Malaysia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 417

cash against major credit cards, and
with American Express, Visa and
MasterCard as well as Cirrus, Plus and
Maestrobank (debit) cards, you can
withdraw money from ATMs in big
cities and many towns.

MALAYSIA ONLINE
W tourism.gov.my The Malaysian Tourist
Board's website provides excellent
information.
W virtualmalaysia.com Another o cial

website, which provides good
information.
W visitorsguide.com.my A visitors' guide
to the country.

6

OPENING HOURS AND PUBLIC
HOLIDAYS
Shops are open daily 9am to 6pm,
Monday to Saturday, and shopping
centres 10am to 11pm. Government
o ce hours are Monday to hursday
8am to 12.45pm and 2pm to 4.15pm,
Friday 8am to 12.15pm and 2.45pm to
4.15pm, Saturday 8am to 12.45pm;
however, in the states of Kedah, Kelantan
and Terengganu, on hursday the hours
are 8am to 12.45pm; they're closed on
Friday and are open with full working
hours on Sunday. Banking hours are
generally Monday to Friday 10am to
3pm and Saturday 9.30am to 11.30am.
Post o ces are open Monday to Saturday
8am to 6pm, while on the east coast
they're closed on Fridays but open
on Sundays.

also book permits and accommodation
for the national parks at these centres.
he best general maps of Malaysia are
Macmillan's 1:2,000,000 Malaysia
Traveller's Map and the more detailed
Nelles 1:650,000 West Malaysia (not
including Sabah and Sarawak). he best
coverage of Sabah is on maps produced
by Nelles. City maps can usually be
picked up in the visitor centres.

MONEY AND BANKS
Malaysia's unit of currency is the ringgit,
divided into 100 sen. You'll see the
ringgit written as “RM” (as it is
throughout this chapter), or simply as “$”
(M$), and often hear it called a “dollar”.
Notes come in RM1, RM5, RM10,
RM20, RM50, RM100, RM500 and
RM1000 denominations; coins are
minted in 5 sen, 10 sen, 20 sen, 50 sen
and M$1 denominations. At the time of
writing, the exchange rate was around
RM5 to £1, RM4.56 to E1 and around
RM3.2 to $1.
Sterling and US dollar travellers'
cheques can be cashed at Malaysian
banks, licensed moneychangers and some
hotels. Licensed moneychangers' kiosks
in bigger towns tend to open until
around 6pm, and sometimes at
weekends. It's not di cult to change
money in Sabah or Sarawak, though if
travelling by river in the interior or
outside the larger cities, you should carry
a fair bit of cash in small denominations.
If travelling to the islands off the coast of
Malaysia, a surplus of cash is a necessity,
since most of them don't have banks.
Major credit cards are accepted in
many hotels and large shops, but beware
of illegal surcharges. Banks will advance

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
he Muslim holidays of Hari Raya Haji,
which celebrates the end of the annual
Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, and Hari
Raya Puasa, which celebrates the end of
the Ramadan fast, change from year to
year according to the lunar calendar.
January 1 New Year's Day
January/February Chinese New Year (two days)
January/February Thaipusam (depending on the full
moon)
February/March Birthday of the Prophet Muhammed
March/April Maal Hijrah (the Muslim New Year)
April Good Friday (Sarawak and Sabah only)
May Pesta Kaamatan - Harvest festival (Sabah only)
May 1 Labour Day
June 1 & 2 Gawai Dayak - Harvest festival (Sarawak only)
June 4 Yang di-Pertuan Agong's (King's) birthday
August 31 National Day
September 16 Malaysia Day (Sabah only)
September/October Hari Raya Puasa (end of Ramadan;
two days)
November Deepavali (the Hindu festival more commonly
known as Diwali, the Festival of Light)
December 25 Christmas Day