| Submitted by: Timothy Eyre , United Kingdom |
| Submission Date: 07 February 2005 |
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Bus connections poor here, book in advance. Was sold a ticket for RM9 when price is RM8 from tout. Takes 3.5 to 4 hrs, left at 10.30am. Ferry to Georgetown coin-op and 40c. D'Budget Hostel very good, clean, secure, RM7 for dorm, RM15 for room with double bed, RM14 for room with single bed, RM8 for bed in 3 or 4 bed dorm, rm22 for room with two single beds. Quiet and helpful. Buses 92,93,94,102 go to Wat Chayamangkalaramfrom jetty via a short walk. Also decent Bhuddist temple opposite, RM0.60 each way and buses as late as 7pm back to city.
Good and cheap roti canai place opposite PLaza Hostel. Penang seems relatively short on eateries. Get a long ride for RM4.05 on bus no.66 with good views. The Indian restuarant next to Plaza Hostel also does good food. To get to Kangsar get bus to Alor Setar from Butterworth (RM4.25) then walk 500m to Express bus station via McDonalds to catch bus to Kangsar (RM2.60). Prices in Kangsar seem to have gone up out of step with elsewhere in Malaysia. A dirty noisy twin without bath in Ben Cheong was RM22 and Hotel Malaysia RM32 for bath, twin and fan or RM38 with air con. Latter definately worth the extra. People at this place friendly. Getting to Grik from Kangsar takes all day and 4 buses. First to Alor Setar (RM2.90), then to B'worth(RM4.20), then there is a direwct bus at 1.45pm, but no later.
Instead went to Keloh (RM2.60) which looks like a pleasant place to stay with lots of hotels and right on Thai border. Bus from here leaves at 5.40pm to Grik with brilliant views (RM2.60). Sin Wah Hotel only RM9 for twin, bit grubby but adequate. Well stocked supermarket nearby which even has 186 metre reels of dental floss. Lots of places to eat. A bus to Kota Bharu stops here at about 1 pm and leaves about 2.30pm but hitching is easy - the resort on the nearby artificial lake charges from RM75 for a standard room. It claims to have RM20.00 accomodation for 'budget travellers' but not in evidence, camping also claimed but not in evidence either. Beautiful place. Rebana in KB RM13 for twin, RM16 for triple RM6 for dorm. Looking its age and full of draconian notices. Becak maybe RM3 from bus station. After one night moved to the light, airy Maryland Hotel (Chinese) on Jalan Tok Hazim (RM25 for spacious twin with fan and bath) RM35 with aircon. Near the handicrafts museum there is a WWII museum which is RM2 but has few artifacts but lots of photos. Night market ace. McDonald's is at bus station and on J. Tok Hazim, bus no. 10 to PCB from Pasar Buluh Kubu 70sen every 20mins until almost midnight. Loads of handicraft joints. Walking by the river is interesting in KB and there is a floating homestay amongst the houses which should be checked out. Saw a bird singing competition near bus station on J. Hamzah, but might have been a one off. No good English bookshops in KB. Bus from KB to Kuala Terenganu RM7.50, good idea to book 2-3hrs ahead or better, day before. Leave at 12noon, 1.30pm, they put on extra if fully booked, 3.5hrs. Buses to Merang and Marang from KT are from the local bus station, a new one is being built near old one. Seri Pantai hotel is RM17 for a twin with fan and no bath, not bad and lots of other places were full on Sunday afternoon - booking ahead might have been prudent.
New Maryland Hotel comes vey highly recommended from me in Kota Bharu. KT to Marang RM1, bus also stops at long distance bus station but was packed out by this time. Soon reverted to being nearly empty. Marang Inn good, double bed room RM10, single bed room RM8, ablutions not too great. Good batik about. To get photocopying done, turn right onto main road and try at the shopping complex on the right about 1km away, if not try photo shop on other side of road behind bus stop a bit further on. Getting out of Marang is a haphazard affair, we had an empty aircon bus stop for us and charge RM9 each to Cherating, 3hrs. Tanjong Inn has upped price, double with fan and bath RM50 for 1 night, RM40 a night for 2 nights or RM30 a night if you stay 3 or more nights. Without bath RM20 a night for 3 or more nights. There is a good path up hill from northern end of beach. Food stalls best place to eat. Mimi's is hopelessly disorganised, waited 45mins before being told they couldn't do our order. AVOID. Bus to Kuantan at about 10am, RM2.60, 1.5hrs 'cos of traffic. Bomb of a bus. Bookshop moneychanger in Kuantan gives poor rates esp. for TCs. Good idea to get bus tickets out of Kuantan day before departure, buses to Pekan frequent and RM2.60.
Pekan Hotel OK and friendly, RM12 for single with all the peep holes in the walls repaired. Museum RM1 and get a good map of Pekan. Bus station unimpressive, poor connections. Post office right in middle of town. Polo field is marked on map and surrounded by very traditional Malay houses and village life. Polo matches are held in season and Price Charles has played there, rest house is nearby. To get anywhere from Pekan you really have to go to Kuantan first (RM2.60, loads of local buses). There is a book place with some English books at bus station. To Temerloh from Kuantan not so full on weekdays, RM5.20 2.5hrs, in Temerloh don't go to place promnently signposted from J. Tenglu Bakat down an alley, it's the worst place I stayed in Malaysia. Night market good and tape vendor will play casettes to you. Loads of shopping centres around. There are lots of pleasant out of town walks. Town itself of little interest. Couldn't find District Office for permit to Tasik Bera, directions would be helpful. Jerantut RM3.30, 1.5hrs, Hotel Chett Fatt charges RM15 for large clean single with fan,towels,basin,soap,chairs, two beds and double glazing. Good value, friendly and helpful. Cinema in Jerantut is cheap at Rm2.50. Morning bus to Kuala Tembling broke down (times of buses 8.15am, 11am, 1.30pm, 5.15pm). Taxi RM15 for whole taxi. Hitching to K.Lipis didn't work after an hour, bus to Benta rm3.30, no hotels here but not of interest anyway (beyond a 1hr look around).
Bus to K.Lipis from Benta RM1.55. Gin Loke hotel good value at RM10 for single. No supermarkets here. Walking along railway track eastwards is a very rewarding experience and is recommended, places to drink tea are 2km and 8km out, learn to balance on the lines. Trekking is RM30 a day but have to hang around for a group to form. Cinema RM2 or RM3 with English films off video disc. Night market good, as is cafe opposite. Can take boats out of town for RM5 along the river, can get out at Batu Sembilan and get train or walk back. Train passes to go north at 6 or 7 pm, RM4 to Gua Musang, 3.5hrs. Arriving late may mean that the large supply of hotels there might be full. Owner of Rest House was away but I shared with a long term resident. Pretty run down. Gua Musang has no atmosphere and poor bus connections. A train starts from here at 12noon to go north, Dabong is RM2.70 and 2hrs. DAbong has a pleasant and friendly RM20/night resthouse inc. bath and carpet. Good atmosphere and lovely village. Boat to Kuala Krai leaves at 6am except Fridays and there is a train northat 6.39pm (arrived 7.15pm). Nearby is Gua Ikan which is worth the walk out - cross the railway line, turn left on the decomposing road a bit up the hill and it's 3km, great walking there and beyond and little traffic. Beautiful limestone hills and jungle. Cave not all that impressive, though there is a river nearby good for swimming complete with a water slide. Jelawan Jungle place is now shut becasue of a horrific accident, but still possible to get the boat over the river (rm0.50) from Dabong, get a taxi/hitch/walk to Jelawang and sleep rough in the huts that are still there or make a long day trip. Cold at night here.
Two stream crossings are needed on the way up. I was lucky as a local guide who lives up there happened to be home and let me stay,but this was a concession, RM20 full board. Trails still well marked. Was told of possibility of paying for a 'qualified guide' certificate in Malaysia without actually doing any training. Jelawan Jungle has hornbills,gibbons and some leeches. Worth visiting just for the spectacular waterfall which can even be seen from the traion the way into Dabong. Way up a rough, steep trail. Heard that there's a proper resort at the bottom of the waterfall. Road 66 through Jelawang goes to Jeli. Third class to Tanah Merah from Dabong RM3.40, no seat but not like Chinese hard seat. Hitching out of Tanah Merah is poor, bus to Jeli RM2.50, lots of departures, but only bus to Grik is at 9am. Rest house in Jeli is RM30 but was full and Jeli has few redeeming features. Hitching west from the main road was easy (walk about 2km from station to get there). In Gerik the Golden City Hotel is RM16 for a single and is of good standard if you don't mind climbing stairs. Costs about RM5 to get from Grik to Kuala Kangsar, there are direct buses but easier to go on a 0.5hrly bus to Lengong and change. KK is ace place, Mei Lai hotel is RM16 with air con off. Bit inconvenient location but good place. Lots of other hotels around. Cinema here RM2.50, good food and vast tracts of park area. Can cross river for 20sen and see traditional pottery and water buffaloes in village. Loads of buses to Taiping, RM2.05, 1hr. Peace Hotel has lots of character and good location but is basic and noisy, good value at RM12. War cemetary in Taiping worth a look, on way to Maxwell Hill. Walked up Bukit Maxwell, quite an undertaking 2.75 hrs and worthwhile. Can only book hotels from 9am to 12noon and they booked me into a closed hotel! Still got a room for RM15 with large bathroom at Rumah Rehat Bukit Larut, excellant view. Food up there not so good, canteen is best place to go. There is a jungle walk off left near the very top of the hill, but prepare for loads of leeches. There was a shrine of some kind in the jungle here that I found on this walk, it had lots of tridents in it so looked a bit scary! Walk down Bukit Maxwell is hard on the knees and took 2.25hrs, Indian Restaurant on Jalan Pasar 'Siharya Vilas' (or something) in Taiping is great - I even got a meal paid for me.
To get to Cameron Highlands from here in half a day is feasible but not staightforward. Bus to Ipoh, air con rm3.80, lots of departures. Ipoh to Kampar rm2.20, Kampar to Tapah RM1.25, then last bus to Tanah Rata is a 5pm, RM3.50. Father's Guest House still good, room with shower RM24, dorm RM6. Paths not as bad as many people make out, main problem is finding the trailhead. All the walks are worthwhile. Rain is the main problem in September. No leeches. I was told that there hadn't been malaria in Cameron for about a year. Bus down to Tapah is sick-making and RM3.70 for video bus, 2hrs. To KL from Tapah RM9.50, book tickets at the Chinese bookshop on corner if you turn right when leaving bus station. Could also get train from Tapah road station nearby (lots of buses to there), hitching didn't work.
Meridian YH in KL has free locker service. Muzium Negara now RM1 and most of it was closed because of rennovations. British Council library great.There is an Albanian business promotion centre in KL! Apparently Albania and Malaysia are getting chummy. There is an impressive and brand spanking new Telekom Museum on corner between J. Raja Chulan and J. Gereja, free, Classic building style and Hi Tech. Definately worth a visit. Handicraft Museum appears to have moved recently. Tourist Info Centre opposite Railway station gave me false info on my visa - they said I could legally leave Malaysia on 25th Sept having a 2 month visa dated 25th July but at checkpoint I was hassled for a days overstay (no fine, just condoned by a guy with lots of stripes on his shoulders). Getting to Shah Alam is very easy from Kelang Bus Station, takes about an hour, less than RM2 air con. Taxi might be RM20 according to local. Muzium still free and very impressive. Giant mosque also amazing but rest of town has nothing of interest except the park between the mosque and museum. In KL Lebuh Ampang has some well stocked casette shops.
The Science Centre near the national museum is on all the city maps and is within walking distance, though the traffic is a disincentive. Would need a genuine interest in Science (or schoolchildren, who abound there) to make the trip worthwhile, admission is free. They claimed a giant science centre was opening in1994 but no signs of it yet. |
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| Copyright © - "Timothy Eyre" |
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