thailand vs malaysia

wondering if anyone has comments on the differences.
we've been to TL and few times, and just looking for somethign new.
(but still cheap and safe)

interested in big cities, markets, street food, snorkeling, and nice nature.

thailand is cheaper that malaysia..thailand have better happening activity compare to malasyia

my recommnedation
big city
go to kuala lumpur -- things to do twin tower, menara kuala lumpur, indian temple at batu cave, visit china town and indian town

historical city
go to melaka -- many stuffs to visit

jungle tracking
1. taman negara
2. cameron highland - tea plantation, jungle tracking, butterfky garden, rose garden

beach
1. perhentaian kecil and perhentian besar
2. pulau redang
3. penang
4. langkawi

Thailand was about 10% cheaper than Malaysia when I was there two years ago, but the exchange rate has changed and it may mean that they are on more of an even keel now.

I really like Thailand, but I much prefer Malaysia.

Big Cities
Kuala Lumpur - smaller than Bangkok, and easy to get around with some interesting things to do and see for a couple of days.

Markets and street food
Plenty of markets in Chinatowns, and great nightmarkets everywhere

Snorkelling
Plenty of options in the Perhentians and I believe off Sabah (haven't been to Sabah yet)

Nice nature
Cameron Highlands is good for trekking and the scenery, and of course part of Borneo is Malaysian and there are lots of really great national parks there to get out into nature (most of them have good basic accommodation and are easily accessible).

I have found Malaysians to be more friendly than Thai's, and of course Malaysia is a very safe place.

It has a completely different culture to Thailand, and is more 'advanced' than Thailand if you know what I mean, but it's not sterile and there's still plenty of culture.

Have a great trip.

I'm finding Penang cheaper than Chiang Mai. The Thai baht gained over ten percent against the dollar while I was there, so it was noticeably more expensive by the time I left. I'm enjoying Penang a lot. It's nice to be in a place that isn't swarming with bar girls.

I like the cultural mix here, the Chinese and Indian and Malay together.

The Thai baht keeps getting stronger and Thailand is no longer inexpensive! The Ringgit has been pretty stable and Malaysia is now less expensive to visit, as long as you don't drink beer or liquor. Since it's primarily a Muslim culture, alcohol is available but expensive. But if you can do without that, lodging is roughly the same or a little less than Chiang Mai and food can be very inexpensive if you eat at the markets or dozens of Indian restaurants serving tasty, cheap food.

I like the Malaysian culture a lot. Thailand has become very developed and it's hard to find places to get away from it all (especially in the south). Malaysia has good tourist services, it's very friendly and you get the sense that the locals aren't sick of tourists and travellers.

If at all possible, when you visit Malaysia, don't forget the states of Sarawak and Sabah on the island of Borneo. It is not expensive to fly there from KL or Johor Bahru and there are some wonderfully wild areas to explore - Kuching is a great city to linger, Baku NP, Mulu NP, etc.

Enjoy!

You guys make it sound very appealing!

Anyone want to put together a rough plan for us?
We have a month (july/Aug) and woudl like to end it with 7 days on a snorkeling beach.

Thought about a stopover n Singapore on the way out, cos we have to fly thru there anyway..