Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Original poster

Malaysia - Advice & Tips

29 replies

dejags · 04/05/2005 18:56

Hi all,

Well our round the world plans have been shelved because we decided that DS2 will be too young in December (he will be 15 months) to cope with this sort of trip. The logistics of getting two small kids round the world with one still in nappies proved too much .

As a compromise we have decided to go to Malaysia (not definite but almost decided) for four weeks in December.

We will fly into Singapore and then make our way to mainland Malaysia and on to Langkawi for the longest part of our holiday.

Any tips for this part of the world with littlies would be great.

TIA
dejags

OP posts:
moondog · 04/05/2005 19:03

We did this when dd was 14 mths and had a lovely lovely time! Hired a car over the bridge from Singapore (few days there first) then meandered through right up to Penang, stopping as and when we wanted, sometimes staying in smart places,sometimes little govt guesthouses.
People were charming and the food was great.
Did a lot of reading of my Lonely Planet and really enjoyed Melacca, Cameron Highlands and Georgetown in Penang.

We flew from Penang to Koh Samui, then on to Bangkok then whizzed around Thailand for a bit.
Great hoilday, you'll love it!

moondog · 04/05/2005 19:04

Also became completely obsessed with the disappearence of Jim Thompson and sweet talked my way into the grounds of the house he disappeared from! (If you don't know who I'm talking about now, you will on your return. Lol!!)

janeybops · 04/05/2005 19:08

Been to Malaysia twice - pre babies though - and loved it.
The taxis are cheap and comfortable for transport between towns but may be easier with car seats etc to hire.
Cameron Highlands is lovely and cooler so some respite from the humidity.
Melacca was nice too.
Kuala Lumpar is fine for a few days the market in China town is good for fakes etc.
The East coast is where we spent most of our time.
Ratau ???? where the turtles are may be worth a visit.
We also realy like the Perhentian Islands but unless the boats have improved I may think twice about taking young children on them!

Kota Bharu is excellent.. Espeically the night food market.

I would love to go back but dh is too nervous with kids so am jealous

Original poster
dejags · 04/05/2005 19:09

cheers Moondog, I didn't know about Jim but I'll be sure to look him up .

what about nappies, clean water, food suitable for a toddler? is it good, bad or indifferent for these things?

you say you hired a car - do they provide car seats?

OP posts:
janeybops · 04/05/2005 19:09

Oh forgot to say when we went we got a package of cheap internal flights and went over to Sabah and Sarawak the second time we went. That was fab too

Original poster
dejags · 04/05/2005 19:09

thanks JB - what puts your DH off?

OP posts:
moondog · 04/05/2005 19:11

No problems with any of those. Malaysia very civilised you know!
Roads are excellent,food is fantastic (dd ate what we ate)and although i used washable nappies,noticed all kinds available in the shops.
We asked for a carseat with out hirecar. It was basic but satisfactory.

Original poster
dejags · 04/05/2005 19:12

how long did you go for Moondog, at what time of year.

Sorry to pester but I don't know anybody else who has taken a 14/15 month old to Malaysia and I am a sucker for info.

OP posts:
Original poster
dejags · 04/05/2005 19:13

oh and was it very expensive?

OP posts:
moondog · 04/05/2005 19:19

No probs dejags,happy to help.
We travel loads (actually live in Turkey at present) and now have a 10 mth old ds,but that hasn't cramped our style any!

We went in March as we wanted to escape the dreary tail end of winter. Flights obviously pricey, but accommodation substantially cheaper than UK. Our smartest place (Hyatt In Kuantan) was about £90 a night, cheapest (govt guesthouse with lovely individual chalets and huge pool on a beach)about £15.

Bizarre as it seems, the eating places in the motorway rest places were some of our favourite places. Food was fabulous and sooooooo cheap. We'd pay maybe £4 for a feast for the three of us.

I especially liked the north east coast-very conservative (Muslim) and sometimes hard to find a beer (aaagh!!!) but totally unspoilt and so like PNG where I was brought up.

Malaysia is massively underrated as a holiday destination. Ssssh,don't let too many people in on the secret!

moondog · 04/05/2005 19:20

Went for a month in all (inc Thailand)

Original poster
dejags · 04/05/2005 19:53

thanks Moondog, I'll CAT you nearer the time if you don't mind when I have a list of a thousand questions formulated

OP posts:
moondog · 04/05/2005 19:59

No probs dejags!

Original poster
dejags · 04/05/2005 20:10

thanks Moondog, I'll CAT you nearer the time if you don't mind when I have a list of a thousand questions formulated

OP posts:
Cam · 04/05/2005 20:49

moondog that trip reminds me of when my father (RAF) was posted to Singapore and we lived there in the late sixties. We took a driving trip (2 parents and 4 kids in a Ford Consul) right up through Malaya to Thailand. Malacca, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, I remember it all really well. The only weird thing was my mother made us eat salt tablets because she thought we'd lose too much salt through perspiration. A coupleof those with a glass of water was guaranteed to make you feel sick!

moondog · 04/05/2005 21:00

Sounds fab cam! Lol at the salt tablets!

Pam70 · 05/05/2005 12:30

Hi

I live in the UK but my parents live in Malaysia and I have taken both my kids there from really young - DS from 8 months and DD from 4 months and DS now 4 has been every year.

Malaysia is a nice gentle introduction to SE Asia - most people speak English, the food's predominantly Chinese, Indian or Malay and in the bigger cities and resorts, you will get a good selection of European / American food. Italian restaurants are pretty popular.

Might be a good idea to take your kids to a local chinese restaurant and get them used to really simple food like fried rice and fried noodles first. Indian and Malay food tends to be spicier but your children may like satay which comes on a stick.

Also because it's the tropics - fruit is abundant and plentiful along with fresh fruit juices. try watermelon or honeydew melon.

re: nappies - both disposables and reusables available. Infant milk formula such as SMA pretty easy to find too.

Water is fine but really would advise you to boil water before drinking it instead of straight from the tap - all Malaysians do this (boil the water first!)

It's an incredibly cheap destination at the moment because the Malaysian currency is pegged to the US Dollar - it was something like 7 Malaysian ringgits to one GB pound when I was there in February this year.

RM7 will easily get you a bowl of noodles and a fresh fruit juice at a simple hawker centre or stall or it could cost you at least RM7 to buy one fruit juice in a hotel.

sis · 05/05/2005 12:46

Um, sorry to put a damper on things but isn't December the moonsoon season in Malaysia?

sis · 05/05/2005 19:38

sorry, 'monsoon' not 'moonsoon'!

Pam70 · 05/05/2005 20:33

The west coast of Peninsula Malaysia where the resorts of Penang and Langkawi are don't suffer from the monsoon.

The monsoon season affects the east coast of Malaysia (states of Kelantan, Trengganu and Pahang) - usually from October to March when it rains a lot and more presistently.

But the west coast which is separated from the east coast by a whole range of mountains is fine and will still be very warm, humid with the odd thunderstorm which usually clears up in an hour or 2.

pinkmama · 05/05/2005 20:43

Hi dejags. We took dd to Penang when she was 2 3/4. She loved it, especially as she was blonde at the time and was really fussed over where ever she went. Think she felt like the princess she believes herself to be. Our only problem with her was she wasnt too good in the heat and had to spend an awful lot of time with her in water to keep her cool (but she does spectacularly melt in any heat, even in UK, for some reason this didn't cross our minds before we went ). She is a bit fussy with food, but she managed for the 2 weeks. I am sure you will all have a fabulous time.

JigBugs · 10/05/2005 21:16

We had a holiday in Langkawi last June, with our daughter who was 2 1/2. Had a great time - very friendly people. We hired a car from our hotel and that had a good car seat in it. She tended to eat our food, lots of rice and fruit. The weather was not too hot then, and there was a good sea breeze. We bought extra nappies from a supermarket in Kuah, half way through the holiday.

Willow2 · 13/10/2005 11:55

Moondog - what was the name of the govt place you stayed in?

moondog · 13/10/2005 11:58

Gosh,sorry willow,don't remember.
There are loads of them though.
Are you planning a trip?

Dejags,are you still going?

BudaBabe · 13/10/2005 12:02

Moondog - LOL about Jim Thompson - my DH used to gently suggest I went for a solo pre-dinner stroll every evening when we were there!!!

Got my own back as we lived in Bangkok at the time and I bought lots of silk!!

Swipe left for the next trending thread