MoFate's Drop in the Bucket List: Malaysia '17

The four months of travel in 2017 began in Malaysia. Well technically it began in SF with the Aroon + Akhila wedding, but that was really only because of the cheap flight deals out of SFO :P
This post is divided into the four key areas we spent time in over the three weeks (May 30 - June 21) we were in Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur, Cameron Highlands, Penang, and Perhentian Islands.

Kuala Lumpur

KLIA Express train from airport to KL Sentral is very convenient but is pricey. At 55 rm per person, the train is much more expensive for 2 people than a Grab (Uber of Malaysia), which costs costs around 70 rm per ride.
Transport within KL is easiest through Grab and transport to most places on the west coast of Malaysia is easiest via bus. TBS, the main KL bus terminal, is really well built and buses seemed to be running on time.
We had a good experience with Airbnb in KL. For ~$40/day we had a 3 bedroom apartment two stops on the monorail from KL Sentral.
If your trip happens to fall during ramadan, as ours did, you're actually in luck! The ramadan night markets are worth checking out for the sheer volume of people and food. The food is cheap and pretty clean. The Kampang Baru ramadan market is the biggest and starts getting busy in the evening around 6:00pm.
Other things to see include the Thean Hou Temple for a nice view of the KL skyline, Islamic Arts Museum, walking around Jalan Alor, Lot 10, and Pavilion mall.
Our favorite restaurants included: Simple Life Healthy Vegetarian, Idli Only Cafe for breakfast, Asif Biryani, Sarang Cookery for nasi ulam, and The Majestic Hotel for ramadan buffet

Cameron Highlands

Easybook.com lets you book buses within KL, including your seat numbers. The ride from KL to Cameron Highlands was around 4 hours. We took GT Express and it was very comfortable.
Getting around Cameron Highlands is best done through scooters or taxi. Scooters are a little expensive, around $20 for 4 hours, but worth it to explore the tea estates.
We stayed at Father's Guest House in Tanha Rata. No complains about the rooms, they were clean and not many mosquitoes. The common areas were nice to hang around in and drink their free tea. Its also walking distance from the bus station.
Tea - We recommend checking out both the Boh Tea Estates. The one in north past Brinchang is much larger and the ride to it is beautiful. The one near Ringlet is smaller but has a great short walk to a hilltop viewpoint. The Bharat Tea Estate, just under the Cameron Valley Teahouse (not #2), is definitely worth the 2 rm fee for walking around in. Just don't eat there like we did. The "scones" suck and the tea is overpriced.
Other things to see include Big Red Strawberry farm (but go early for a breakfast shake to avoid the swaths of tourists), Sam Poh Temple, and a walk around the golf course.
Our favorite restaurants included: KHM for awesome fresh scones, tea, and pickles, Singh Chapati for Amritsar style food, afternoon food market in Tanha Rata (it's on the main road, you can't miss it). Avoid Cameron AA Curry House.

Penang

The bus to Penang was another 4 hours from Cameron Highlands. GT express wasn't available so we took Unititi, which was good as well. Once you reach Butterworth bus station in Penang, you will be assaulted by taxi drivers wanting to drive you to Georgetown. Just follow the European backpackers or signs for the ferry, whichever you see first, and take the 2.50 rm ferry to Georgetown. The ferry takes 15 minutes and drops you off in the historic district of Georgetown.
We stayed at B Street Hotel on Beach Street. The positives is that the hotel is newly built, so the room and bathrooms are nice. The major cons include weak ACs that take thirty minutes to really start working, and the fact that "Beach Street" or B Street Hotel does not show up on the search for Grab. Actually most of the places we wanted to go to did not show up on Grab so you just have to drop a pin and speak to the Grab driver on the phone.
Things to see include: self guided street art tour (just grab a map from your hotel and walk!), Pinang Pernakan Mansion, Burmese and Thai Temples (right across the street from each other).
Our favorite restaurants included: Cookoo Bird Laksa, The Leaf, Tofu House, Jawi House Cafe (we only stopped for a teh tarik but the place looked great), Yin's Sourdough Bakery for breakfast, Sushi Kitchen for surprisingly great vegan Japanese food.

Perhentian Islands

Getting to Perhentian is a pain in the butt, but its totally worth it. We flew into Kota Bharu ($20 flight from KL), took a Grab to the Kuala Besut jetty ($15 ride), and a speedboat to Perhentian Kecil ($8 one way). Door to door this took 12 hours. But apparently this is better than the bus option based on the horror stories we heard from other travelers.
We chose stay on Kecil instead of Besar since its cheaper. Besar is mainly high end resorts. And within Kecil we randomly chose the Coral Bay side, not Long Beach, which was very lucky. Long Beach is the drunk side, Coral Bay is the quiet side. We stayed at Shari-La Resort that I cannot recommend. Ombak, where Riddhi stayed, looked much better.
Diving/Snorkeling - Fully recommend using Sea Voice Divers. Mohit completed this OWD course here, while Fate and Riddhi did snorkeling and a discover scuba dive. They were very nice in accommodating a mixture of divers + snorkeler. Mohit's diving instructor, Felix, was fantastic. The equipment, except wetsuits, is well maintained and the instructors/dive masters know the waters really well. Their prices are also slightly less than everyone else on Coral Bay. And they are owned by a guy who was born on the island, so if you're into supporting the local economy...
Things to see include: do the hike up to "the windmill". The view is phenomenal, just be sure to bug spray up or you'll be eaten alive. Walk across the island to Long Beach and have a beer. You can walk out around 60 meters from the beach and still be standing. Kayaking on the western coast of the island is fun and lets you stop in at pristine beaches for however long you want.
Our favorite restaurants included: Unanimous decision here was Ewans. They are pretty quick in the service (considering island time) and the food is good. The milkshakes (M&M, Oreo, and Mars) are all awesome. Amelia's has great food and good prices as well except the service can be sloooooow. Ombak generally sucked since it was very very overpriced. People seem to love sitting there, watching shitty English movies, and paying $6 for a small beer. Shari-La dinner buffet is meh as well, though at-least it's not as expensive as Ombak.
Mohit made a video of our times in Perhentian!

Fun facts

Airport yoga is a thing apparently. Middle aged Europeans were just sweating it out in a hallway in KLIA with some music blaring as people walking by them.
Turns out that KL is not walking friendly. We thought we'd walk from Thean Hou Temple to our Airbnb but were rescued by a random British lady offering us car ride since our side was about to end and become a highway.
Old men on motorcycles shout "yo yo yo!" to foreigners cutting off traffic.
Cameron Highlands has hydroponically grown strawberries and lettuce. Not sure why, but people were all about it.
Our guide 'Too Son' at Pinang Pernakan Mansion was a real character. If you ever run into her, be sure to pretend that you're Muslim and have her convince you to convert.
Monitor lizards are the raccoons of Perhentian Islands.