Things to do in Malaysia
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Red Ape Trail
5 days (Kuching)
An adventurous trek through virgin rainforest with opportunities to spot wild orangutans in their natural habitat, visit remote Iban communities and learn jungle survival skills.
Not LP reviewed
from USD$1,290 - All things to do
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Rainforest Discovery Centre
The Rainforest Discovery Centre, about 1.5km from Sepilok Orang-Utan Rehabilitation Centre, offers an engaging graduate-level education in tropical flora and fauna. Outside the exhibit hall, a botanical garden presents varying samples of tropical plant life, with the accompanying descriptions every bit as vibrant as the foliage. There’s a 1km lakeside walking trail as well. A series of eight canopy towers are being built – three have been completed. Paddleboats (RM5) are available to ride around the inviting lake near the centre’s entrance.
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Hawker Stalls in Chinatown
Chinatown has some of the best street food in KL. From late afternoon the pavements along Jln Sultan and Jln Tun HS Lee fill with plastic chairs and tables, and mobile kitchens are set up in the street, serving an astonishing array of Malay and Chinese dishes. Many of the food stalls stay open till midnight or later and you can get a filling meal of rice and spicy stir-fried beef with a cold beer for as little as around RM20.
Everything is prepared fresh so the food is almost always safe to eat, but stick to stalls with lots of customers.
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Padang Brown Food Court
Everyone in town knows that this is the spot for delectable popiah (spring rolls) although the won ton mee (egg vermicelli served with pork dumplings or sliced roast pork) and bubur caca (it's pronounced cha cha - don't be so childish - and it's a delicious dessert porridge made with coconut milk and banana) is another good reason to try the food in this area. In the afternoons try the yong tau foo (clear Chinese soup with fish balls, lettuce, crab sticks, cuttlefish and more).
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Menara KL
Built atop the Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve, the 421m Menara KL easily trumps the Petronas Towers when it comes to providing the highest view you’re going to get of the city, bar chartering a helicopter. The tower’s bulbous pinnacle is inspired by a Malaysian spinning top and, inside, the viewing deck is, at 276m, at least 100m higher than the Petronas Towers’ skybridge. One floor higher, you can have a meal or afternoon tea at the revolving restaurant Seri Angkasa.
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Cosmo's World
There are numerous theme parks and water parks dotted around KL. The most convenient is Cosmo's World located inside the Berjaya Times Square shopping centre. Despite the mall location, there's a full-sized looping coaster plus a good selection of thrill rides for teenagers and gentler rides for families. (Avoid the DNA Mixer unless you want too see your nasi lemak a second time.) You'll find more thrill rides and wet and wild activities at Sunway Lagoon, Mines Wonderland and Genting Highlands.
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Canada Hill
Canada Hill, on the low ridge behind the town centre, is the site of Malaysia's first oil well, the Grand Old Lady. Bored in 1910, the well produced around seven barrels a day until it was abandoned in 1972. The hill is a popular exercise spot with a handful of refreshment kiosks, and it's worth walking up here at sunset just for the views across Miri to the South China Sea. The new Petroleum Museum on the hill has a few interesting displays on the source of the city's wealth.
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Restoran Sempelang
Eating outside is a Kota Kinabalu tradition and Restoran Sempelang is a great place to do it - right smack in the middle of the colourful Kompleks Sinsuran. There's a lot to like about this bustling Malay eatery: giant fresh fruit juices, English menu, good seafood barbeque (from 18:00 nightly), a canopy to keep off the rain, and friendly staff. As with other restaurants in the complex, your meal will be accompanied by the ubiquitous pro-wrestling videos.
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a-ha Café
a-ha wouldn’t look at all out of place in any cosmopolitan European capital, and the emphasis is firmly on healthy eating, with organic produce, all-natural ingredients and no MSG or artificial additives, plus a special ‘healthy heart’ menu. Whether you treat yourself to Norwegian salmon, ostrich steak or deer kebabs, or just pop in for a fruit ’n’ vegetable smoothie, a-ha is a rare treat with virtually zero guilt factor. Wi-fi available.
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Putuo Traditional Chinese Medical Therapy Centre
The original, and still one of the best reflexology centres, is Putuo Traditional Chinese Medical Therapy Centre, which offers straightforward, excellent-value services. If you have specific ailments – anything from migraines to water retention – the owner will create a special treatment for you. There are also ear candles, fire cupping, body scrubs and more. The centre’s ambience is no-frills Chinese institutional.
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Fortune-Teller Booths
Uncover your destiny at one of several little Chinese fortune-teller booths along Jonker's Walk on Friday and Saturday nights. The local Chinese in Malaysia frequently consult these mystics to ask for advice or to find out the most auspicious times of the year for certain occasions (such as weddings, financial investments, travel etc). Techniques range from card reading to fortune sticks, palm reading and Chinese astrology.
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FMS Restaurant
Upstairs from the FMS Bar, though under separate management, this is a popular Chinese restaurant in an old colonial building adorned with antique prints, porcelain, and a large portrait of the young Queen Elizabeth II. Seafood and beancurd dishes are particularly good, but prices are high. Wave away the 'complimentary' peanuts if you don't want them added to your bill. You'll also be charged for your paper napkin.
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Tua Pek Kong Temple
Tua Pek Kong Temple is an interesting riverside Chinese temple where, if you’re lucky, you’ll find Mr Tan Teck Chiang in attendance. Mr Tan will give you a tour of the temple and explain (in lavish detail) his interpretation of Taoism and Buddhism. You can also scale the seven-storey pagoda to get a brilliant view over the town and the muddy Batang Rejang as it makes its way seaward.
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Cooking Courses with the Chef Association
Penang has no organised cookery courses but you can contact the Chef Association to see if any of their chefs would be interested in giving a lesson or two. The earlier you get in touch with the association, the more likely you are to find an instructor. Prices are not set and will need to be agreed upon by you and the chef and will depend on the venue, menu, group number and number of lessons.
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Grace Point
Take bus 15 out near Tanjung Aru for some local grub at this Kota Kinabalu (KK) mainstay. The development is actually quite chic compared to the smoke-swathed food courts in the city centre – KKers joke that the public bathrooms here are Borneo’s nicest (and it’s true!). Go for the Sabahan food stall (located in the far right corner when facing the row of counters) and try hinava.
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La Bodega
This popular, trendy place is four venues in one: an all-day deli cafe serving good sandwiches, a chilled-out tapas bar, a formal dining room, and a lively lounge bar. Good wine and authentic tapas and paella complete the Spanish mood. The new branch at Pavilion KL ([tel] 2148 8018; Level 3, Pavilion KL, 168 Jln Bukit Bintang; open 7am to 3am) is known for its great cooked breakfast.
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Howard’s
A finely crafted ambience of creaseless linen, elegant furniture, black-and-white chequered tile floor, flavoursome international cuisine (lobster bisque, roast rack of lamb) and nonintrusive service, Howard’s is a thoroughly unhurried and intimate experience and a top romantic dining choice. Topped off with an impressive wine list, this is definitely Chinatown’s swankiest choice.
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Borneo Wavehunters
Borneo Wavehunters is a reputable outfitter with a band of cheery guides. Day trips organised out of Kota Kinabalu cost around RM200 per person, including transfers by van, and normally require 24 hours’ advance notice. Tourists who seek calmer waters can ride the rapids of Sungai Kiulu (bookable through the aforementioned operator) near Mt Kinabalu.
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Similajau National Park
Similajau National Park, 30km north of Bintut, is a quiet coastal park with nice white-sand beaches, good walking trails and simple accommodation. While the park does not have the habitat variety of Bako National Park, it’s perfect if you want a quiet, relaxing natural getaway as you work your way along the coast of Sarawak.
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Jalan Petaling
The commercial heart of Chinatown is one of the most colourful and busiest shopping parades in KL, particularly at night when stalls cram the covered street. It offers everything from fresh fruit and cheap clothes and shoes to copies of brand-name watches and handbags, and pirated CDs and DVDs. Be prepared to bargain hard.
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Food Stalls at Lorong Tuanku Abdul Rahman
The best time to visit Little India is during the Saturday pasar malam on Lorong Tuanku Abdul Rahman, the alley between Jln TAR and Jln Masjid India. From mid-afternoon, this narrow lane becomes crammed with food stalls serving excellent Malaysian Indian food, as well as favourite dishes of the Chinese and Indian communities.
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Kedai Kopi Lai Foong
Chinatown has a number of informal hawker-style restaurants, with various food stations serving classic Malay Chinese dishes. Almost all offer fried rice, fish curry, rice porridge, mee (thin noodles, fried or in soup) and tofu dishes - a meal should cost less than RM20. Kedai Kopi Lai Foong is recommended.
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Bonda
Self-styled 'retro' restaurant with a vaguely '60s/'70s décor scheme, including orange plastic chairs and Lonely Planet covers on the walls. Chicken and chips-style dishes are served, alongside the usual rice and noodle options, and there are piles of English magazines to flick through.
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Seri Angkasa
Watch KL pass by from this revolving restaurant atop Menara KL (KL Tower). The very decent lunch buffet (noon and 2.30pm) is RM66.70. Book for evening meals, especially for sunset dining. There’s a dress code, but the staff will provide men wearing shorts with a sarong (to cover the legs).
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Guandi Temple
The 1886 Guandi Temple is full of atmosphere. The main hall is hung with fragrant coils of spiral incense, paper clothes and money that are burned to bring good fortune to the ancestors. The temple is dedicated to Kwan Ti, a historical Chinese general revered by Taoists as the god of war.
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Medan Selera Meldrum Walk
Every late afternoon, the little food stalls crammed along this alley (that runs parallel to Jln Meldrum) start frying up everything from ikan bakar to the local curry laksa. Wash down your meal with fresh sugar-cane juice or a Chinese herbal jelly drink.
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