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#11
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Best hotel in KL
Dear Matthew,
First of all, Malaysia is an amalgamation of three main races - Malay, Chinese & Indian. This situation was already in place well before the arrival of the Portuguese, Dutch & British colonialists. Now, being a truly cosmopolitan region, the flavours of the Portuguese & English (or French) cuisine were assimilated into what is now known as "Malaysian" cuisine. In the north of the country (Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Kelantan), the influence of Thai cuisine is predominant. Incidentally, the Dutch gave up rather quickly & concentrated in Indonesia, also leaving their mark on Indonesian cuisine. Thus, for a short stay, you will only enjoy a glimpse of our varied cuisine. Further, the most authentic & flavourful local food are found, not in high-class restaurants but in the many hawker food stalls found in alleyways throughout Kuala Lumpur. However, if you fear for your stomach, I would suggest that a good sampling be found in any of the popular local buffets offered by the hotels about town. Lunch buffets are best value. Most hotels would offer a local styled breakfast, in addition to the usual Continental or American breakfasts. For a good evening's night out, ask for suggestions from locals for these cooking styles - Penang Nyonya, Kelantanese, Malaccan Portuguese, Johorean, Kadazan and local Cantonese. Enjoy! "Matthew" wrote in message om... I would also like to know the best place for *Malaysian* dining in the city - no Chinese, I want high-class Malaysian cuisine. Thanks! |
#13
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Best hotel in KL
Miguel Cruz wrote in message news:spam-416651.00001814072004@localhost...
[I posted this the other day but the news server I was using seems to have unceremoniously dropped it on the floor. Sorry if it's a duplicate] (Matthew) wrote: Miguel Cruz wrote: Matthew wrote: or any other hotel that anyone can recommend... (the place of the golden horses looks nice, but the mines resort concept didn't seem al that exciting - the theme park looks pretty feeble, but again I am open to be persuaded that it's actually wonderful). If you're taking a weekend from elsewhere in Malaysia, sure. But if you're flying from halfway around the world, it's not worth being way out there. Thanks for the advice. We are making our way to Medan via our bucket shop flight to Bangkok - and Air Asia's brand new KL - Medan route has made me change my plans from Bangkok - Penang - Medan to Bangkok - KL - Medan. I have not spent much time in Malaysia, except for rather too long in KL (you know you have stayed too long when you start visiting the planetarium and Islamic museum....) waiting for a lost ticket to be forwarded from my hotel in Bangkok, as well as a couple of visits to Penang, a destination that for me holds few attractions (a town with a few Indian restaurants, combined with expensive taxis to visit the monorail, and not a lot else). Needless to say perhaps my impressions of Malaysia from these two places are that it is probably my least favourite destination in SE Asia - I had a much better time on the deserted beach in Sihanoukville in Cambodia in the rainy season, or experiencing the smells of Bangkok - Malaysia felt a little sterile for me (although ironically I actually like Singapore's efficiency, and would even like to visit Sentosa island...). My idea of a good holiday is a nice hotel to sleep in (especially in big cities), and then leaving it to a chaotic world outside. Possibly interestingly, in the years leading up to my decision to move to KL, I'd traveled Singapore-KL-Medan-KL-Singapore. On the way up, KL seemed like such a bundle of chaos after Singapore. And on the way down, it seemed so nice and clean and organized and functional after Medan (which is indisputably a total mess). While I lean more toward preferring urban chaos over rigid, sterile order, I found it appealing that it sort of fit in the middle there, with a taste of both. And after living here for a little while, I'm finding it offers exactly that: The best of both worlds. When I want to take my laptop and work in an air-conditioned cafe with a high-speed wifi connection, it's right around the corner. And when I want to lose myself in a teeming mass of people selling and/or doing things of which I have absolutely no comprehension, I just walk a few blocks the other way. Each day offers a perfect balance (and one which I can easily adjust to suit my mood). When I was living in Indonesia, there was nothing nicer than going over to Singapore, and getting in a proper air conditioned taxi, and eating a slice of quiche (of all things) in a proper French-style bakery. The appeal of the jungle tends to wear off quite quickly for Westerners - it's hard to have all your life and then to have not. I'm a little surprised that your overall impression was of a sterile city - it's anything but. Did you go to Chinatown? The Saturday night market in Little India? Chow Kit? Kampong Baru? Any of hundreds (probably thousands) of bustling outdoor hawker congregations? For every Suria KLCC or Mid Valley Megamall, there's half a dozen Sungei Wangs and upstairs Low Yats. For every Islamic Arts Museum there's a Batu Caves (and for every Hentian Pasarakyat there's a Hentian Puduraya!). Perhaps not sterile, but somehow it didn't feel *exciting*. For me Yogyakarta is exiciting, Bangkok is exiciting, as is Phnom Penh. But Malaysia just didn't involve me. I do know that there is nothing greater (well maybe a few things :-) than arriving at Bangok airport, and getting in a taxi and experiencing the awesome massive roads suspended of seething slums, with dozens of skyscrapers shooting up into the sky, with golden temples glistening everywhere. I'm not sure what it is, but Malaysia never really caught me. Anyways, I have got a new route, which is now Bangkok - Hat Yai (plane) Hat Yai - Sungai Kolok (Malaysian border) (taxi from Hat Yai airport if it doesn't cost too much (I am not sure what the distance is, nor the kilometre cost of taxi rides in Malaysia), otherwise by bus) Sungai Kolok - Kuala Besut (taxi) Kuala Besut - Perhentian (boat) Then we will spend perhaps a week learning to dive on Perhentian before either heading back Kota Bharu - KL by plane and then overnighting in KL before heading on to Medan, or if it's possible, getting an overnight bus to KL in time for our flight the next morning. After all we probably won't do the five star KL hotel, as I have booked the Shangri-La in Bangkok through Priceline for $60/night for 2 nights instead, so my luxury quotient is just about used up. (I did not visit the caves last time, as the cost of transport seemed expensive at the time) Which caves? Batu Caves costs RM1.60 (US$0.40) on CityLiner bus #69 from the Medan Pasar bus stand downtown. This is one of those things - buses are all very well, but you do have to know where to find them. This is one reason why I will take the airport bus *from* KL airport, but probably not back, as it's that much more effort to find out where it departs from. (given that I have 3 weeks in total to spend, and will probably spend a week in Medan, before perhaps going on to Lake Toba or Bogor in Java). In Medan itself? I hope you have some business to attend to there. As much as I enjoy chaotic cities, even I would be hard-pressed to entertain myself for a week there. It really is just a stinky disaster. Nice people, but that's about it. Get outside of the city and things become much more pleasant. Oh well, it's to visit my wife's family. Hmm.... Entertaining a visitor to Medan for more than a day? It would be tricky. There are some tasty places to eat, and you could definitely spend a day shopping - in my experience it's nicer than Jakarta for shopping (smaller, more manageable), although basic prices are about 3% higher due to transportation costs. Just get to Thamrin Plaza and stock up Matahari, which has got the best balance between price and quality you will find.... But there really is very little to do, and it would be difficult to commend it to anyone. |
#14
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Best hotel in KL
"Miguel Cruz" wrote in message
news:spam-416651.00001814072004@localhost... If you really don't like KL, you could take a day-trip or an overnight in Melaka, which has some interesting colonial history, attractive colonial buildings, great Indian food, and nice Chinese Buddhist temples). We were extremely disappointed with Melaka. It comes across as a theme-town designed for busloads of retirees. It just didn't feel genuine. I agree with coments KL being sterile, I much preferred Penang. And we found a great dim sum/yum cha place in Penang called De Tai Tong Cafe. Totally authentic and very friendly. I think having westerners as customers was a bit of a novelty for them, actually. However I think Malaysia has a lot more to offer than city destinations, with its lush rainforests and tropical beaches. I didn't have time to explore them, but I really wish I had. |
#15
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Best hotel in KL
I agree with coments KL being sterile, I much preferred Penang. And we found a great dim sum/yum cha place in Penang called De Tai Tong Cafe. Totally authentic and very friendly. I think having westerners as customers was a bit of a novelty for them, actually. However I think Malaysia has a lot more to offer than city destinations, with its lush rainforests and tropical beaches. I didn't have time to explore them, but I really wish I had. I agree; KL is real nice (will be visiting it again for a couple of days in november on our way back from Saigon) but Penang is better and I don't mean "beach-destinations' like Batu Ferringhi which doesn't have much to offer, but I mean Georgetown. A great city with lots of authentic and very good restaurants. It is very chinees. Also the island Penang is beautiful; lots of beautiful spots there. KL is nice for a couple of days; when staying in a hotel in the Jln Bukit Bintang it is very nice to have dinner in the street just behind the Bukit Bintang which is a Chinees street with some very nice and cheap restaurants. Shopping in KL is great. Marianne |
#16
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Best hotel in KL
I agree with coments KL being sterile, I much preferred Penang. And we found a great dim sum/yum cha place in Penang called De Tai Tong Cafe. Totally authentic and very friendly. I think having westerners as customers was a bit of a novelty for them, actually. However I think Malaysia has a lot more to offer than city destinations, with its lush rainforests and tropical beaches. I didn't have time to explore them, but I really wish I had. I agree; KL is real nice (will be visiting it again for a couple of days in november on our way back from Saigon) but Penang is better and I don't mean "beach-destinations' like Batu Ferringhi which doesn't have much to offer, but I mean Georgetown. A great city with lots of authentic and very good restaurants. It is very chinees. Also the island Penang is beautiful; lots of beautiful spots there. KL is nice for a couple of days; when staying in a hotel in the Jln Bukit Bintang it is very nice to have dinner in the street just behind the Bukit Bintang which is a Chinees street with some very nice and cheap restaurants. Shopping in KL is great. Marianne |
#17
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Best hotel in KL
On Wed, 14 Jul 2004 12:44:42 +1000, "flyinyereye"
wrote: [snip] I agree with coments KL being sterile [snip] "Sterile" is not a word I'd use for KL. Its streets are not spotless, and its air is polluted. Moreover, it is an exciting, moving, growing city with a science-fictiony futuristic skyline. It's totally different from the quaint, comparatively comfortable KL I knew in the 70s, but I like it now, too. Michael If you would like to send a private email to me, please take out the TRASH, so to speak. Please do not email me something which you also posted. |
#18
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Best hotel in KL
"Pan" wrote in message
... On Wed, 14 Jul 2004 12:44:42 +1000, "flyinyereye" wrote: [snip] I agree with coments KL being sterile [snip] "Sterile" is not a word I'd use for KL. Its streets are not spotless, and its air is polluted. In hindsight, sterile is not the right word. But, having stopped over there on a number of occasions, I have no desire to go again. Once you've seen Chinatown, Little India, the night markets and the Petronas Towers (which, incidentally, are the most beatuiful towers in the world IMO) but ultimately it's not an engaging destination for more than a couple of days. And the smog and heat and fast-moving traffic really detract from the experience. It's certainly not a pedestrian-friendly city. I'm not sure but I suspect Malaysia's colonial history has weakened its cultural identity, which is probably why I prefer Thailand. |
#19
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Best hotel in KL
"Pan" wrote in message
... On Wed, 14 Jul 2004 12:44:42 +1000, "flyinyereye" wrote: [snip] I agree with coments KL being sterile [snip] "Sterile" is not a word I'd use for KL. Its streets are not spotless, and its air is polluted. In hindsight, sterile is not the right word. But, having stopped over there on a number of occasions, I have no desire to go again. Once you've seen Chinatown, Little India, the night markets and the Petronas Towers (which, incidentally, are the most beatuiful towers in the world IMO) but ultimately it's not an engaging destination for more than a couple of days. And the smog and heat and fast-moving traffic really detract from the experience. It's certainly not a pedestrian-friendly city. I'm not sure but I suspect Malaysia's colonial history has weakened its cultural identity, which is probably why I prefer Thailand. |
#20
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Best hotel in KL
Hotel Istana in KL is pretty good.
[http://www.hotelistana.com.my/] CKLee http://www.TheLinkSociety.com/ |
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