysians. It was recognised as having the Best Street Food in Asia by TIME magazine in 2004, citing that nowhere else can have such delicious food and yet so cheap. Penang’s cuisine reflects the Chinese, Nyonya, Malay and Indian ethnic mix of Malaysia, but is also strongly influenced by the cuisine of Thailand.

Picture Top Left – Char Koey Teow, Top Right – Lor Bak, Bottom Left -  Barbequed chicken wings, Bottom Right – Oysters fried with Eggs aka O’chien

Places to savour Penang’s food are Gurney Drive, Pulau Tikus, New Lane, Swatow Lane, Penang Road and Chulia Street.  Be sure you check my food blog before visiting, then you can make the most out of your trip, you have not been to Penang if you have not tried the Char Koey Teow, O’ chien (oysters fried eggs), Prawn mee better known as Hokkien mee, ikan bakar (barbecued fish, normally sting rays), Lorbak, Chicken wings and Laksa. Another site that I strongly recommend is www.what2seeonline.com, where this Malaysian lady tells you all about the great food in Penang.  

Left Pic – Bayview Resort, Right Pic – Golden Sands Resort

Where to stay in Penang? I would suggest you to stay away from the centre of Penang, for a relaxing holiday and a good sea view. Well Batu Ferringhi has many great hotels with beach front, and a lot of great hawker food stalls to dine in as well as night market to visit nearby, the few recommended luxurious hotels include Golden Sands Resort by Shangri-La, ParkRoyal Penang, and Hard Rock Hotel Penang. For a more budgetted accomodation, you may find these ideal, they are 3 star hotels on the beach front – Holiday Inn Resort Penang and The Bayview Beach Resort, both with good reviews.

Picture – G Hotel in Gurney, next to Gurney Plaza Mall

If you prefer the convenience of the shopping malls, then find a hotel in Gurney area, e.g. G hotel, or Evergreen Laurel Hotel Penang,  are just a 5-10 minutes stroll to the mall, and there are also hawker food stalls around the area which opens till very late at night, and the famous seafood restaurant just about 10 minutes walk away– Bali Hai which is overlooking the sea, it is always crowded with locals as well as tourist, I’d recommend you go there if you love seafood.

The disadvantage of staying in Gurney is  you don’t get a beach there, so if you are looking to stay in a hotel with a beach front, this isn’t the place, but it is only about 15-20 minutes drive to Batu Ferringhi and Tanjung Bungah where you can enjoy laying by the beach or even enjoying the water sports.

Eventhough this Island is fairly small, it is rich with history and sights, and it offers a large variety of places to visit, from cultural temples to historic buildings. Find out more where you should visit in Penang here

Stay tune for my next post – Nearby places to visit – Langkawi, Lumut, and Pangkor Island

Malaysia is famous for their beautiful beaches and its tropical weather, warm and humid all year round, with no winter, spring or autumn. It is ‘summer’ all year round, at about 27-31 degrees. I am not surprised at all many doesn’t know Malaysia hasn’t got the four seasons – winter, spring, summer and autumn. So at least now you know

If you are a beach bum and want to do some snorkelling or diving, or just relax at a sandy beach? Here are the few best beaches in Malaysia. Many tourists visit the Langkawi Island, I personally think it is not the best beach in Malaysia.  Most of the best beaches in Malaysia lie along the east coast of peninsular Malaysia.

Beaches in Sabah, Malaysia

Pictures showing – Mabul Island, Sabah

Sabah beaches are the best e.g. Sipadan Island, Mabul Island and  Layang-layang Island however they are not so convenient as Sabah is not in the peninsular Malaysia, but is situated to the east of Peninsular Malaysia across the South China Sea. You will need to catch a flight to Sabah.

Mabul Island, Sipadan Island

Mabul Island is 15 minutes away by speedboat to Sipadan Island, Mabul is great for diving, if you are a serious diver, The Mabul Water Bungalow may be the right place for you, it is a new floating-dive resort at Mabul which is built over the water, furnished with contemporary decor, with air-conditioning. The dive boats collects you daily and head out to Sipadan for 2 dives, and back to Mabul for the 3rd dive. Most of it is included in the dive package, normally 5days 4 nights package. Check the youtube video I found online, there’s a vast variety of marine life that you can see in Mabul and Sipadan, and water is so clear, I think for beginners or even serious divers, you really dont want to miss this chance!

There are many other things one can do in Sabah besides diving, you can go mountain climbing (Mount Kinabalu), visiting the Orang Utan, and seeing the Rafflesia, largest individual flower in the world, it is only found in the forest of Sabah and Sarawak and some in phillipines. It is also named the corpse flower because of its strong odour of decaying flesh.

Redang Island, Terengganu

Pictures above showing Redang Island, picture on the right is Laguna Resort

Next option would be beaches in and around Terengganu which is in the east coast of peninsular Malaysia e.g. Redang Island, Perhentian Island, Lang Tengah Island.  Tioman Island and Cherating is in Pahang. They all have crystal clear water, and are suitable for diving and snorkelling. I have visited Langkawi, Pangkor, Redang, Tioman, Penang, etc.

So far I think Redang and Tioman are the best, Perhentian Island is more run down and has less luxurious hotels to offer, but their marine life is great! In both Redang and Perhentian, you have a chance to encounter turtles, nemo fish, moray eels, a variety of fishes, very large ones to tiny anchovies , and also baby sharks! I have seen Moray eels and sharks and taken pictures with moray eels under water in Redang Island The best time to spot the sharks is at 5-6pm, near the rocks, you can access this through the beach in front of Laguna Redang Resort, go to the rocks to your left not right.

Laguna Redang Resort, Terengganu

You can booked for a package holiday for most of them, it is normally a 3days 2nights package,however you can extend and pay for the extra night(s), package normally include several trips for snorkelling, you can ask for half board or full board, depending on what you and your family wants. I suggest staying in Laguna Redang Resort, the food is great there! The last time we went there, we had full board, the breakfast, lunch and dinner were fabulous! There will be grill seafood, roasted meat of choice at night, sometimes they do noodle soup as well right on the spot for you, and of course you will get a range of buffet hot food. Learn more about Malaysian Food here

Tioman Island, Pahang

Check out Tioman Island as well, it has got a range of activities e.g. rent a bicycle and go around the island, or to another beach, jungle trekking, water sports, diving and snorkeling. Find out more about Tioman here

More about holidays in Malaysia – Cuti-cuti Malaysia

Their next pit stop is Malaysia, woohooo.. Im proud that Malaysia is where my home is! Definitely a must visit country its really exciting watching this episode, I think this race will definitely make Malaysia a more well known country View Larger Map

Many years ago, nobody knew where Malaysia is unless you tell them it is near Singapore? So sad right. Recently the advertisements promoting the Malaysia tourism industry is everywhere in the media in UK, I have met 3 english families who recently just visited Malaysia, and loved it.  Malaysia is a multi-racial country consisting of the Malays (majority), chinese and Indians (minority), visiting Malaysia, you will get an insight to the different cultures of all 3 races, and get to enjoy their respective cuisines as well. 

Be sure you follow my next few post on tourism Malaysia, including the best places to visit in Kuala Lumpur, Penang Island, Genting Highland, and the best beaches in Malaysia.

So back to Amazing race, Jet and Cord the cowboys came in 1^st from being the last in the previous week, it is unbelievable. On the other hand, Steve and Allie the father and daughter who were in the 1^st place, have now been eliminated? Omg.  So sad for them, only 5 teams left now. Have you watched Episode 8? Any comments?