Need useful info - Trip to Malaysia and Singapore

You need to ask a travel agency, not an Internet forum!

You are right but I guess you should be aware that the info coming from a travel agency would largely be something that is more viable to them money wise. I just want someone's sincere advice who has been through such trips, specially dos and donts and best yet economical hotels and areas to stay.cheers

Hi Hsni,

Welcome to the forum.

You are right in posting on this forum asking for help and advise, I agree with you too as the travel agency may make recommendations on whats viable to them money wise.

What you can do is post on the Malaysia & Singapore Forum asking them the questions. Both of these forums are quite active and someone will come back with the answers your looking for.

My visits to Singapore have been very short. For the short trips i made there i must say the country is beautiful. There is lots to see and do there. I was mainly based in the south part of Singapore. The country is very clean. Littering is not allowed as there are fines if caught. So you will not see cigarette ends or buggle gum on the floor. By the way bubble gum isnt allowed in Singapore. Also J walking isn't favoured in the country (well the south part) where i was. There are signs indicating this.

The metro and malls are air conditioned. The country is quite hot and humid at times. It does tend to rain there, but dont let that spoil your holiday. Just take an umbrella and you will be fine.

Another useful thing i noted, when you reach Singapore Airport (Changi Intl Airport) there are leaflets on display that give you a good idea of what to see and where.

I stayed at the M Hotel, during my visits. However, i believe there are cheaper hotels that are on offer.

It all depends on what you like doing when going on holiday.

Good luck,

J

Thanks jazzy, can you post few links of the forums you indicated if possible.

Hsni wrote:

can you post few links of the forums you indicated if possible.

Click on Forum (left top corner of this page)
It will take you to this page where you can choose the country.

Hi Hsni,

I am from Malaysia. Answer to your questions....Usually in July there would be some ongoing sales. Hopefully it's the same this year. I believe July would be good but August would be better as the sales would be nationwide. As for hotels I would advice you to go online and check the hotels out as you would be able to book online as well. The main shopping hub is in Jalan Bukit Bintang. A few malls in this area. That's the name of the road. With this you would be able to find out the distance between the hotel and this main shopping area. We have MRT(which covers certain areas), bus services and of course the taxi service.
Where the airfares and visa's concerned sorry i can't help you there as i don't know. And for your info there are lots of places to have a meal here. Fine dining areas cost a lot (for a family of 5 probably RM300+). But food courts approx RM7.00 to RM8.00 per person (food & drink)per meal. Since you have kids..Mac Donalds cost approx RM7 p.person.
Hope this info helps....

Cheers....

Thanks Julianna, quite useful info, though still lot of questions bugging y mind....hotels are good or apartments, which are less rush areas meant for families...I mean away from city rush,....which mode of transport is usually safe and economical for family, what are the usually taxi fares, how to segregate my tour so that I cover max of malaysian attracions,  and so on.

Hi Hsni,

Hotel or apartments would depend on you. If u stay at a hotel then i wud advise you to eat out as thr r a lot of food areas in Kuala Lumpur price of food mentioned earlier. If u choose to stay at a apartment compare the pricing between hotel and apartment as to which is more cost saving. All this you would have to check online.

Our bus services and MRT is safe. But word of advice...any country that you visit (even here) when ever you are travelling around just be careful of your belongings. Travelling by taxis maximum per taxi is 4 adults. They will not take more. If your kids are very young then maybe they would make an exception.Pricing is based on the taxi meter. 

As for staying at a place to avoid rush hour....you won't be able to avoid that staying at KL. As most of the malls are in KL city area. Try looking online for hotels or apartments in Jalan Bukit Bintang area. As I remember seeing quite a few small hotels there. If you stay there then you won't have to spend on transportation. And all hotels provide tours. The standard tours here is city tour, countryside tour (which is usually a half day tour) and Genting Highlands tour (1 day tour).   

You are most welcome to check with me once you have found a hotel or apartment whether its near to the shopping area.

Regards.

Thanks again, you have explained it so nicely. About Jalan Bukit Bintang, someone here said that its not a family area, however if someone likes to enjoy night life...there is no other place than Bukit. Yes, there is lot to shop around in this area, nice food courts and real hustle n bustle specially in the evening. But your point is strong that living here means that one doesn't have to travels a lot for shopping and food. I am on hotel search, and will definitely ask for your advice before finalizing. Do we have some areas here where Muslims prefer to live or it's all the same...no such distinction. Do we go Getting Highlands by ferry, I heard the is no bus trip..is it right !

Bukit bintang (BB) is good for shopping.And what you heard bout the night life in this area is correct. I forgot about that. But in the night this area is beautifully lighted up. BB joins Sungai Wang Plaza (mall). The entrance on Sungai Wang Plaza side is better. There is one mall which just came to mind which has a hotel joining it. The mall is isolated (about 30mins to BB by car)but the MRT runs through there which would make it easier for you to go to BB as well for shopping. The mall is called Mid Valley but i forgot the name of the hotel.I think it's called Citytell or something like that. Check online as its the same management. And i think there are apartments too.

Muslims here are acceptable in all areas/hotels. There's no difference as most places serve halal food except for the chinese shops. If the food outlet caters for muslims some places the word halal would be mentioned. If you aren't sure, you could always ask whether the food is halal. As for Genting Highlands, its accessible by car or bus. You can get more details about that from the hotel which you are at.There are tour buses to Genting and public transport buses (which would be cheaper). If you plan to use the public transport it's advisable to buy the return bus fare one day before travel.   

With regards to food....Malaysians love to eat. That's the reason why there are a lot of food outlets of all nationalities. And there are even chinese halal food courts.

Come on now..!!! It's not only a forum for us this is like a family for us and we all are a part of this extended family.

I can suggest few hotels in Singapore:

Raffles Hotel Singapore
The Fullerton Bay Hotel
Mandarin Oriental, Singapore
The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore
Pan Pacific Singapore
The Quincy Hotel by Far East Hospitality

Thanks Rony, but I have decided to visit only Malaysia this time. If you can suggest few from KL and langkawi...that would be quite helpful

julianaa wrote:

Bukit bintang (BB) is good for shopping.And what you heard bout the night life in this area is correct.

It's also the red light district and you'll get sick of creepy little men offering you a 'young lady' and, upon refusal, a 'young boy'.

Next up.
Taxi drivers don't make much as there are far too many of them so they'll try to run without the meter.
Bad idea as they'll rip you off in a big way.
Use a GPS as they'll take you the tourist route.

mas fred wrote:

julianaa wrote:

Bukit bintang (BB) is good for shopping.And what you heard bout the night life in this area is correct.

It's also the red light district and you'll get sick of creepy little men offering you a 'young lady' and, upon refusal, a 'young boy'.

Next up.
Taxi drivers don't make much as there are far too many of them so they'll try to run without the meter.
Bad idea as they'll rip you off in a big way.
Use a GPS as they'll take you the tourist route.

OMG!!! I didn't know it was that bad!!! That's horrible!! Being a local we don't face such things. At least not us women. I would not have suggested this otherwise! As for taxi's before getting into one it's best to ask the driver whether he's going to use the meter.

I got into a taxi in Bangkok.  When the driver said the meter was broken, I got out.  Suddenly, the meter worked.

Ok if the driver says meter is not working but still I should have some idea about the fares, like If I come from airport to city centre..how much should I pay ! Are there any metros running from airport to city centre or any public transport like buses. Are taxi drives cordial and trustworthy !