Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
12
Suggested Itineraries
Malaysia
Most visitors to Malaysia will arrive
at K uala L umpur's (KL 's) international
airport, spend a day in the capital, then
run ar ound the countr y tr ying to see as
much as they can in a shor t span of time.
While it 's natural to want to maximiz e
your vacation time, I am of the philosophy
that to tr y to pack too much into y our
holiday will actually detract fr om y our
overall trav el experience. I' ve advised
countless people on their trips and hav
great outdoors? O r do y ou just want
to r elax on the best beaches, scuba, or
snorkel?
A major consideration when planning
your trip is the heat! Especially if y ou're
not used to it, the heat and humidity can
sap the energy fr om y ou. B y the time
you've finished lunch, y ou'll bar ely hav e
the stamina to keep up with the r est of
your planned activities. Combined with
jet lag, you'll be asleep befor e dinner. Not
a swell time. Keep daily itineraries simple,
and make time for afternoon coffee or
tea!
Also, when flying betw een cities, bud-
get your time like this: One flight will take
about a half-day . So if y ou're flying fr om
Penang to KL, set aside either a whole
morning or a whole afternoon for the
flight. That will include airpor t transfers
and whatnot. Along the same lines, all
domestic flights either originate or end up
in KL. What this means is, if y ou're flying
from Penang to, say, Kota Kinabalu, you'll
fly fr om P enang to KL in the morning,
have lunch in the airpor t, then spend the
afternoon flying fr om KL to K ota Kina-
balu. It will take a whole day.
e
been horrified to see some of the itinerar-
ies put together b y w ell-meaning but ill-
informed travel agents in the West. All are
absolutely exhausting, some physically
impossible. I r ecommend that y ou see no
more than thr ee destinations in 1 w eek,
preferably only two . That way y ou hav e
time not just to see the sights, but to stop
and feel the rhythm of local life—to eat
the food, smell the smells, speak with the
people.
The itineraries I' ve suggested in this
chapter ar e all based on 1-w eek stays in
Malaysia. Each itinerary differs depending
on y our point of inter est: D o y ou like
historical sights and museums? D o y ou
want to appreciate nature and explore the
1
MALAYSIA'S REGIONS IN BRIEF
Malaysia's territor y co vers peninsular
Malaysia—bordering Thailand in the
South China S ea. All 13 of its states total
329,749 sq. km (128,602 sq. miles) of
land. O f this ar ea, P eninsular M alaysia
makes up about 132,149 sq. km (51,538
sq. miles) and contains 11 of Malaysia's 13
states: K edah, P erlis, P enang, and P erak
north just acr oss fr om S ingapore in the
south—and two states on the island of
Borneo, S abah and S arawak, appr oxi-
mately 240km (149 miles) east acr oss the
