{"id":23262,"date":"2013-06-03T10:31:52","date_gmt":"2013-06-03T00:31:52","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.lastminute.com.au\/vc\/blog\/?p=23262"},"modified":"2015-03-13T11:34:17","modified_gmt":"2015-03-13T01:34:17","slug":"malaysia-top-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/malaysia-top-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Malaysia: Top 5"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Malaysia fuses together the best of Asia for an authentic and unforgettable tropical break. Here lastminute lovely Louise shares her top picks on why Malaysia NEEDS to be your next OS holiday destination. <\/strong><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
1. Tropical beach bliss<\/strong>
\nMalaysia is littered with palm-fringed beaches and blissful islands (I know, sounds dreadful, who would want to holiday there??). Whilst beach-side accommodation ranges from eco-friendly to large-scale glamour, most hotels pride themselves on providing an authentic Malay experience with a gentle service and elegant furnishings. Beach bliss plus chic accommodation minus the Bintang singlet equals holiday heaven.
\nWhere to go for\u2026<\/strong>
\n– Resort pools and tropical romance – Langkawi<\/a>
\n– Getting off the beaten track and incredible diving opportunities – Perhentian Islands<\/a> or Sipaden Island, Sabah
\n– Emerald waters and celeb spotting – Pangkor Laut<\/a><\/p>\n
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Tropical beach selfie, Pangkor Laut Island Resort<\/p><\/div>\n

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Sunset over Emerald Bay, Pangkor Laut<\/p><\/div>\n

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Snorkelling at Mabul Island, Sabah<\/p><\/div>\n

2. Shopping in KL<\/strong>
\nFrom big mall shopping to local market scavenging \u2013 the Malaysians shop from morning to night and when in KL<\/a> you should too. Plus with the current red hot exchange rate you can justify those extra pair of heels (seriously, they\u2019re like really cheap).<\/p>\n

Where to go for\u2026<\/strong>
\n– Market trinkets, bargains and *cough* designer fakes – Petaling Street, China Town
\n– US and UK high street brands \u2013 Pavilion Mall, Butik Bintang (Check out: Forever21, Topshop, H&M, Zara, Nike)
\n– High end designer clobber \u2013 Suria KLCC (Marc Jacobs, Gucci etc)
\n– Shoes \u2013 Malaysian brands Charles & Keith and Vincci (Hot tip: C&K have an outlet at KL airport if you NEED to make any last minute purchases)
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The result of a day\u2019s hard work. So proud.<\/p><\/div>\n\"<\/a>\n

3. Food glorious food!<\/strong>
\nPack the stretchy pants \u2013 Malaysia\u2019s gourmet scene is so good you\u2019ll be reaching for an extra spoonful at every meal. With a multicultural population you can take your taste buds on an exciting tour of Asia and sample Malay, Indian, Thai and Chinese cuisines. Plus there are heaps of tropical fruits and local sweet delicacies to fill the holes in between meals. Mmmm.<\/p>\n

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Malay hawker street food<\/p><\/div>\n

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A traditional Indian curry with chilli prawns, lentil dhal, spicy okra, mild vegetarian curry, rice and popadoms – all served on a banana leaf.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Chinese fish and sweetcorn soup served with green tea<\/p><\/div>\n

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Pomelo & lemongrass mocktail (Pomelo \u2013 a native fruit to SE Asia and tastes like a mild grapefruit)<\/p><\/div>\n

If you have an appetite for a gourmet-cation you must visit Malaysia\u2019s epicurean centre \u2013 Penang<\/a>. Read about lastminute lovely Nihal\u2019s hunger Penangs here<\/a>.
\n4. Nightlife in KL<\/strong>
\nThe party police have done a good job keeping KL\u2019s sizzling night-time scene under wraps \u2013 the capital\u2019s cool kids like to have fun with a capital F. And they\u2019ve made best use of KL\u2019s glitzy skyscrapers by housing a number of swanky sky-high bars. At the dizzying heights (and certainly after a few dirty martinis) you feel like you can almost reach out and touch the stunning skyline.
\nWhere to go for:<\/strong>
\n\u2022 Private booths, cocktails and (say what?!) an indoor pool \u2013 SkyBar, Traders Hotel<\/a>
\n\u2022 Chic outdoor skydeck and a DJ spinning tunes until the early hours – Marini\u2019s on 57<\/a>, Petronas Tower 3<\/p>\n

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Try not to fall in the pool at SkyBar<\/p><\/div>\n

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The stunning Petronas Twin Towers \u2013 as seen from SkyBar<\/p><\/div>\n

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Dance under the Petronas towers at Marini\u2019s on 57<\/p><\/div>\n

5. Eco-adventure<\/strong>
\nMalaysia is home to the world\u2019s most ancient rainforest and with that comes a diverse array of wildlife including monkeys, tigers, snakes and orangutans. Channel your inner adventurer and get closer to nature.<\/p>\n

Where to go for:<\/strong>
\n\u2022 Meeting the Orangutans \u2013 Kabili-Sepilok Nature Reserve, Sabah<\/a>
\n\u2022 Rainforest trekking – Kinabalu Park, Sabah (UNESCO World Heritage Site), Taman Negara and Cameron Highlands<\/a>
\n\u2022 Rainforest river safaris \u2013 Kinabatangan River, Sabah
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Forest near Kuching, Sarawak<\/p><\/div>\n

If you\u2019re short of time (or fancy something a little tamer) The Lost World of Tambun<\/a><\/em> near Ipoh has animal, activity and water parks that give you a flavour of the county\u2019s eco-adventure.<\/p>\n\"<\/a>\n

I saw this handsome cat up close at Lost World of Tambun<\/em> (note: Tigers are native to the Malay jungle but these creatures are extremely shy so you would be EXTREMELY lucky to see one \u2013 good luck!)<\/p>\n\"<\/a>\n\"<\/a>\n

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Zip wire jungle fun<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Have you been to Malaysia? What would you add to the list?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Malaysia fuses together the best of Asia for an authentic and unforgettable tropical break. Here lastminute lovely Louise shares her..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":39221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,9],"tags":[53,56,159,359,44,3294],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23262"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23262"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23262\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39222,"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23262\/revisions\/39222"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lastminute.co.nz\/vc\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}