A journey in Malaysia in the middle of August: Kuala Lumpur and Perhentian
This was our first time in Asia, almost by chance, and also our first holiday completely do-it-yourself.
It was really a nice trip, which allowed us to visit Kuala Lumpur, a large, multi-ethnic Asian city, where shopping at competitive prices and see aspects of different cultures such as Malay, Chinese and Indian (to clearly see the Petronas , then Bukit Bintang with its mega malls, the China Town to Batu Caves, Merdeka Square), and enjoy a wonderful sea in the small Perhentian paradise, to swim among the corals, with sharks and turtles, eat fresh fish on the beach, trekking in the jungle and relax on quiet beaches some of which practically deserted.
Malaysia is a safe country, to turn quietly to autonomy, set up for transport and tourist services. English is widespread and low cost, both in terms of housing for the food!
We found a good offer at the Emirates flight on intercontinental (870 € per person, booked Two months before), with a stopover in Dubai on the outward and return.
To get there we flew to Kota Bharu with Malaysia Airlines, good company (115 euros per person, expenses that can significantly reduce flying with low cost airline AirAsia, which also is the best low cost airline in the world, we having read in various travel stories complaints regarding delays and cancellations of this company, we decided to play it safe by booking online with Malaysia Airlines, but everyone we met during our trip, who had flown with AirAsia, there spoke very well in terms of punctuality, saying it had no such problems, the only thing to note, if a connecting flight to Kuala Lumpur, AirAsia is that flights depart from a different terminal , distant about thirty minutes from the main airport).
In Kuala Lumpur Equatorial we stay at the hotel, a five star hotel 10 minutes walk from the Petronas (about € 20 per night per person, without breakfast, booked on booking.com).
To find accommodation at Perhentian we struggled a lot, sent e-mail to all hotels, most of them who responded with a "fully booked" (as places are limited on the island, is particularly advisable if you plan to go in August, book early). So, we stopped without thinking too clearly the first hotel that gave us the availability, Cozy Chalet for the first 4 nights and the Perhentian Island Resort in the last 3.
The Cozy Chalet (about € 20 per night per person, including breakfast, booked through the hotel website), recently opened, consists of wooden houses, spacious but spartan, built uphill, behind the hill, and joined from the stairs and our room was the highest of all, practically in the jungle (every night we had to hurry to get to avoid an invasion of insects and mosquitoes!) with the suitcases was a grind to get there, but we had from the terrace a pretty sight.
Or the Perhentian Island Resort (PIR on 38 euros per night per person, including breakfast, booked through the hotel website) is the only resort island that is close to an international village, this makes it much less distinctive, but The piece is located on the island's finest beach. Looks very nice outside, while the rooms are pretty antiquated. But we had the deluxe room, right on the beach!
Finally, since we had to return 11-hour stopover in Dubai, we decided to stay at Lotus Hotel, a good 4 star center in Deira 4 km from the airport (about € 20 a night per person, including breakfast and transfers and from the airport included, booked on booking.com), so that we can rest and have a quick glimpse of the city.