Malaysia travel guide

*These are indicative prices and are subject to change over times*

 

WHAT ABOUT MALAYSIA

 

Capital: Kuala Lumpur

Largest City: Kuala Lumpur

Official language: Malay

Population: Over 31 millions as of 2017

Religion: Islam

Political system: Constitutional monarchy

Currency: Malaysian Ringgit

Time zone: UTC+8

 

WHAT ABOUT TRAVELING MALAYSIA

 

Wet season: November to December

Best season to travel: April to October

Visa: It depends on your nationality. There is a 3-month exempt visa for most nationalities. Make sure to check out the latest info on the Immigration Website.

Hostel: Usually as cheap as 3.5€ to 5€ (4$ to 6$ USD) for a bed in a dorm. It does not make sense to recommend a hostel for each destination. Prices change on a daily basis. Make sure to check out the latest price on Booking, Agoda or Hostelworld.

Food: Usually as cheap as 2€ to 3€ (2.5$ to 3.5$ USD) for a basic streetfood meal (Fried rice, fried noodles and cheap food specials).

Food specials: Nasi Lemak, Nasi Goreng, Mee Goreng and many more!

Transportation: Buses are usually as cheap as 5€ to 8€ (6$ to 10$ USD). The bus infrastructure is incredible in Malaysia. There is no need to book in advance unless you are traveling on a holiday (ie. Chinese New Year). Buses are by far the most reliable and comfortable I have experienced in Southeast Asia.

Bargaining: There is no such thing as a bargaining culture in Malaysia unless you are buying goods on a local market.

Budget: From 450€ to 550€ for a month (550$ to 730$ USD). This is assuming that you are not drinking alcohol since it is extremly expensive here.

 

MALAY BASICS

 

Hello: Selamat Pagi (good morning), Selamat Petang (good afternoon), Selamat Malam (good night)

Thank you: Terima Kasih

Yes: Ya

No: Tidak

Goodbye: Selamat Tinggal

 

TRAVEL APPS AND WEBSITES

 

GPS: An amazing offline GPS application that highlights hostel, food and even the tiniest hiking paths in your area (Maps.me )

Hostels: Use filters to sort out the cheapest price of the day. There is usually no need to book in advance. You might find cheaper accomodations on-site. In some remote areas, these are not advertised online. (Booking, Agoda, Hostelworld)

Currency converter: Highly useful for your first few days stepping in a new country (XE Currency, Easy Currency Converter)

Meeting people: Couchsurfing integrate a new ‘people around me’ feature. You will usually meet plenty of people at your hostel but it does happen sometines that you are the only one there. Tinder is not ‘only’ what you think! More and more people use it to meet locals or travelers to explore a destination (Couchsurfing, Tinder)

Money sharing: If traveling by group, Tricount is an amazing application for organizing group expenses (Tricount)

 

TRAVEL TIPS

 

Backpack: Pack as light as you can. Ten kilos should be a maximum. You won’t need these 15 tshirts and 5 pairs of shoes, will you? Remember that you will carry all this weight on your shoulders. There is one more thing. Checking in with a carry-on luggage only is way cheaper!

Cash: Always keep a 50€ or 50$ USD banknote in your wallet. You never now what might happen. It can be really helful in case your credit card get blocked for a few days. Never ever wait to run out of cash before withdrawing in a local currency! Before leaving a country, try to get rid of coins and small banknotes. You won’t be able to exchange them later!

Toilet paper: Yeah, you can laugh at this one. However, be aware that most Asian countries do not use any. You better get one roll in your backpack!

 

TRAVEL ITINERARY

 

KUALA LUMPUR

 

IPOH

 

GEORGE TOWN

 

LANGKAWI

 

ALOR SETAR

 

KUALA KANGSAR

 

CAMERON HIGHLANDS

 

TAMAN NEGARA

 

PUTRAJAYA

 

MELAKA