Malaysia Guide Thread 7

[phurple0515]

^ yong tito ko naman, sabi niya natuwa mga pinsan ko na bata don sa inuwi niya na big apple donuts.  sis, sa lahat naman ng mall sale e, hehe.  ang best nga is Sunway pyramid at Midvalley pag sale.

[Mum_A]

Hi again everyone!

THUMBS UP:

1.  Jalan Alor hawker-style dining.  Sarap!  Even the kids enjoyed the food there. Some were a bit spicy but they didn't mind since they have fresh watermelon & mango shakes.

2.  Shangrila KL buffet breakfast.  We can't get enough of their food. There's a wide selection of cuisine to choose from- Chinese, Malay, Continental. At sobrang saya ng mga bata sa chocolate fondues nila!  Sa sobrang busog, di na namin nagawang mag-Batu Caves 

3.  Hop-On, Hop-Off (HOHO).  This is probably one of the more practical things to do in KL. Sulit talaga.  Good thing it wasn't traffic & it wasn't raining when we took it. It was cloudy  tho' towards the end of the tour.  Some of the 'teksi' drivers, however, suggested we should have gotten a cab to tour us around. Cheaper daw.  Oh well..

4. Beryl's Chocolates.  Masarap sya ha.  Not as sweet as Hershey's or Cadbury's.  We bought our stash at Famous Amos, Pavillion Mall.  The kids bought some for their friends and classmates as pasalubong.

    Sticky candy.  It's right across Famous Amos in Pavillion Mall.  My daughters have been nagging us to look for it because their classmates knew about it.  My eldest daughter hoarded bottles of this candy to share with her best friends.


THUMBS-DOWN:

1. Taxi Drivers.  My goodness! Lahat kontrata, dapat.  My kids won't take the train even if I keep nagging them to try it (kahit monorail Lang).  Ayaw nila kasi  daw may mababahong Indians! Ano ba? So, 'teksi' kami.  Para ka nga Lang hino-holdup every time. . Kaso minsan, merong na-tiempong Indian driver.  Ang sakit sa ilong, promise. Sumakit ulo ko sa baho!  Buti malapit Lang biyahe namin.   But for a country rich in petroleum, bakit nga ba mahal ang taxi fare nila?

2. Language barrier.  The good thing about Indians, they can communicate in English. Yung iba, nada. No English daw.  Huh? Hirap tuloy mag-tanong-tanong.  Kahit sa mga malls.  Hirap mag-English mga sales people.  Although some can talk, parang Singaporean English nga lang. Get it, la?

3. Decision to stay at Sepang area for our last night. Scary!  I booked Langit-Langi Hotel for our last night because it had very good reviews in Tripadvisor.  At sabi pa, it was near the airport. It was not! It was a 25 min drive @ 4 am!  Kaya takot na takot ako.  The kids kept asking why I even thought about that scary place. Sabi ko, we had to be in the airport at 430am for our 645am flight back to Clark. It served it purpose tho'. We were able sleep naman and took quick shower before heading to the airport. At least it served its purpose.   Tune Hotel pala dapat if you want to be near lcct. Literally, tatawid ka na lang.

SO-SO:

1.  Sunway Lagoon Theme Park.  Kaya pala walang traffic, andun pala ang mga tao!  It was like EK & Splash Island combined. We just took pictures at the hanging bridge; the Scream Park wasnt any fun also; the girls did the bungee jumping, while we (hubby and teenage son) did some archery (?) and target shooting.  Had lunch. Walked around and left at around 3pm.  I brought swimming outfits for my kids but they declined to go to the water park because it was really crowded na.

2. Nando's Chicken. Sorry ha, pero mas masarap pa ren (at least for us) ang Peri-Peri natin dito sa Pinas.  The eldest daughter had to take her picture taken there tho' cos apparently, the guys of One Direction love  Nando's. 


Overall, we like KL City!   The city is so progressive and vibrant.   It's so much like S'pore already.  Waaaaay better than our Manila.  It's just so frustrating to compare our city with KL.  And here's a place where different cultures, races meet.  It's a melting pot indeed.  They're "Truly Asia".  Naks!

[phurple0515]

^ tuwa naman ako sa review mo sis, very thorough indeed.  tama ka, pag kukuha ka ng taxi dito around KL city centre, humanda ka kasi maraming nangongontrata which is not legal dito pero since kinakagat pa rin ng mga foreigners, ayun, di nawawala.

regarding the fare naman.  actually, RM3 ang unang patak ng metro.  then .10 na succeeding increment niya.  karamihan dito talaga they go by train.  kahit me mga kotse sila, train pa rin rather than taxi.  nasa RM1 something lang 1 liter of petrol dito.

di ko rin feel masyado ngayon ang Nando's na.  Parang overrated na nga siya ngayon e.  You can try Madam Kwan's, a local 'fine' resto pero have other choices as well.  I would go there than Nando's ngayon.

[katniss]

hello all!

gano kalayo kaya ang Legoland sa SG?

we plan to avail kasi of this deal: http://plus.bigdeal.sg/bigdeal/transtar-travel-legoland-malaysia.html

pero mukhang sa last day na namin sya maisisingit but we'll devote whole day for it. we're thinking if we should avail kasi baka malate sa flight, pero ang flight naman namin ay madaling araw pa. kasi iniisip namin kung around SG na lang ang last day para walang hassle.

thank you!

[Mum_A]

Hi sisphurple!

Thanks for all your inputs.  I'm so glad I signed up in Girltalk cos I got so much help from you guys

I'll check on Legoland soon.  Pag napuntahan mo na sisphurple...

[Tickeled-Pink]

^^ how much is a meal in Madam Kwan?
Editing my post - found this very detailed blog:

http://www.followmefoodie.com/2010/06/malaysia-madam-kwans-restaurant-malaysian-cuisine/

If makikita rin naman pala sa street yung food, then i think sa streets na lang kame kakain for a more authentic feel. :-)

[phurple0515]

^ yup, it's the hawker style if you eat out in those 'karinderia' ones.  actually, mas masarap pa nga siya e kesa mga nasa mall na restos, etc.  try mo yong sa jalan alor, mas masarap pa don.

sis katniss, malapit lang ang SG to Johor, nasa 2 hrs lang.  though i am not sure kung malapit mismo sa boundary ang Legoland kasi malaki ang Johor and sabi ng officemate ko parang nasa dulo na ng Johor yong Legoland.

sis Mum_A, yaan mo, review ko dito once napuntahan namin, hehe...pero alam ko meron ata dito pupunta na sa 15 e, so let's see

[heartniekim]

hi sis purple thanks a lot sa information mo. i arrived here at langkawi last aug.15 luckily wala namang hinanap sa dmia na kung ano ano approved agad.. sis ask ko lang kung may babayaran pa dito sa Kl at Langkawi airport pag uwi ko. uwi na ko this wed. eh para alam ko po kung may babayaran pa ko so makahingi ako ng amount na yun kay hubby. thanks a lot ang laking help nitong forum na to. god bless

[bebeloo]

Need your help girls. Where in KL okay ang palitan ng USD to MYR? Is it in Bukit Bintang? Do you have a specific money changer stall there which you can recommend?

Also my friend will be going there. I told him na bigyan ko siya money to exchange it sa KL na para mura yung MYR on hand namin. Tingin niyo ba, ibigay ko yung lahat ng MYR allowance ko sa kanya to convert or few lang then kami na magpapalit when we get to KL na? Stable ba ang rates? We will be going to KL 7 days after they return.

[huit]

nag aacept ba ng US dollars sa KL? Or may money changer sa KL na nagpapalit from DOllar to RM? Balak ko kasi na yung peso namin papalit ko ng dollar tapos sa KL na kami magpapalit ng RM. O ano ba mas okay? Thanks!

[supladitang cute]

^ Girls, 3 days or 4 days in malaysia? [textspeak!] ano pa kaya pwede puntahan pag 4 days? hindi ba borng na?
Genting, legoland, hop on hop off, kl tower, shopping..

[xtine]

^putrajaya and sunway lagoon.  If u like architecture, go to putrajaya

[bebeloo]

nag aacept ba ng US dollars sa KL? Or may money changer sa KL na nagpapalit from DOllar to RM? Balak ko kasi na yung peso namin papalit ko ng dollar tapos sa KL na kami magpapalit ng RM. O ano ba mas okay? Thanks!

ako naman sis, may USD na talaga.. so need ko talaga papalitan ng MYR.. di nagpapalit ang czarina dito ng ringgit eh.. luckily, may friend akong pupunta ng KL ahead of us..

anyone who can help us? current rate + money changer recommendation? thanks!

[phurple0515]

sis heartniekim, wala ka na babayaran sa KL at DMIA pag-uwi mo.  enjoy Langkawi.  nagenjoy kami i hubby dyan last month!

sis bebeloo & sis huit, pwede kayong magpapalit sa bukit bintang, mas malaki kesa airport.  they don't accept USD.  By the way, wala na yong Maybank sa Bukit Bintang.  Pwede kayo magpapalit don sa tabi niya na money changer.  papalit na lang kayo ng USD kasi mas ok ang exchange rate kesa pag Peso. 

ang 1USD nasa 2 or 3 point something RM ata ngayon e...

[bebeloo]

^ thanks sis, you mean ba... they don't accept PHP?

[huit]

^^

Ahhh, so mas okay plan ko? Na dito sa Manila papalit ko peso ko to dollars, tapos dun sa bukit bintang na lang ko papalit yung USD ko to RM? Pero pano pag nagtaxi kami or bus, wala kami RM. =(

[pinay4keeps]

Hello mga sis nice to be back.

Hi sis Mum_A you are right with Malaysia akala ko nga dati parang Pinas lang pero nung narating ko na ibang-iba. Mas progressive talaga sila lalo na gabi nung dumating kami dyan kitang-kita mo talaga na maganda ang lugar at well lighted lahat ng daan. Parang ang saya saya ng gabi nila dyan.

Hindi ko alam sis saan ang Pavillion Mall hinanap hanap ko pero ang napuntahan ko yung Sungei Wang Plaza at BB Plaza lang don ako nakabili sa grocery ng old Town Coffee, Famous Amous at Beryl's.

Gusto kong bumalik ng KL ulit hehe we didn't try the HOHO kasi mas gusto na ng mag-ama kong magstay sa hotel and rest.

Macocompare mo talaga ang KL at Pinas kasi pag nandyan pa ang liwanag ng lahat ng paligid pagdating ng clark super dilim na hehe don palang wala na tayong panama sa kanila yun lang pag nandito ka na sa atin fresh air na kasi wala ng amoy ng mga Indians, etc.

Super like din namin ang Jalan Alor. Napakasarap ng mga food, milk teas and ang daming fruits talaga even sa hotel yun lang ang kinakain ng mga guests don fruits.

[phurple0515]

^^ they accept Php din.  Both USD and PHP tinatanggap sa mga foreign currency exchange dito.

^ sis pinay, ang Pavilion mall diretso na lang ng Bukit Bintang.  Pag dating mo sa crossing ng Bukit Bintang (four corners are McDo, Maybank, Lot 10 and Sungai Wang) diretsuhin mo lang yong stretch na maraming tao.  actually kita ang Pavilion sa mismong crossing na yon!

[bebeloo]

additional qq's:

1) yung JB CIQ near lang sa JB Sentral noh? (Naglabas na kasi ng bus services ang legoland and they have services from JB Sentral: http://www.legoland.com.my/Plan/Bus-Services/ )

2) paano kami pupunta from Legoland to Rainforest B&B? Pupunta ba kami ng Larkin Terminal then anong bus ang advisable na sakyan namin? Para kasing yung Starmart sa JB, hindi sa Berjaya Times Square ang baba..

3)  san ba yung Maybank dati sa Bukit Bintang? ano na yung landmark niya ngayon, para masabi ko dun sa friend ko na dun siya magpapalit..

[phurple0515]

^ 1) sis, this one i still have to check kasi never been to JB
 
2) Magbababa pa rin ang Starmart sa TIme Square, actually kasi ang Starmart, nagbababa sa Pudu, sa TBS at sa Time Square.  Just check which bus will drop off at Bukit Bintang area.

3) Maybank pa rin ang nakalagay don sis, empty na nga lang yong building kasi that building will be down next year for the MRT project (which is starting na rin kaya me sarado yong part na yon).  Tabi ng Maybank yong Mado Ice Cream shop.