As my departure for an 11-week trip to Thailand steadily approaches, I thought I would share my experience of Malaysia with you. Even though I didn't know I would be blogging about my trip at the time, I took a few snaps which have come in quite handy for this fairly informative/ informal post!
In 2013 I joined my friend and her parents on a trip to
Malaysia. It was my first time going to any Asian country so it was incredible
for me. I was like a wide-eyed child compared to my blasé travelling companions
who had made this same trip almost every year for many, many years. I can now
see why they keep on returning! I hope you learn something fun about Langkawi and Kuala Lumpur from this- it was a great trip for me and I'd highly recommend a visit!
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| So many stunning sunsets! |
Langkawi
First, we flew from Heathrow to Kuala Lumpur with Malaysian Airlines,
which was like a holiday in itself. I never knew long haul flights treated you
so well! Free wine, snacks and meals were available on many occasions
throughout the flight which I found such a novelty because I usually fly with
RyanAir who are….a little less
luxury! (don’t get me wrong, cheap flights are da bomb!) We then got a connecting flight to the island of Langkawi,
which took about an hour, and the plane was empty so I had a whole row to
myself for a very welcome nap.
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| The iconic eagle of Langkawi and a terrible impersonation by me! |
The Berjaya Resort
We stayed at the Berjaya Resort which is a b-e-a-utiful
resort on the beach. It is famous for its sea and rainforest villas that are
perched all throughout the rainforest and over the sea on long, sturdy legs.
The villas are so plush and
everything is so luxury, allowing you to feel uber relaxed and special. Because
the villas are all scattered throughout the resort, whether it may be land or
sea, you can call for the little shuttle bus to pick you up and take you
wherever you want on the resort. That may be to the beach, the oriental village
which features the famous Langkawi cable car, or simply the main reception
building which is an absolute spectacle in itself, with huge hanging
chandeliers, fountains and a daily live band. The resort has a spa so of course, I had to give it a go. Never in my life did I envisage myself fully starkers being massaged/beaten up (in a good way), boobs and bumcheeks and all(!) by a small Malaysian woman. I guess that's what you get when you order a full body deep tissue massage from a deceivingly strong masseuse!
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| Sea villas |
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| View from the villa balcony on an overcast day |
Food
Two huge chocolate cakes greeted us in our rooms, which the
resort gives to returning guests; they were incredible. This meant that the fresh
fruit got neglected…. Sorry diet! Other incredible food that we ate at the
resort was the breakfast, which we ate under a beach canopy daily. I had my
staple of waffles or pancakes accompanied by a few freshly squeezed orange
juices every day for two weeks and I don’t regret a thing. The beach bar also
served the best chicken and peanut satay skewers of my life, and of course
there was happy hour at the swim-up bar…
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| Apparently I like pancakes? |
Night markets
Whilst I’m on the subject of filling my face, lets talk
about Night markets! As you can probably tell, I am an insane lover of food.
And shoes. And clothes. And anything cheap or a bit random and hippy-ish.
Therefore, I was in my element at the night markets. I hate to say it, but I
was too scared to try the infamous durian
fruit. There’s just something off-putting about having something that smells
like sewage in your mouth. Something I did eat though, and proceeded to dream
about every day since, is something called apam balik. This is like a crispy
pancake shaped like a taco filled with peanuts, sugar and creamed sweetcorn; such
a dream! Night markets are great to
see loads of different foods being cooked in front of you and it is all so
cheap so it doesn’t matter if you’re not that keen on something; you can just
buy another apam balik!
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Market chickpeas | Me on the beach | Adorable animals on the tree | Coconuts
Delicious fruit | Tea in a bag | Honeycombe |
The beach
What more can you ask for than the softest, beautifully
white sandy beach you’ve ever stepped on? The weather was incredible and so
were the sunbeds, which meant only one thing: extremely comfy tanning! And when
being horizontal got tedious, a little walk along the mangrove path was always
fun, or a big group game of beach volleyball with a load of randomers was great
too.
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| Pink sky at night, shepherds delight! #nofilter |
Oriental Village
The oriental village is a short shuttle bus ride away from
the main resort and it features lots of little shops and restaurants, (the kind
where you become best mates with the owner and you don’t get given a menu)
which all surround a beautiful pond filled with colourful fish. There was even
a little bunny sanctuary type-place there! The Langkawi cable car and Sky Bridge
are a huge attraction in Langkawi. You board the cable car in the centre of the
Oriental Village and ride allllllll the way to the top and then there are
observatories, walkways and the sky bridge up there giving you incredible views
of the island.
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| Oriental village bridge posin' |
Kuala Lumpur
We went to KL for about 4 days so we didn’t have huge amounts of time to explore! We spend a bit too much time in the shops than doing more exciting things unfortunately. Sad face!
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| Petronas Towers by day | Petronas Towers by night |
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| No biggie. |
Shangri La
We stayed in the Shangri La hotel, which,
seriously, lived up to its name. The hotel was incredibly posh, even to the
point where I felt out of place in my flip flops. I must say, the breakfast was
the best breakfast I have ever had in any restaurant/hotel/ anywhere on this
earth. Think curry, noodles, doughnuts, chocolate fountain, fresh fruit,
freshly cooked waffles and pancakes and even a whole honeycombe, which you
simply spooned the honey off of. I want to return to Malaysia, just for those
insanely, amazingly crisp on the outside and doughy on the inside pancakes!!
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| Inside the hotel/outside pond area |
Shopping
There are some craaazzyy shopping malls in KL which are full
of expensive shops and brands. I tried to stay out of these places, firstly
because I cant afford BVULGARI on my student loan, and second, why would you
waste your time in a shopping mall when you’re in KL?! Keep the Pavillion
shopping centre and the huge one underneath the Petronas towers in mind if you
really must go hardcore shopping, but if you’re more into cultural experiences
and cheaper exploits, read on.
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| Oriental umbrellas |
China Town
As already mentioned, I’m a sucker for a bargain. This means
I was a very happy bunny when surrounded by Longchamp and Mulberry ‘genuine copies’
in the narrow lanes of the China Town markets. If you want a ‘branded’ item,
they sell it there for a few quid. It takes ages to weave in and out of the
sellers and their stalls who so desperately try and gain your custom, that you
definitely deserve a shandy (or two) and some tasty treats that you picked up
along the way when you get out of the crowds!
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| Colourful Chinatown! |
This is just a snippet of what we did and what can be done in Malaysia. We had a very relaxing beach holiday with a tiny bit of busy city life but there is so much more to be done here! I will definitely be returning to see what else I can get up to! It is a lovely country and every person that I met was so nice; it is very refreshing to see so many happy faces. This trip opened my eyes snd showed me that there is so much more to beach holidays in Europe (which is what I had only ever experienced). I am definitely now a little bit (very) in love with East Asia, so thank you, Malaysia for being so good to me!
Peace out, and 'a presto!'
Olivia x
