# Malaysia



## Fents (23/4/09)

So me and the missus just got back from our honey moon in Malaysia. For anyone thinking of going there i highly recommend it! We started out an island called Borneo and particulary a place on the island called Kota Kinabalu.

The resort we stayed in was LUSH! Shagri La Tajung Aru resort if i recall correctly and i could not recommend it enough. Super friendly staff, right on the beach, wicked pool's, watersports galore etc. Very kid friendly (not the we have one....yet) too..

The food in the resort was a bit pricey but they usually are. Venture out into the city and it became much cheaper and even a bit more authentic. Had satays, currys, lots of different rices, i was even offerd turtle but declined...

BUT BEER I HEAR YOU SAY???? yea well a good brewer always sources it out...

First thing to remember is its predomintly a muslim country now...so beer by the slab/crate is hard to find.

First up i was stuck with Carlsberg 320ml can by the pool...5% Alc BUL in Malaysia. $55 Rinngits for a bucket of four cans in ice. Works out to be about $5.50AUD a can...pretty pricey but it was at the resort.

So i tredge down to 7 eleven to buy some smokes (tobacco is soooo cheap over there no wonder everyone smokes and no one drinks - $11 ringgits for a pack of smokes or $14 for 50gm pouch of tobacco...about $6AUD a pack.) and lo and behold they sell beer in 7 eleven! bonus...

Carlsberg
Carlsberg Special
Heiniken
Skool
Tiger
Becks
Stella
and a few others i cant remember

All Cans though and all 320ml @ $8 rinngits ($3.5AUD) a can. not bad. so i stocked up on 12 cans and headed back and stocked my mini bar up nicely.

Got through that and found out the only place you can buy it in bulk is at supermarkets. No bottleshops there at all...so i headed off to the nearest and brought a slab of Carlsberg again (was really not diggin the tiger) for $130 rinnigts which is about $60AUD...still pricey compared to home but hey, im on holiydays, cashed up, who cares right?!

Few points about Malasia for anyone thinking about it

1. Its hot and humid and sweaty!
2. You get used the the stench after 3-4 days
3. Foods good and cheap if you know where to go
4. Tobaccos very cheap
5. Its rains at about 4pm everyday but only for an hour
6. Dont get stuck in the middle of a road crossing in KL - its like playing real life frogger
7. Dont drive they make there own road rules!
8. Clothes and Runners are cheap!
9. Hungry jacks tasted the same! hahahah
10. They dont serve pig as its not Halal! i was gutted.

In all i thought it was a fantastic place, the people are nice and their culture was good to see. B)


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## therook (23/4/09)

Welcome back mate, glad you and the missus had a great delayed honeymoon and look forward to wetting the babies head in 9 months  

Rook


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## geoffi (23/4/09)

You will find pork in Malaysia if you go to Chinese restaurants.

My favourite food over there is the South Indian vegetarian. Awesomely delicious and ludicrously cheap.

Beer-wise, you'll also find a number of Indian brews. I remember Haywards and Kingfisher. Nothing special, but they taste pretty good on a hot and steamy South-east Asian afternoon.

Selamat minum!


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## lczaban (23/4/09)

+1 on Malaysia. I have been on a couple of business trips and the people there are friendly. Being an ex-British colony at one time a lot of people speak enough English for you to get by, which is awesome! The food is outstanding, especially if you are prepared to live a little and try food that is dished up in the local restaurants and street hawkers. Don't expect western-standard hygene, but the food is amazingly fresh and tastes great! :icon_drool2: 

On the beer side, being a Muslim country in Asia the selection of beers is somewhat limited to the refreshing lager styles that go well in these countries. Probably the highlight from my last trip to KL was eating at a seafood restaurant on a balmy evening tucking into a whole stingray that had been cooked in this green chilli/kaffer lime sauce while knocking back pint bottles of Tsing-tao. It was awesome! The dominant beers are your Stella/Carlsburg/Heineken euro megaswill, but given the climate and the food it is hard to go wrong drinking these sorts of beer over there IMHO...

Can't wait to go back! :beerbang:


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## Supra-Jim (23/4/09)

Nice wort Fents, and congrats.

Had a similar experience on my honeymoon in Thailand (awesome). Beer (Tiger, Singa, etc) was about $2AUD, coke and water was about $2.50AUD. So even at 10am, it made financial sense to stop at one of the little street side bars and stop for a beer to refresh rather than water!

:icon_cheers: SJ


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## warrenlw63 (23/4/09)

Well done and congrats Fents. We were in KL earlier in the year. It's a great place. Did you have a look at Low Yat Plaza? For the tech head that place is mind-blowing but yeah the beer's a bit expensive yeah?

Warren -


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## neonmeate (23/4/09)

the only stuff i drank in malaysia was the guinness foreign extra... recently downgraded from 8% to a pissy 6.8... but a real rough raw black beer that works very well with chilli crab... there's also a ceres stout which is 8% too.

as for food i have one word:

cendol :icon_drool2:


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## Fents (23/4/09)

It certainly is a great place...my pick for the meal of the trip would of have to been the 2.3KG lobster my missus orderd. Thing was HUGE! picked by me straight from a tank still kicking. done in a really nice garlic and black pepper butter sauce. Best lobster i've had to date although the rest of the seafood we had (massive prwans, mussels etc) we thought tasted better in Australia. Australia has it good for seafood i think.


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## warrenlw63 (23/4/09)

neonmeate said:


> the only stuff i drank in malaysia was the guinness foreign extra... recently downgraded from 8% to a pissy 6.8... but a real rough raw black beer that works very well with chilli crab... there's also a ceres stout which is 8% too.
> 
> as for food i have one word:
> 
> cendol :icon_drool2:



Carlsberg's Royal Stout was a fairly sustaining drop too. It amazes me how many yuck breweries always seem to crank out great stouts.  

Warren -


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## Katherine (23/4/09)

lobster on roids.... 

Could she finish it?


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## hefevice (23/4/09)

Lived in KL for 7 months, and visit Malaysia fairly often on business.

3. Food is cheap, safe and fantastic. Don't be afraid to eat at the stalls or restaurants with plastic tables and chairs. Follow the locals if at all possible.
6. You need to know the "hand of protection" sign when crossing the roads.
7. There's rules, Jim, but not as we know them. Once you let go of rigid western attitudes to driving, the behaviour begins to make sense.
10. As already pointed out, you need to know where to look for pig, but once you find it, it is great.

As for beer, my favourite was ABC Extra Stout (8%). Bit hard to find though.


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## Fatgodzilla (23/4/09)

Has to be said, too many foreigners in Malaysia. Country is full of them. B) 

I'll stay in Australia.  






















Gees I hate it when people go overseas and post marvellous photos and live the life of Riley and I get two weeeks off and have to go to Adelaide :angry:


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## chappo1970 (23/4/09)

Awesome Fents... Love Malaysia. Great food, lovely people, beautiful culture... the beer blows IMO but goes down well in that heat that's for sure. I see your into my style of fishing...Restaurant Fishing that is! Always guaranteed a feed of seafood  . Mrs fents looks mighty happy with ya catch! Congrats BTW.


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## Katherine (23/4/09)

Fatgodzilla said:


> Has to be said, too many foreigners in Malaysia. Country is full of them. B)
> 
> I'll stay in Australia.
> 
> ...



everyday a holiday in Turross Head


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## reviled (23/4/09)

"Malaysia simply asia" :lol: 

Sorry couldnt help myself, that ad cracks me up... 

That lobster is crazy bro!


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## jeremy (23/4/09)

Have to +1 vegetarian South Indian. 

Thosai!!! Wish they would serve it up for lunch though, the little mumuks would only feed you Thosai before 10am, and it seems that Malay people have about 8 meals a day.

Gotta love roti canai also...


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## Adamt (23/4/09)

warrenlw63 said:


> Carlsberg's Royal Stout was a fairly sustaining drop too. It amazes me how many yuck breweries always seem to crank out great stouts.
> 
> Warren -



It amazes me how many breweries crank out very precisely controlled yuck beers on purpose.


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## Fents (23/4/09)

Katie said:


> lobster on roids....
> 
> Could she finish it?



not without a lil' help from the boys... :lol: she did pretty well tho, 3/4's of it no worries.

damn now i want to be back there!


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## head (23/4/09)

Been over to Penang a few times now. Clothes shopping and food. Simply awesome. Billabong/Ripcurl/Quicksilver etc. for about $5-8 aus a shirt and they last better than a lot of the real deal shirts.

Places like Batu Ferengi, expensive for beer and not too bad for food. Centre of Georgetown (Penang is actually the island name, Georgetown the main city) really cheep for food. Tandoori chicken for 4 with Naan Breads and drinks.......from memory we got out of there for less than $10 Aus. Trick with the food is to go somewhere they are cooking fresh, or if doing the Bamorie thing make sure there is a big turn over of food. Or just eat where the locals eat, normally a good trick.

Langkowie on the other hand can be a little dearer for food with it being a little more difficult to get your local variety and more different themed restraunts. Beef is hard to find here but lots of Buffalo. Fresh water fish is generally given a wide burth as it is apparently considered unclean as it swims where the buffalo poo and cow, well it eats grass that grows from it's poo. This is how it was explained to us. *sigh* Lovely people with some different ideas. This is however a duty free island. Very cheep alcohol here. 2Rm for a can of heinekin, Carlsburg etc at the duty free stores and you can just buy what you want normally. Weird thing about this island is a lot of Russians go there.

Great place to visit. Not to some peoples tastes but there are a lot of people who go over every year.




Some Chilli Mud Crab. Pic does not do this meal justice. It was awesome.


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## Katherine (23/4/09)

Ive being pretty much all over Malaysia...

I loved Malacca such friendly people, but after seeing the strait there was no way I would be eating that seafood.

Had no problem eating king fish from the Island Perhentian Kecil (north west)... you could see the guys coming back from there boats with there daily catch across there shoulder. No cars or bikes on that island...


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## Josh (23/4/09)

Katie said:


> Ive being pretty much all over Malaysia...


ditto

Studied for a semester just out of Kajang (home of satay sticks) about 40 mins from KL in 97...

and spent 3 months at the Butterworth Air Force Base, on the mainland from Penang Island in 2000-01. 

Both very different trips, but they both had good times.

Traveling the length of the country numerous times in my first trip was unbelievable. Luxury 24 seater coaches, rickety old trains and all the mini buses. But the best bit was walking to the national highway from our accommodation and just hitchhiking to Singapore on a whim. It took 4 different vehicles and one whole day but we met plenty of great people. We even got a personal tour of the unopened KLIA airport site by one of the engineers. Then we stopped in at his place for lunch before hitting the highway again.

So many great memories, I can't wait to get away again. Europe can't come soon enough.

Back on topic, I drank a lot of the cheap Thai rocket fuel, and on more than a few occasions paid stacks of money at our favourite watering hole Hard Rock Cafe. In 2000 we had cases of VB and Tiger at the boozer, and when in town got buckets of 5 Carlsbergs for about RM20 ($9?)


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## Cocko (23/4/09)

Fents said:


> 2. You get used the the stench after 3-4 days
> 3. Foods good and cheap if you know where to go
> 4. Tobaccos very cheap
> 8. Clothes and Runners are cheap!



My tip for doing any of part of asia is travel naked with an empty case!


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## Jase71 (24/4/09)

After a recent stopover in KL during March, two nights, then another four nights a few weeks after, I got to thinking how great it would be to work & live there for a couple of years. How does one go about finding work in Malaysia (without formal qualifications :lol: ) 

Serious question.


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## Jase71 (24/4/09)

Cocko said:


> My tip for doing any of part of asia is travel naked with an empty case!



Yep, very good advice. One T-Shirt and a pair of duds on the body, same again in the pack + a few pairs of synthetic undies in the bag and you're away. 

A well stocked First Aid Kit should be packed though.....


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## Josh (24/4/09)

Jase71 said:


> After a recent stopover in KL during March, two nights, then another four nights a few weeks after, I got to thinking how great it would be to work & live there for a couple of years. How does one go about finding work in Malaysia (without formal qualifications :lol: )
> 
> Serious question.


Played a game of Aussie Rules in Jakarta when I was over there. Our side were all ex-pats. Most of the players either worked at the High Commission or were in the construction industry, mainly engineers. Just before the Asian Economic Crisis of '97 there were whole cities being built. Not too sure of the situation right now, but I'd bet they're still building plenty of things. That being said, if you're not the engineer or working for an international builder that pays in foreign currency, you'd be hard pressed earning the equivalent of the minimum wage back here.

Not too sure of other work foreigners can walk into in those parts.

You could pack up and move to Langkawi like Les, a Kiwi we met running his own little beach bar on the duty free island.


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## Jase71 (24/4/09)

Josh said:


> Played a game of Aussie Rules in Jakarta when I was over there. Our side were all ex-pats. Most of the players either worked at the High Commission or were in the construction industry, mainly engineers. Just before the Asian Economic Crisis of '97 there were whole cities being built. Not too sure of the situation right now, but I'd bet they're still building plenty of things. That being said, if you're not the engineer or working for an international builder that pays in foreign currency, you'd be hard pressed earning the equivalent of the minimum wage back here.
> 
> Not too sure of other work foreigners can walk into in those parts.
> 
> You could pack up and move to Langkawi like Les, a Kiwi we met running his own little beach bar on the duty free island.



That raises a question that I had when I was in a taxi from KL's LCCT and the city (four one-hour trips in the last month). There's a shitload of housing developments that you see from the motorway, but they are all empty ! These estates roll into the horizon as far as the eye can see, and they are all empty (no curtains, cars, gardening, or any signs of life). What;s the go with THAT ? My partner spent some time in Malaysia a few years ago and suggested that there's a corruption element between the government and the construction industry in Malaysia in that they create these housing areas simply to turn over a buck (or a billion!) simply to chanell public funding into the pockets of the officials without regard to whether they actually get anyone to live in them. And I can tell you, there are over 10,000 houses that are probably empty, just along the route between the airport and the city.


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## warrenlw63 (24/4/09)

Jase71 said:


> That raises a question that I had when I was in a taxi from KL's LCCT and the city (four one-hour trips in the last month). There's a shitload of housing developments that you see from the motorway, but they are all empty !



 How about that protracted trip from the airport? Cabby speeds like a loonie and gives you this pleading look everytime they pay the freeway tolls. My wife got sucked in and wound up reimbursing them for said tolls. Wound up a pricier ride than we first anticipated. :lol: 

I remember all the developments Jase. They were empty when we went past them earlier this year.

Warren -


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## Fents (24/4/09)

The devolpments are still empty! well most of the ones i saw from KLIA to KL cdb. I think it comes down to price. i was looking at housing in the paper and thos tiny scrappy dirty apartments in a high rise were all the locals seem to live go for about $30,000 - $50,000 Rm. I think those nicer estate houses go for $70+K Rm which makes it un affordable to most locals over there.

I know in Langkowei you can buy a new 3 bedroom fully furnished flat in a high rise for $90,000AUD.

Should move there and setup a HBS and start importing ingredints imo jase.


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## Katherine (24/4/09)

warrenlw63 said:


> I remember all the developments Jase. They were empty when we went past them earlier this year.
> 
> Warren -



They were empty 10 years ago, maybe not the sames ones but saw plenty of empty developments... i I remember one in Malacca on the strait it was a built up unit block all empty over looking polluted water. Defiantly no resort.


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## Sentry459 (24/4/09)

Been thinking about heading to Malaysia on my next SE Asia trip. I'm a regular in the Philippines, where $0.50 beers and a $2 pack of smokes are the norm (though i have given up smokes since my last visit).


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