Trip Report: Malaysia, KL and Malacca

Matty9999 · Post by **Matty9999** » Mon Jul 24, 2023 11:32 am

Its great here smooth sailing. Its hard to believe but ive been in KL and Malacca for almost 2 months. Wasn't really in a rush to leave because its a nice place. Compared with Bangkok, KL is a bit smaller but big and much more advanced. Nice apartments, high rise buildings of glass and steel, and shopping centers as well as a super nice and well connected metro. Was in Malacca a few weeks. Its a smaller town.

KL is cleaner than Bangkok & PP and the weather is a bit cooler which is a big plus for me because I like to be outdoors, of course KL is also bigger and more advanced than PP and other towns in Cambodia. The people are much less scammy towards tourists unlike in places in Thailand and are much less interested in westerners since its not a big tourist mecca. Its Muslim but at the same time cosmopolitan so the dating scene is acceptable, although it doesn't really have the bar girl setup like you find in other SE asia countries. Booze is about 2 to 3 times as expensive as in Thailand and housing about 50% more but still pretty affordable, especially away from KL.

At some point my 90 days will be up and ill have to choose another country and get on a plane. Any questions welcome.

armchairlawyer · Post by **armchairlawyer** » Mon Jul 24, 2023 7:46 pm

Matty9999 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 24, 2023 11:32 am Its great here smooth sailing. Its hard to believe but ive been in KL and Malacca for almost 2 months. Wasn't really in a rush to leave because its a nice place. Compared with Bangkok, KL is a bit smaller but big and much more advanced. Nice apartments, high rise buildings of glass and steel, and shopping centers as well as a super nice and well connected metro. Was in Malacca a few weeks. Its a smaller town.

KL is cleaner than Bangkok & PP and the weather is a bit cooler which is a big plus for me because I like to be outdoors, of course KL is also bigger and more advanced than PP and other towns in Cambodia. The people are much less scammy towards tourists unlike in places in Thailand and are much less interested in westerners since its not a big tourist mecca. Its Muslim but at the same time cosmopolitan so the dating scene is acceptable, although it doesn't really have the bar girl setup like you find in other SE asia countries. Booze is about 2 to 3 times as expensive as in Thailand and housing about 50% more but still pretty affordable, especially away from KL.

At some point my 90 days will be up and ill have to choose another country and get on a plane. Any questions welcome.

Great report. I have just returned from one month in Malaysia (Langhawi, Sabah, KL). I agree with all you say except for the price of booze. Langhawi is a duty free island so that is particularly cheap but in other places I found beer to be only slightly more than in Thailand and with much better choice. Wine is a similar price to Thailand., and again a better selection. IDK about spirits. Talking about prices in shops.
In Sabah, the muslims will eat in restaurants that display "No Pork Served" but in peninsulat Malaysia (which has been getting more Saudi attention and funds), they tend to insist on full halal.
The main plus for me was the quality of the food, espeically fish and seafood. Great value for the quality you get. For some reason fruits are expensive and quite hard to buy.
Banana leaf curry in Little India, KL is a great experience and so inexpensive.
People everywhere I went were friendly but you need to show them a smile first to get them to show it. High level of education too, when you have a conversation.
Grab is very inexpensive. When I filled up my hire car at the gas station, I got change out of $15.
I got a very warm welcome at Langhawi ferry port (boat from Satun). The immigration and customs officials greeted me profusely. There are few western tourists there (same in Sabah).
The drive from Ranau to Kota Murudu is the best I have ever enjoyed.

Matty9999 · Post by **Matty9999** » Tue Jul 25, 2023 7:04 pm

A few additions to what I said before:

#1 English proficiency 95%, yea so no problem at all with everyone you meet.
#2 Dial back the cost of living a bit. Id rate it as being 30% higher than Thailand and 40% more than Cambo. Street food can be had for $1.2 usd\
#3 Crime is rated as moderate online but i really havent seen anything much at all.. not even anyone who looks suspicious.

Matty9999 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 24, 2023 11:32 am Its great here smooth sailing. Its hard to believe but ive been in KL and Malacca for almost 2 months. Wasn't really in a rush to leave because its a nice place. Compared with Bangkok, KL is a bit smaller but big and much more advanced. Nice apartments, high rise buildings of glass and steel, and shopping centers as well as a super nice and well connected metro. Was in Malacca a few weeks. Its a smaller town.

KL is cleaner than Bangkok & PP and the weather is a bit cooler which is a big plus for me because I like to be outdoors, of course KL is also bigger and more advanced than PP and other towns in Cambodia. The people are much less scammy towards tourists unlike in places in Thailand and are much less interested in westerners since its not a big tourist mecca. Its Muslim but at the same time cosmopolitan so the dating scene is acceptable, although it doesn't really have the bar girl setup like you find in other SE asia countries. Booze is about 2 to 3 times as expensive as in Thailand and housing about 50% more but still pretty affordable, especially away from KL.

At some point my 90 days will be up and ill have to choose another country and get on a plane. Any questions welcome.

yongchi · Post by **yongchi** » Fri Jul 28, 2023 3:10 pm

Matty9999 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 24, 2023 11:32 am Its great here smooth sailing. Its hard to believe but ive been in KL and Malacca for almost 2 months. Wasn't really in a rush to leave because its a nice place. Compared with Bangkok, KL is a bit smaller but big and much more advanced. Nice apartments, high rise buildings of glass and steel, and shopping centers as well as a super nice and well connected metro. Was in Malacca a few weeks. Its a smaller town.

KL is cleaner than Bangkok & PP and the weather is a bit cooler which is a big plus for me because I like to be outdoors, of course KL is also bigger and more advanced than PP and other towns in Cambodia. The people are much less scammy towards tourists unlike in places in Thailand and are much less interested in westerners since its not a big tourist mecca. Its Muslim but at the same time cosmopolitan so the dating scene is acceptable, although it doesn't really have the bar girl setup like you find in other SE asia countries. Booze is about 2 to 3 times as expensive as in Thailand and housing about 50% more but still pretty affordable, especially away from KL.

At some point my 90 days will be up and ill have to choose another country and get on a plane. Any questions welcome.

Many thanks for the report, Matty.
If you have the time, I'd like get your take on Malacca. How easy is it to get around on foot, coffee shops, locals? Would it be a nice place to live?

Matty9999 · Post by **Matty9999** » Sat Jul 29, 2023 4:56 pm

[/quote]

Many thanks for the report, Matty.
If you have the time, I'd like get your take on Malacca. How easy is it to get around on foot, coffee shops, locals? Would it be a nice place to live?
[/quote]

My pleasure, so Melaka is way smaller than KL. I personally am used to living in a big city so here its kind of strange. I would describe it as kitschy. Its quiet deserted, however, i will give it credit for having the most affordable 4 and 5 star hotels that ive ever rented, pricing is similar to a place like Vietnam. Theres also a lot of abandoned spaces, however nothing like for example detroit. It looks like developers expected more tourists than actually arrived here.

What most people come here for is the historical attractions, there is no beach resort, strangely. It has some cool neighborhoods to walk around in. I personally am going to vacate next week and head to some other places.

truffledog · Post by **truffledog** » Sat Jul 29, 2023 9:41 pm

yongchi wrote: ↑Fri Jul 28, 2023 3:10 pm
Many thanks for the report, Matty.
If you have the time, I'd like get your take on Malacca. How easy is it to get around on foot, coffee shops, locals? Would it be a nice place to live?

Malacca is also known for its excellent cuisine. Most attractions are around historical buildings, temples and museums. Jonker Street is a very popular venue for streefood and markets.

Try to stay in a B&B along the river..such a nice atmosphere in the evenings.

Trip Report: Malaysia, KL and Malacca

Trip Report: Malaysia, KL and Malacca

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