[nairrk]

I am aware that there are few travelogue written already on Malaysia trip on this forum. Eventhough, I too would like to give a small narration about my recent visit to Malaysia.

Normally, most of the people directly land at Kuala Lumpur however we had to land first at Penang since our friends/relatives are settled down at Budamin (Sungai Petani). It was about 65/75 minutes drive (speed at 90/100kmph) from Penang Airport to Budamin.

We reached Penang on 12th May, around 1500hours (local time) and reached home At around 1700hours (some stopover in between for evening tea/snacks).

The Roads are very very good and no unwanted overtaking or zigzag driving. During the drive (and even another drive to Kuala Lumpur), I never seen any one trying to over speed or change lanes or skipping traffic signals etc. One can see the traffic cops at unexpected places and you will be definitely caught if do any offence.

Most of the Cars you can see there are of Malaysian brand ( Proton and Perodua – unfortunately not able to take photographs of these model cars). Imported cars were also there but not many. All the motor bikes (they call it Motor) are without clutch and are manufactured without Headlight on/off switch (it is mandatory in that country that all two wheelers has to drive the vehicle with Head-lights ON during the day (so no need for light switch – when the ignition is on the headlight will come automatically and go off once ignition off.)

A bike -popular in malaysia:


Typical Bike used by Traffic Police:



Those who are working and also the school children – all will leave the houses by 6 to 7 am sharp and thereafter you will find most of the houses locked or with only one or two people. Most of the houses have atleast one Car and one or two motor bikes. You wont find any house without a vehicle (the fuel cost is less there – about RM 2.0/litre i.e around Rs.28/- equivalent Indian currency). Petronos is the Prime Petrol supplier in Malaysia. 95% cars running are of Automatic and only few cars you can see with Manual gear. One important thing is that Car owners or driver has to fill up the fuel oil after paying the amount at the cash counter. Its all computer operated petrol pumps and the supply will stop automatically once it reaches to the level for what you have paid for.
Incase the car accommodate less fuel than what you purchased, refund will be given to you for the balance amount. No crowd, no honking, no shout at all ! !

Our first sight seeing was for Kuala Lumpur which is about 4.5 hours drive from Budamin. We all left in a A/C Van which left Budamin around mid-night and reached Kuala Lumpur at around 0500 hours (In order to relax the driver, who is our relative only, stopped all parking/resting places along the highway). In the Parking bay, have seen that many Car’s parked in the parking lot and the driver/owner’s sleeping inside the car with A/C on. There are no fees for parking cars and the place has got all facilities (from toilet to coffee shop/Restaurent including petrol pump).

First we went to the main Mosque (Putra Mosque) and then nearby parliament building ( at Putra Jaya). It was too hot at that time and no one wanted to walk around (always looking for shadows).





Other attractions in Putra Jaya






Parliament Building:



Another spot, a must see place is Subramanya swamy temple in Batu caves (Batu Caves Sri Subramanyar Swamy Devastanam). It is 113 year old Temple and one need to climb 272 step’s to reach the top. It is 400 feet above ground level (more details available in the websites).






hard to climb.?


Scene from Hill top:



on Top



Coming down:


from inside the cave (Temple):



At the Ground level, there is an Art Gallery (Valluvar Kottam and Art Gallery – see the pictures of the Gallery).







After this, we came for some shopping but found everything is expensive (except electronic items). Nevertheless some people bought some items including Polo cabin baggage (which is cheaper there i.e 40 RM equivalent to Rs.550/-).

to be continued..

[ElantraGT]

Wow, I am hooked. Nice explanation, When ever there is thread on malaysia they talk about the buildings and rich infrastructure only. I am glad you are giving the actual picture here. keep it coming buddy.

Edit: And there goes the excellent rating for the thread.

[gadadhar]

@nairrk - Happy to see more snaps from Malaysia, this has become a hot spot for the Indian travelers this summer. Our agent in KL told that 70% of his bookings this year is from India.

[nairrk]

2nd Day Out[

Next day we came to Petronas Twin tower but not able to climb to the top because they already sold the entry tickets for the day (we didn’t know that tickets were sold in advance and have seen mostly tour operators are blocking the tickets in advance. So our limit was restricted upto 8th floor. (I have seen other members have given much explanation about Petronas tower, hence I do not want to repeat it here- however like to give couple of photographs).





Next we went to Menara Tower (the entry fees is 38RM per persons (about Rs.530/-).The height of the Tower is 421m (1403ft). There are 3 decks on the top i.e the first deck is Observation Deck (278M) and the second one is Revolving Restaurent (282M) and the top one is MEGA VIEW (288M). The Charge of 38 RM is only for Observation Deck and for all decks one need to pay 45RM. There are two or three lifts inside the tower which carry the people to the Decks. In the ground floor you have the KL Tower Pony Ride (the ticket fee is included for this ).

Photo taken from the tower Observation deck:



can see Menara Tower from long shot (it is behind the building AIA)
and also can be seen the Twin Tower (Petronas Tower):




Then we went home (relatives house) and had nice Lunch. Later in the afternoon we left for Budamin.

3rd Day Out

Next we went to Penang where we have seen the Snake Park, Budhist Temple, Penang Ferry service (we traveled alongwith our Van from one end to another end (save of some city driving and 13kms overbridge across the penang harbour) etc.

Budhist Temple:





Penang Harbour:



Ferry station:







We stayed there 9 days but the sight seeing was limited due to family/relative visits and subsequent get together party's etc. Finally on 21st May, we returned back to India/our home.

The onward/return tickets booked on Air Asia flight which costs Rs.3260 per person + Airport tax and Service Tax (one way ticket). Nothing will be supplied in the flight - 200ml Mineral water costs 2 RM (about Rs.28/-),
One veg biriyani costs about Rs.126/-. Non veg dishes also available. You buy and pay cash to the airhostess. While going from India, they accept Indian Rupees but when on return they prefer Malaysian currency (they may accept other currencies but I did not check because I had enough malaysian currency with me and paid accordingly).

Overall a good trip but felt it would have been better if we could have planned for november/december/january months because the weather then will be better for sight seeing visits.

Thanks.

[ASHISHPALLOD]

Originally Posted by nairrk

[
The onward/return tickets booked on Air Asia flight While going from India, they accept Indian Rupees but when on return they prefer Malaysian currency (they may accept other currencies but I did not check because I had enough malaysian currency with me and paid accordingly).

Air Asia accepts Indian currency while returning from Malaysia.
We rajababues bought lot of on board items with Indian currency while coming back to India.

[Newpunter]

Airasia is really a boon for budget travellers like us. I kept checking their site everyday for a good deal and finally booked my tickets once i got the good deal. I planned my holiday around those deal .
By the way, I got a to and fro ticket for 2 persons everything included for Rs. 10,000 ( including baggage ) . Normally on Malaysian Airlines, it would have cost 40K .

Nice pics by the way. I've been thinking of uploading my pics too. I will have to find some time for it .

[MX6]

Tickets are not sold for KL bridge. They are given free. A limited number of tickets are given away every morning. Hence one needs to go there and wait in the queue.
Reaching earlier brightens one's prospects of getting tickets. Once you collect the tickets, you are free to roam around KLCC Suriya or any place as the time for your trip is mentioned in the ticket. You can plan to come back 15 - 20 mins before your scheduled time.
Anyway this would help other travellers. I always advice that wake up early in KL, have breakfast and pitch a tent near the ticket window.
1 person is given 2 tickets. Then feel free to move around other areas.

[ranjith.rajaram]

@ nairrk - I love the ferry ride but have not done one at this moment . It should feel good to ride the car inside the ferry, admire the sea for a while and they continue driving once you reach the other port. I hope we have some ferry rides in Kerala.. can you name few places if you know ?

[nairrk]

There are ferry services available in kerala but I do not have details in hand.

I remember Eranakulam had this service. This was operated by KSINC (kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation). Ferry service from Fort Cochin to Vypeen and Willingdon Island. (Is it still operating there? ). Also I knew that in Kuttanad there was ferry service connecting all internal places and also coast to coast. However there may not have similar to one in penang (two decks full of cars transported from one end to another end)?

May be some one else can give more details about ferry services in kerala waters?

[navan49]

I am planning for a trip to Kulalumpur in January. I need some help on the hotels near by the shopping are and the details of local buses to visit the places as a back packer. Will it be cheeper if we book air asia ticket and hotel together. Ant Teambhp member can help.I am a budget traveller.

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by navan49

I am planning for a trip to Kulalumpur in January. I need some help on the hotels near by the shopping are and the details of local buses to visit the places as a back packer. Will it be cheeper if we book air asia ticket and hotel together. Ant Teambhp member can help.I am a budget traveller.

There are many hotels in and around "Bukit Bintang" which has many shopping malls in KL. I stayed at Radius International which is pretty reasonable but kinda 90's style. Also, you will find many Indian restaurants in Bukit Bintang plus many fast food joints.

Taxi is a good way to move around and you will be able to find one for RM10 after some bargaining. Also check out the metro rails. Pretty cheap.

I think you will be able to find the hotels at similar rates if you book it together or separately. Good hotels will start from 2.5k-4k per night. Hotels are pretty reasonable out there. Since you would like to stay close to the shopping area, I would recommend you book hotels in Bukit Bintang area.

[navan49]

Thank you Raju. I got the hotel idea in Kulalumpur. How about the sight seeing and hotel in Singapore 2 days plan. In addition I had gone through the hotel check in check out timings. They sat it is 14.00 Check in and 12.00 Hours Check out. Do They mean 22 Hours account.I mean after noon 2PM to 12 Noon. Right. Let me know what to buy from both places.

[ASHISHPALLOD]

@navan49,
please go through
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...singapore.html

you will find all info here.
if anything else needed, we all are here to help you.

[CRV2010]

Originally Posted by navan49

I am planning for a trip to Kulalumpur in January. I need some help on the hotels near by the shopping are and the details of local buses to visit the places as a back packer. Will it be cheeper if we book air asia ticket and hotel together. Ant Teambhp member can help.I am a budget traveller.

You can checkout Hotel Novotel which is at Golden Traingle and also very near to Bukit Bintang. Novotel is cheaper and they offer you free breakfast and also Wifi if you find the combo offer somewhere online while booking.

In Singapore i suggest you checkout Hotel Ibis or Albert Court Hotel near Little India so this can help you save on daily trips for your dinner and breakfast at Little India. Its also near to Bugis Junction.

[navan49]

Ashish I have gone through the thread. It is real help. I will read thorughly and contact our members for my smooth journey plans. Thanks a lot.