Malaysia Advice

[OnMyWay]

9 hours ago, Lee said:

Nice pics.

In the group that I was in, I was the only one to traverse the steps up and down---most in the group who refused to go were in their 30's.

Did you get harassed by the bands of marauding monkeys during your trek?

The monkeys were behaving and I did not see any aggressive behavior.  Unlike the monkeys I live with in Subic.

[OnMyWay]

8 hours ago, Mike J said:

What is the multicolored area going up the hill?

Those are the 272 steps to get to the cave area.

 

[OnMyWay]

KL Sentral Ruby Lounge for our $33 / 1815 peso business class tickets to Penang.  My legs are looking forward to a rest for the 4:20 ride!  KL Central is very nice and easy to figure out.  Yesterday we checked out of our Airbnb, went to Genting Highlands, then spent the night at Easy Hotel right here at the station.  Clean place and perfect location for a quick overnight.  Didn't make it around Bricklands last night cuz of the late bus arrival.

[OnMyWay]

Business class.  Chicken briyani was very good!

Edited July 31, 2023 by OnMyWay

[OnMyWay]

I will add to this thread some things I have learned about Malaysia so that if anyone searches "Malaysia" it will come up.

Exchanging Money

BPI debit card is a good option for getting cash.  I exchanged at a Maybank exchange office at the airport at a rate of 7.3.  A changer at the mall was 7.5.  My first ATM was Ambank and the net rate was 7.8.  Next was a Cimb ATM and the net rate was 7.49, so the choice of banks can matter.  For reference, XE was 8.2.

Most of my spending was on my U.S. credit card, and after conversions, that rate is 8.2.

[OnMyWay]

Transportation

They have an excellent train system in KL, but we mainly used the Monorail because the a station was right next to our condo.  We used KTM train to get to the Batu Caves and back.  We used Grab for a few other trips.

In Penang we used Grab exclusively, and it was dirt cheap.  Rides around Georgetown were 60-120 pesos.  My most expensive ride was 45 minutes for 40 myr, about 490 pesos, for a 6 seater.

[OnMyWay]

On 8/4/2023 at 9:18 AM, OnMyWay said:

Most of my spending was on my U.S. credit card, and after conversions, that rate is 8.2.

Forgot to mention, credit cards are widely accepted, even for small transactions.  I had almost 80 transaction on my CC!  Just make sure you have a card with no fees.

[Old55]

This is useful for anyone planing to visit Malaysia. So thanks for posting Don. 

 

[OnMyWay]

On 8/6/2023 at 1:28 PM, OnMyWay said:

and it was dirt cheap.

Transportation Continued

Just finished reconciling my credit card charges.  These are all in Penang.  I don't know how Grab is so cheap there.  All the Grabs are gasoline so gas must be cheap.  Most of these are 6 seaters which is usually around 20% higher.  Of the 17 rides, I would say 15 were very new cars and only 2 were a bit older.  My wife and I took the regular Grab without the kids a few times and those are the 5-6-7 rm ones.

[Possum]

Thanks to your reports and photos we are planning a trip there when school permits. Thank you