I thought I would put this in this thread to tie it off and for information for anyone who does a search on Malaysia. I am generally not a big writer and am rather a factual person, so I hope the below provides some information for anyone planning a similar trip in the future or at least someone can gain something from a small bit of our experience. I am also not that big on taking photos and much prefer to just enjoy the experience so this might seem like a lot of words to some.
I have also left out the detail of much that we got up to rather focus on the travel information side of things, but feel free to ask questions and I will respond.
Booking:
When I was checking out flight specials during the Christmas holidays I found that AirAsia had some good fares up for grabs with some great flight times for a week’s getaway during the Melbourne winter. I like to maximise my time away on a short break so flight timings were of importance. So we went ahead and booked the following as two separate itineraries to make use of the much better fares AirAsia offers out of KL rather than the increased cost of booking a return out of Melbourne.
When travelling I use a NAB Visa gold debit card for cash (have recently got the Citibank plus product to use when NAB changes the benefits of the current product) and the 28degeesmastercard for all credit card purchases.
21/07/12 MEL-KUL 0045-0705 (Saturday, late Friday night)
$573 including 1x20kg checked bag
29/07/12 KUL-MEL 1340-2330 (Sunday)
$290.44 (928MYR) 1x20kg checked bag and 2xInternational meals.
Cost: $431.72 pp return
All fares were economy promo fares with the large discrepancy as shown from those booked from KUL rather than MEL.
I then paid $238 each way (for 2 people) to sign up for the upgrade option through optiontown.com in mid February.
This was successful in both directions. For the flight over I received an email 3 days before the flight and on the return I received an email on the morning of the flight.
Thus the total cost: $669.72 pp return in Premium class on AirAsiaX
Car Hire $199.85 (644.10MYR)
PEN-LGK $41.75 (133MYR) ($20.875 each)
LGK-KUL $58.83 (187.40) ($29.415 each)
Strawberry Park Resort (2 nights)
webjet.com.au
$175.30 ($87.65 per night)
Meritus Pelangi Beach Resort (4 nights)
expedia.com.au
$615.88 ($153.97 per night)
Double Tree Hilton (2 nights)
hilton.com.my
$256.21 807.36MYR ($128.105 per night)
Travel Insurance
travelinsurancedirect.com.au
$111.93
Flights (including 2 domestic), 8 nights accommodation = $1005.71 per person
Upgraded flights, 8 nights accommodation, car hire, travel insurance = $1399.59 per person
Day 1 – Friday
So technically not a full day but I don't know about everyone else, when I have been counting down for a holiday the day I am leaving feels like I am already on holidays! So after spending the day in the office at work tidying up the odds and ends I headed in to the city to catch up with family for a meal. My girlfriend and I were then driven out to the airport arriving at about 11pm for our flight. Having received the new itinerary stating premium we bypassed the economy queue of 40 or so people and headed straight to the premium counter where we were checked in quickly and given boarding passes for 1D and G. Load was 11/12 in premium. Immediately after take-off I put the seat in to flat mode and fell asleep, I stirred a couple of times in the night but only woke up properly when the cabin crew collected the blankets and pillows about 20 minutes prior to landing. A great way to start the trip nice and rested.
Day 2 – Saturday
We arrived on time in to the KL LCCT at 730am. We headed to Starbucks and grabbed a coffee and some breakfast. I jumped on the wifi and gave Hertz a call using Skype so they could come and drop the vehicle off to us. They are based at KLIA and take about 15minutes to bring the vehicle round. We took the 3 hour drive up the hills arriving around lunch time and grabbed some delicious Indian for lunch in town and organised ourselves a tour for the next day. We then headed to the hotel and checked in and had a nap with a large thunderstorm that afternoon. That evening we went and had a look around the local markets in Brinchang snacking on local delicacies as we wandered.
Day 3 – Sunday
We were picked up at 9:00am by the minibus and tripped around checking out the sights being dropped back at the resort around 2pm. We decided to drive in to town and grab some lunch and then headed back to the hotel and had a brilliant Jacuzzi overlooking the mountains at the Spa at the resort. That night we ventured out for a traditional Malaysian steamboat dinner at one of the restaurants in Brinchang.
Day 4 – Monday
Awoke early and checked out of the resort and drove to Penang. Headed to the old part of Georgetown and walked around for an hour before driving to the Airport. Arrived in to Langkawi and got a cab to the Meritus Pelangi Resort. Hiring a car was definitely worth it and enabled us to maximise our time, driving in Malaysia is a relatively painless task and more relaxing than Australia I would say not worrying about being 3km/hr over the speed limit!
Day 5 - Tuesday
Hired motorcycle and went to the cable car, headed to secluded beach, large storm.
Day 6 – Wednesday
Picked up at hotel at 9am headed out to the maiden lake and went swimming. Dinner at The brasserie restaurant. The prices could have been in Australian dollars for a similar restaurant in Australia, but luckily for us it was in ringit which meant we could divide them all by 3!
Day 7 – Thursday
Hired a motorcycle and went go karting. Went to Kuah town and had a look at the large Eagle. Dinner at The Cliff restaurant.
Day 8 – Friday
Headed to the Airport flew in to KL LCCT and got the bus to Sentral. Took the KL rapid line to Ampang Park station and walked to the double tree Hilton. Hotel was brilliant with great views.
Day 9 – Saturday
Bought a ticket on the hop on hop off bus and travelled the full route around KL. Dinner at a Japanese place in KLCC.
Day 10 – Sunday
Headed down for a swim before breakfast and to enjoy some of the last of the warmth. Whilst at the pool checked my email and had received one from optiontown stating we had been upgraded to premium, yay!
Taxi out to the Airport for 150MYR. We checked in at the premium counter bypassing the main queue again and were given boarding passes for 1K and 2H. Once on board we were able to swap seats so that my girlfriend was next to me in 2K.
Picked up by driver in Melbourne and headed home to the cold, tucked in to bed by midnight to be up for work the next day!
It was a great trip and felt much longer than the actual 9 days away that we had. If anyone wants to know something specific feel free to ask away and I will do my best to answer.
