Ferragosto in Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur and the Perhentian Islands

This has been our first time in Asia, almost by chance, and also our first completely do-it-yourself holiday. It was really a great trip, which allowed us to visit Kuala Lumpur, a large and multi-ethnic Asian city, where you can shop at competitive prices and see aspects of different cultures, such as the Malay, Chinese and Indian ones (you clearly have to see the Petronas, then Bukit Bintang with its mega shopping centres, China Town, the Batu Caves, Merdeka Square), and to enjoy a wonderful sea in the little paradise of the Perhentians, where you can swim among the corals, with sharks and turtles, eat fresh fish on the beach, trek in the jungle and relax on quiet beaches, some of them practically deserted. Malaysia is a safe country, easy to travel around independently, well organised as regards transport and tourist services.

English is very widespread and costs very low, both for accommodation and food! We found a good deal with Emirates on the intercontinental flight (870 € per person, booked two months in advance), with a stopover in Dubai both outbound and return.

To get to Kota Bharu we flew with Malaysia Airlines, an excellent airline (115 euro per person, a cost that can be considerably reduced by flying with the low-cost airline AirAsia, which by the way is the best low-cost airline in the world; we, having read complaints in various travel accounts about delays and cancellations of this airline's flights, had decided to play it safe by booking with Malaysia Airlines; however, all the people we met during our trip who had flown with AirAsia spoke very highly of it as regards punctuality, saying they'd had no kind of problem; the only thing to keep in mind, in case of a connection with another flight in Kuala Lumpur, is that AirAsia flights depart from a different terminal, about thirty minutes from the main airport).

In Kuala Lumpur we stayed at the Equatorial hotel, a 5-star a 10-minute walk from the Petronas (about 20 € per night per person, without breakfast, booked on booking.com). Finding accommodation in the Perhentians was quite a struggle; we emailed all the hotels, most of which replied with a "fully booked" (since places on the island are limited, it's advisable, especially if you intend to go in August, to book well in advance). So we clearly snapped up without thinking too much the first hotels that had availability, the Cozy Chalet for the first 4 nights and the Perhentian Island Resort for the last 3.

The Cozy Chalet (about 20 € per night per person, breakfast included, booked through the hotel's website), recently opened, consists of wooden huts, spartan but spacious, built on a slope, against the hill, and linked by stairways; our room was the highest of all, practically in the jungle (every evening we had to hurry to get in to avoid an invasion of insects and mosquitoes!); with the suitcases it was a struggle to get there, but from the little terrace we had a really nice view. The Perhentian Island Resort or PIR (about 38 euro per night per person, breakfast included, booked through the hotel's website) is the only resort on the island that comes close to an international village; this makes it much less distinctive, but the strong point is that it's on the most beautiful beach on the island. It looks very well kept on the outside, while the rooms are quite old.

But we had the Deluxe room, right on the beach! Finally, since on the return we had an 11-hour stopover in Dubai, we decided to stay at the Lotus Hotel, a good central 4-star, in Deira, 4 km from the airport (about 20€ per night per person, with breakfast and transfers to/from the airport included, booked on booking.com), so we could rest and have a brief taste of the city.