Langkawi - Kilim Geopark

Langkawi - one of the most popular vacation destinations in Malaysia - is a choice holiday spot for many, be it romantic honeymooners or just a group of bachelors out for a binge party.

It's located on the west coast of Malaysia - close to the Thailand border and actually comprises of 99 islands.

Kilim Geopark is a hidden treasure in Langkawi Island and is a certified UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Spread over an area of 100sq.km, Kilim features a mix of well protected mangrove forests, isolated white beaches and wonderful limestone formations.

A definite must see for nature lovers.

Getting There

You could get here by ferry from Penang, Kuala Kedah and Kuala Perlis.

The fares are relatively cheap, but if you are coming from Kuala Lumpur, it is most advisable to head up north to Kuala Kedah as there are hourly rides here.

In Penang, the frequency of rides is much lesser and tickets are usually sold out especially on weekends.

Point to note, you can't pre-book your tickets.

So, our recommendation is for you to find your way to Kuala Kedah and get the ferry here to ensure that you do not get disappointed.

It takes about 2hrs to reach Langkawi from Kuala Kedah and the ride's relatively comfy.

Kilim Geopark Tour

This tour, simply said, absolutely took my breath away - it's definitely a totally new experience for me and one that I would always cherish.

View of the park from the boat

The tour is basically a boat ride through the vast mangrove swamps on the island.

First off, you get to see some amazing eagles up close as the boat man starts off with the eagle feeding activity.

The sight of the eagles homing in on their prey is a sight to behold.

An exquisite experience - this alone is worth the boat ride.

Next-up, our guide brings us to the bat cave - a rather smallish cave filled with bats.

A good experience for those who have not gone caving before - be sure to bring along a torch light.

The mangrove river then flows through another cave called the Crocodile Cave.

Unfortunately, we found out rather too late that you can't ride thru the cave when the tide comes in.

Tip - try to arrange your trip to coincide with the low tides so you could experience riding through the cave.

The next stop will be lunch. And this would be on a floating restaurant which is basically a fish farm.

This is another unique experience where you get to feed some stingrays - not for the faint hearted - hold some rather quirky sea animals and, suffice to say, the food does not get any fresher from this.

Feeding a stingray - quite a big fella this

Ever held a seahorse in your hand? - Don't worry, no animals were harmed in this activity.

But since we already had our meals, we decided to skip lunch here - so not able to comment on the food.

After saying goodbye to the fishies, we continued our journey and rode thru an open dock where you get to see some nice boats / yachts - awe inspiring view this.

Finally, the ride brings us to the open seas. 

King Kong Mountain - need I say more?

There are some rather strange rock formations to be seen here and 1 that stands out is King Kong Mountain.
Since there is relatively less traffic here, it's a good opportunity to try n sweet talk your boat operator to give you a go behind the wheels.

We did and each 1 of us had a chance to play captain for a fleeting few moments.

This tour is actually inclusive of some island hopping activity - where if the sea conditions permit, you could slot in some snorkeling.

Again, our luck deserted us as the waters weren't clear on the day, so we had to skip this part.

So, can’t really say much, but it's good to note that we have not heard a single negative comment from people who've taken the full package.

This activity would easily take more than half a day - so, best is if your start out in the morning at say about 10am.

Then, you should be able to finish by early evening.

Important tip - the tour operators located in town / near the hotels are kinda pricey.

So, if you would like to look for a cheaper alternative, find your way to Tanjung Rhu - 1 of the cleaner beaches on Langkawi Island - and you would be able to get a really good bargain from the tour operators here.

Especially worthwhile if you are in a big group as you may be able to save up to a few hundreds with some good bargaining skills.

Recommendation

Definite must see for nature lovers

Budget - Ferry Ride + tour: RM200/pax

Kota Kinabalu

Kota Kinabalu or JESSELTON as it was formerly known is the capital of the state of Sabah and situated at in the Northwest Coast of Borneo Islandfacing the South China Sea. One of the best tourist getaway. Location is in the East Coast of Malaysia.Flying here from Kuala Lumpur airport will take approximately 2.5hours by AirAsia or Malaysian Airlines.

Activities



As for my own experience being there twice for a 3D 2N  stay and if you want to compress your trip below would be my advice.3 main items to do for a short trip. Do not miss going to their sister islands nearby Gaya/ Sapi/ Manukan/ Sulug/ Mamutik.As for me I did't really get a chance to go to all the 5 islands but managed to go to Gaya/ Sapi/ Manukan. But it was more of a pleasure sight seeing boat trip and some snorkelling. They do have accomodation here and it seems really good but at that point of time I had already made my booking at the Magellan Sutera Harbour in Kota Kinabalu.

Recommendation (3d2n)

Start of by visiting the city of KK and most likely you will end up in the filipino market. Great place to shop but make sure you do some bargaining. Get yourself to the jetty and arrange yourself to the boat rides to the islands mentioned earlier on. This might take away your whole daylight. At night you can try out Shenanigan's Fun Pub where they play good club music and usually they will have some filipino live bands playing. Other places you could visit would be the White Room Bar Club Lounge, Shamrock's & Ice Bar.

2nd day- You can start of by arranging a trip to mount Kinabalu. Magnificient mountain beauty and nice weather. You have a heritage park here called the Kinabalu Park. Journey from KK to the mount will take you 2 hours by car. Well this mountain is famous for one of the world’s richest orchid flora with over 800 species and 600 species of ferns. This place will take most of the steam out of youand by the time you get back it most probably will be heading night time. You can start back at the clubs/pubs again just to quench your thirst.

3rd day - head back. :-(

Getting around KK is not difficult as they have a good bus system and taxi's are ample. For those who want to shop don’t worry I believe there is enough for you. Centrepoint, Karamunsing Complex, KK Plaza, Wawasan Plaza & Wisma Merdeka.On Sundays you have the flea market where you can find all sorts of stuff ranging from poultry, handicrafts, traditional music instruments and many many more.

Budget/recommendation

Wouldn't have wrote about this place if it was not good. Noticed many locals and expats really really like this place as you have the beauty of nature at the same time having it in a city like atmosphere where you won't be left out and it is rather slow here compared to KL. Fully recommended - Budget - can go as low RM 1000/ inclusive flight(if you manage to get a good deal) and budget hotels plus all the sightseeing + food etc etc As for me during the Magellan stay + Malaysian airlines = RM2000 + RM700-RM1000 for other expenses. Thumbs up for Magellan Sutera Harbour but it is a bit costly but I would say still worth the money. Best if you request a room facing the sea or pool as in the pictures I posted.

Magellan Sutera Harbour- picture shot from room balcony

 Islands are realtively beautiful much better than Penang/ Langkawi but still few classes below Redang Island.The good part about being in Kota Kinabalu is you have options. You want to be doing something in the city like atmosphere you can, you wanna laze around the beach you can & you have the highest mountain in Malaysia here and if you are some mountain climber or just someone who wants to enjoy some good views Mount Kinablau is there for you. 

Mount Kinabalu

 The nightlife scene in KK too I would say is rather good with good hotel lounges/ clubs and also some dodgy karaoke bars with many filipino girls that serve you drinks.

Johor Premium Outlets

Johor Premium outlets is basically located in the state of Johor the most southern state in Malaysia just neighboring Singapore.

The capital of this state is known as Johor Baharu and this state is basically surrounded by Malacca, Negeri Sembilan & Pahang.

There are like 10 districts in Johor - Johor Bahru, Batu Pahat, Muar, Kluang, Segamat, Kota Tinggi, Kulaijaya, Pontian, Mersing, Ledang.

But for today, I would actually love to write about the Johor Premium outlets.

How to get there?

Driving to JB ( Johor Bahru) as it mostly known as will take you around 4 hours approximately and by driving by speed limits.

This is from KL actually and if you are driving down from Penang it will take around 8hours plus minus. Well there are a lot of bus companies going to Johor to on a daily basis and some busses have a short pit stop in JB before shooting off to Singapore. If you are coming from Singapore, you will be able to drive your car over, take a bus or even cabs. Most likely a 40 minutes trip if you are from the centre of Singapore. For those who want to shop at the premier outlets you can exit at the Senai Utara toll exit at the North South Highway in Malaysia.

Activities

I've not really come to JB on a real holiday, but it is usually on a business trip/work agenda and usually I will end up staying in Zon hotel in Stulang.

I'm not going to write much about Zon hotel and Stulang but as for now if I ever go to JB, I would love to stay here. Good Food/ Shopping (duty free)/ Good Night Life.

Johor Premium outlets--I didn't plan to write about this place at first, but when I went there few days back, it just came across my mind to share my experience to the Johor Premium Outlets Shopping area. I believe this will be some sort of haven of the crazy shoppers as I noticed the sale/discounts for the goods were just too irresistible.

Reach there around 8pm and had limited time to really go check out all the stores but the 2 hours I spent there was satisfying.

Managed to get a pair of Adidas sneakers at 70% which cost me only RM135 after discount and I feel it really looks cool.

I've actually been to the Premier outlets on Tochigi-Japan couple of years back and this Johor Outlets reminded myself of being in Japan again only thing is

I feel this is slightly smaller than in Japan. You can really find all sorts of branded stuff here. Let me give some of the retail outlets I could remember.

Raoul, Armani Exchange, Burberry, Polo, Calvin Klein, Salvatorre Ferragamo, Tommy Hilfiger, Versace, Michael Korrs just to name a few.

One thing I noticed, especially on the Nike & Adidas outlet, the shoes were magnificent. It was like not the same quality that is being normally sold around Malaysia

but looks more of an outside of Malaysia quality I would say. I believe most of the goods here portray the same image and you have ample of choices to shop.

I would recommend at least a good 4 hours of intense scrutinising of the outlets. The bargains are really good, 10-85% discount. Not sure why they are offering such high discounts though.

Big question mark??? But my point of view, this place has real good/hot stuff.

Food

Went and eat in this Thai Restaurant called Absolute Thai and trust me it was absolutely nice. Cleaned up all my dishes like a good dishwasher

Recommended- Red curry chicken! And the desert was…ermmm I forgot the name but I'll put a photo of it in here.(just being me-ignorant)

Go try it. The restaurant did look a bit exclusive from the outside and I was bit worried to get an expensive bill but

I would say end of the day it was reasonable and worth the money. Waiter/waitresses were quite attentive and the service was fast.

Thumbs up to this place.

Noticed few more eateries here and there but I just wanted to try something different on that particular day. Noticed this place called

George & Dragon cafe. Not sure whether the same management with the one in Bangsar Shopping complex in KL. But it did stand out from the rest too.

If you noticed in the photos I put about the Thai restaurant, it looks rather empty. Well that's because I was the 2nd last table to leave. They were already near to closing time.

Recommendation- For sure. Something different from going to all the shopping complexes to buy stuff with a different feel of atmosphere. Much better discounts too I think,

and more varieties to choose from and last but not least I don’t think I would have found my pair of ADIDAS sneakers anywhere else in Malaysian stores.

Redang Island

This is one of the best islands that you can find in Peninsular Malaysia and one of the largest you can find in the east coast of Malaysia.

Water is magnificently clean and bluish with whitish sand on the beach. Hard to find on the west coast of Malaysia.

It compromises of 9 little islands- Lima Island, Paku besar island, Paku Kecil Island, Kerengga Kecil island, Kerengga besar island, , Ekor tebu island, Ling island & Pinang island and The main Redang Island.

How to get there?

It is accessible from Merang or Kuala Terenganu to Redang by small speed boats. Most of the speed boats are operated by the resorts themselves.

If you are coming from Kuala Lumpur, it is best if you could hook up with a travel agency from KL and make your trip there.

As for our experience we had taken a bus with our own arrangement to Kuala Terengganu but already made due arrangements with the tour agency to fetch us.

Ping Anchorage travel & tours Sdn. Bhd was our tour operator and frankly speaking there were no complains.

As soon as we arrived in Kuala Terengganu, there was already a tour operator waiting to pick us up and we were brought to Merang jetty.

Well, we had to wait like for an hour before the ferry departed to Redang Island and it took approximately like 45-50minutes to arrive at Redang.

You can also fly in directly as they have a small airport. You can look for Berjaya Tours to Redang.

Activities

Once you have set foot on the island, the tour operators will give you a briefing of what are the next items that will be done and also all the safety briefings too.

Our trip was a 3DAY/2 NIGHT thingy and they had us occupied with all sorts of activities.

You can have snorkeling activities at certain parts of the island decided by the tour operators and also on the marine park. Diving too can be arranged

but with some extra charge. You can actually join in all the activities provided by the operator or just inform them that you would like to laze around the beach within your own group.

So it is quite relaxing.

As for our own experience, Just by swimming at shore area there will be a group of baby sharks roaming around. Not to worry, so far they have been harmless to humans and the scene was just so

electrifying as seeing real baby sharks swim in front of your eyes.  The beach boys did mention that there was an area where the mother sharks are but we were just too afraid to go there.

But some people actually did and they came back alive. Hehe. Some people went diving but too bad we didn’t really get feedback from them so we are unable to comment.

If you just not want to do anything at all, it will also be great just to lie sunbathing in the beach. This island is still not so commercialised yet so it kinda relaxing.

Many tourist still do not know about this place as they are still being told about Langkawi, Penang and other very commercialised places.

Night

Night activities is not that much here but you sure could enjoy some of the beach bars on the sand and maybe get sloshed. We did but by bringing our own drinks as I would say alcohol could be quite

pricey there. It is great to actually chill out with your friends/ family/ gf/bf whatsoever under the moonlight and watching the stars at night. It does get rather quite by the time it is 10pm as I noticed that many

of the people at that point of time were honey mooning. So I guess, after dinner they just go do whatever couples like to after just getting married…cheers.

Food   

As for us since we had taken a package from Ping Anchorage, everything was provided. Breakfast, lunch & dinner. Well we enjoyed the seafood barbecue buffet on the 2nd night for sure. All this comes in the package.    

Please do check again if they still have this offerings in your packages. Nothing was really great about the food except for the barbecue but can't expect much for the very cheap price we paid for.   

So no complaints.        

Return 

Took a speed boat arranged by the tour operator back to Merang Jetty and a van send us back to the Kuala Terenganu bus station.

We arranged for our own tickets back for the bus and sadly back to KL.        

Best part was during our boat trip back from Redang, we managed to get few glimpses of dolphins following our boats. Managed to get some photos but it ain't that clear.        

But these dolphins were rather blackish in colour compared to what you see in national geographic (grayish)-maybe the Malaysian sun. - hehe   

We always wanted to return back to this island but still could not manage to do so with our busy work schedules. But for sure we will as we feel this is the best we have seen with our own eyes  

Recommendation         

Worth it- Budget around rm400-500/TOURS--- RM400/500 Personal.

Food in Penang

Penang is a god send to whet your appetite.

You can get some of the best chinese and mamak food in Malaysia in Penang.

It's suffice to say, that any trip down to Penang will not be complete without sampling the staple food of Penangites - the irresistable Nasi Kandar dish.

Beautiful thing about this dish is that you can get it around the clock - even in the wee hours of the morning!!

You can find a nasi kandar outlet in practically every corner of the island.

But some of the more popular outlets are:

i. Nasi Kandar Line Clear in Penang Road,

ii. Tajuddin Nasi Kandar in Queen's Street

iii. Nasi Kandar Beratur @ Kapitan Keling Mosque

iv. Nasi Kandar Deen at Jelutong

v. Kassim Mustaffa at Bayan Baru

But Penang is not only about nasi kandar. The chinese dishes on offer here are to die for.

Some of the local favourites:

i. Laksa - at Tanjung Bungah (opposite Shamrock Hotel)

ii. Char Koay Teow - road side stall at Anson Road

iii. Hokkien Mee (aka Prawn Mee in KL) - Jalan Bawasah behind Burmah Road Giant

Another place not to be missed is the night food court in Gurney drive.

This is a wonderful spot as you get to sample all the famous foods in Penang in 1 single place.

Be sure to try the pasembor and mee goreng mamak here. One of the best in Penang.

Then there is the exquisite Sup Hameed stall in Penang Road.

You can get the best tasting chicken, mutton and beef suops here - paired with fluffy white breads.

Simply to die for.

Penang  Road is also where you can get the famed Chendol - a sweet cold drink to quench your thirst.

While here, don't forget to visit the Chowrasta Market.

You can get the scrumptuous hand made tau sar peah here - a rich pastry not to be missed.

This place also offers nutmegs and other pickles of your choice.

Penang

This island city is steeped in history and is also known as the Pearl of the Orient.

But we call it the gem of Malaysia. Simply because it has all the charms that you could imagine:

Food - check

Penang is a food haven as you can find some of the best food in the country here. And needless to say, this is the birth place of the famed Nasi Kandar, a must try item.

Beaches & waterfalls - check

it is an island after all

Shopping - check

from designer goods of the highest order right down to the cheap fake stuff - you can get 'em all here

Nighlife - check

the island has a wide variety of clubs / bars to offer. Find 1 that suits your style and to party through the night.

Sightseeing - check

Georgetown, the capital of Penang, is listed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site for its well preserved heritage buildings.

Unique experiences - check

there are several unique adventures to experience in this bustling isle - from pedal-powered trishaw rides to the motorized furnicular hill trains to the ferry rides across the channel. Each one is surely not to be missed.

So there. Now you know why we say that this place is a gem. It offers everything that is Malaysian in a nutshell.

About Kuala Lumpur

Capitol of Malaysia

Basically KL is where most of the Malaysians end up after finishing schooling and university as most of the jobs opportunity is here.

So the city is actually growing very rapidly with so many people migrating here and the vast developments as in traffic, accommodation, businesses & etc

Well for those of you who are planning for a trip down here, it would be a great holiday as I would say KL has a lot to offer, maybe not on natural beauty anymore but more of what a big city can offer

You have good hotels, good food catering for the diverse range of different ethnicity living here ranging from Malay, Chinese, Indian and also food that caters for the expat community, shopping malls, most of the ppl are nice and friendly

Let me write here as in being a tourist in my own country. I mean since I know it very well this is basically what I will do when I arrive to Kl.

Upon arrival in KLIA or the LCCT(Budget airport)- u can get a cab from the taxi counter at the airport. Its OK to buy the tickets from here as it safe and the prices are relatively logical

to your destination. The counter person will issue you a ticket and what you need to do is just queue up at the taxi area and hop in and you will be taken to your destination.

We would recommend you to get to the best area for tourist- Bukit Bintang area if you have not made any hotel bookings yet elsewhere.

Other places in Kuala Lumpur

If you looking for something to shop dirt cheap with all those branded items, always try shopping in China Town (Petaling Street)- Oh ya…don’t forget to bargain as the prices can be sky high.

Well, there's always a difference in prices offered to locals and foreigners. Recommended is to try to bargain of 50-70% of the first said offer. If they are ok with your bargaining its advisable to buy rather than walking off as it might cause some discomfort with the traders.

Food stalls in that area is great too and 1 very recommended place to go if you wanna have few beers would be the Reggae Bar. It's more of a backpacker joint but you still can see some mixture of people. On a personal note, we do love this place a lot.Nice ambiance with some Bob Marley music at the background.

From Bukit Bintang if you take a cab wouldn’t take more than 15 minutes to arrive without an unusual traffic jam.

Few other recommended shopping malls will be Midvalley, Sunway Pyramids, One Utama. This are huge malls but most probably you have the same thing back in your place.

Genting Highlands - the only legal casino that you can find in Malaysia and the weather here is relatively cold for Malaysian standards. Ranging from 14 deg to 25 deg.

Plenty of hotels and a great indoor and outdoor theme park. Would be a great to spend time here too.

Batu Caves - would say this is one of the most known Hindu temple in Malaysia due to the Thaipusam festival. It is basically a temple situated at a hill. This would give some sort of a different experience to you. 

Try climbing up the 272 flight of steps to the main shrine and enjoy the view of kl from the top of the hill and enjoy the beautiful view of the temple inside the cave.

Shopping in Kuala Lumpur

Main reason we are saying that it would be great if you could stay Bukit Bintang area, is because it might cater for all your needs.

If you want shopping, you can always go to Sg. Wang plaza, Bukit Bintang Plaza, Lot10, KLCC. If you want awesome food  you can go to the food stalls in Jalan Alor and there are plenty of restaurants

here and there which will suit your appetite any time of the day.

Hotels in Kuala Lumpur

Bukit Bintang- As for hotels you have the 5stars and the budget hotels here. So you can suit your budget.

Just to name a few very good ones if you have the budget -Shangrila, Westin, Ritz Carlton,Concorde, Equatorial, Park Royal, Dorset,Mandarin Oriental, Traders Hotel.

if you are looking for something with a tight budget you can also opt for the budget hotels at Jalan Alor or at Changkat Bukit Bintang area.

If you are not carrying too much of a luggage, what you can do is ask the cabbie to drop you of Jalan Alor for the budget travelers or go to Jalan Sultan Ismail for the upstream level hotels.

Nitelife in Kuala Lumpur

Night life scene in KL is awesome too. Being raised in KL, I still would say the clubs in Jalan P.Ramlee is still the best. Just to name a few Thai club, Beach club, Rum Jungle,

Just take a stroll here and see what is to your liking. If nothing suits you, you can try the clubs at Changkat Bukit Bintang- Havana, Gypsies, Nevermind. Well just go there and see it for yourself

Pretty sure you will find something you like.

There are also many bars, clubs, pubs here and there in KL. We will write about it soon.

Another nice area for you to have a great nites out with your buddies with some good dinner is by going to Bangsar Shopping complex.

 Its relatively an OK shopping complex which caters mostly for the expat community. There are a lot of bars in it. Just to name a few- WIP, George & Dragons, Chillies, La Bodega and ETC.

 if you take a cab to this area from Bukit Bintang it might take you like half hour or less without traffic and with traffic it might take you an hour. So it advisable if you want to cab around in KL try to avoid the peak hours, 7-9.30am and 5-7pm.