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Dress Kuala Lumpur
13 Reviews I was really nervous about what to wear when I went to KL. Because they are a majority Muslim country I wasn't sure if I would be offending them if I wore shorts or a skirt. I spent the first two days...
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Food Culture Penang
15 Reviews Those who travel around Penang, you should try out Penang Local food like Hokkien Mee, Laksa, Char Koay Teoh. This 3 is the top famous local food for penang. One of the restaurant had been operate for...
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Festivals Melaka
5 Reviews Merry Christmas from the Portuguese Village, one of the last places on earth where Kristang is still spoken! Malaysia's national Xmas celebration this year (with the King in attendance) is being held...
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Currency Kuala Lumpur
3 Reviews the Malaysian Ringgit ( RM) is the official currency of the federal states of Malaysia. the malysian currency was named the Malaysian Dollar before 1975 and since then, the Ringgit (which means jagged...
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chinese religious practices Penang
14 Reviews Traditionally, if a person donate a certain amount of money to the temple, his/her name will be appeared on the wall forever, this is to let later peoples know this, this and this person donated this...
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GREETINGS ! Melaka
1 Review Greetings can be a slightly complicated affair. ‘Selamat’ is the greeting word, but you must specify the time. • Selamat pagi = Good Morning • Selamat tengah hari = Good Afternoon (from noon to...
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At The Dinner Table Kuala Lumpur
12 Reviews again Roti is a flat bread that originated from North India and Pakistan and brought here by Indian Immigrants and is available everywhere. the roti is also an unleavened flat bread unlike the Naan...
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Traditional costumes Penang
10 Reviews In Malaysia many of the women wear head dresses because a large part of the country is muslim. They have to be worn when out in public. These do not have to be worn by women who are not muslim that...
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Religions Melaka
4 Reviews Shoes must be removed when you enter places of worship such as mosques and temples. In some mosques female visitors are expected to wear scarves. Taking photographs at places of worship is usually...
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Religion Kuala Lumpur
12 Reviews Going to the main mosque in a major urban center in Muslim majority nation is bound to be interesting. One suddenly realizes that he is in a constant stream of walking men in one direction; men, men...
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Taboo for gifts .... Penang
2 Reviews Another world - another culture - another habit... our top-model learned her lesson when changing her clothes in the centre of Georgetown. She got pushed into the van at the moment we all could see...
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Etiquette Kuala Lumpur
14 Reviews When you meet a Malaysian, especially a Malay, the right way to shake hand is to offer both your hands and gently grip the other person's hand. He or she would definitely do the same. Of course, the...
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Chinese business Penang
2 Reviews When we were children, travelling through Malaysia and Borneo, in all towns, the stores would be owned by the Chinese, usually by the family and we always saw the student, son or daughter sitting in a...
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Weather & Climate Kuala Lumpur
5 Reviews It is very hot and sticky in Kuala Lumpur. Luckily the shopping centres and even some of the street vendors have icy cold aircon - the best aircon i have ever experienced. Travelling must still go...
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Buddhism in Penang Penang
1 Review ►Wesak Day (May 25) This is the most important day of the Buddhist Calendar as it marks the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha. Buddhist devotees will gather in temples throughout the...
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National Mosque Kuala Lumpur
6 Reviews Although there are some pamphlets inside the Mosque, the attendants enforce a policy that the toilets at the main entrance to the Mosque are FOR MALAYSIANS ONLY! The attendants prevented my...
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Art and performances Penang
1 Review well the Chinese Opera is only featured mainly during the Hungry Ghost festival or during the birthday of Chinese Gods or Deity....and mainly cater to older folks ...perhaps its because the younger...
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Cultural Mix & Ethnicity Kuala Lumpur
7 Reviews The drive from the airport to the city at night means a great chance to see all the fairy lights set up along the roads. Roundabouts have them hanging from long poles, they are draped over fences and...
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Language Kuala Lumpur
3 Reviews This is one of the most facinating experiences during the visit to Malaysia. As Bahasa native speaker (which has similarity with Malay Language), we understand each other when we speak in Malay....
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Festivals Kuala Lumpur
6 Reviews We just happened to be in KL during the Ramadan Celebration. Those that celebrate fast during the day and then at around 7.20pm break the fast for dinner. On our way out of KL heading south to...
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Bartering Kuala Lumpur
3 Reviews When at Petaling street on the last day of our visit i felt guilt for batering too low. When you ask to pay 30.00 aust instead of 40.00 aust and they say they will not make any money and will lose...
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Most of the offices bear official notice to take off shoes before entering into. But if you do not find a notice, it doesn't mean that you can enter with shoes. Judge the environment outside the office door or home to make sure that what habit is in place.
After School Tuition (AST) is a hot & trendy local custom. I suspect 9 out of 10 went to AST, only the less rich one left at home. AST teaches your children how-to-score top points in school exams, and parents in Malaysia strongly believe AST is a place to get better results in school exams. Better school results = To work as doctor, lawyer or engineer = Earn good money = Good future. If your original ambition was a pianist, AST can change you to become a doctor, and you will earn much more than just a pianist, this is what all parents in Malaysia wanted.'Getting better school results = Earn more money''Getting bad school results = Earn less money'"...So Please Send Your Children to Tuition, After School..." = A Malaysia Local Custom.
Wisely Create a NON-PARKING BOX is not common but quite new to me. This is probably the most creative work I have ever seen in my 30+ years living in Malaysia. This shop owner created a yellow box for themself in front of their shop in order to facilitate customers entring their shop, they painted the yellow box exactly what we saw on the highway. WOW, what a YELLOW-BOX, unbelievable Malaysia. But I dare not reveal the shop owner's name, otherwise they will send life-threatening phone calls to me or directly chop me into pieces, etc.
Wisely Occupy a Parking Space is acceptable in Malaysia. Normally it happens with shop owners, to wisely 'reserve' a parking space for only themselves. They would place a piece of weighty object right on the parking space to not let you park there, because they think that parking space is belong to them. Here in Malaysia, not many dare to challenge this kind of local custom, if you must park your car there, probably somebody will deliberately puncture your tyre or scratch your car surface, etc. Gangsterism we called it.
Turned your house into Kindergarten is very common, you need not rent an office, you only need to paint your house colorful and put on a banner "Andy Lau's Kindergarten", and you can start doing business on a residential district. To earn extra income, you can put on another banner " Andy Lau's Tuition Classes Available".
Human in Cage, is nothing special in Malaysia, this is a photo taken from a random residential district in Kuala Lumpur. Since everyone has a cage, why not you have a cage too? This is a local custom acceptable by all Malaysian citizen. Installing a set of cages in your house cost approximately Rm1500-3000 only (US$500). One of my friend's friend went to London to study a year, she came back, the first thing she told my friend was, "My house in London has no cages, how to stay, so dangerous! "
Dog in cage is nothing special in Malaysia, this is a photo taken from a random residential district in Kuala Lumpur. You can read in newspaper quite common dogs being tortured by owner and had to put to sleep, fined Rm300 by court, this and that. In Malaysia, this is known as 'Biasa Lah'.
The culture of purple colors is a very interesting culture in Malaysia. I believe is a very useful tip for foreign tourists to get to know more about Malaysian culture of colors. It is basically an unaware habit by many peoples in the country. Based on my personal observation, I noticed bosses have a habit of showing personal character to reject certain colors and the one color so often mentioned by them was purple. Many employees learnt from bosses, they too, dislike purple color.
This tip is mostly for western woman who are doing the first trip on this side of the world. Like in Europe the word 'toilet' is used in place of the word 'restroom'. So asking if they have a 'toilet', will NOT mean the item you sit on, but a place to go. If you wish to inquire to type of facilities, the term is 'western toilet'.Many places have pit toilets! (a hole in the floor with traction pads and a garden hose for cleaning). Places that cater to tourists, will often times offer both types. While, rural locations often only offer pits. Since I'm one of those people who doesn't do deep knee bends and also often wears jeans, I've become a toilet connoisseur. Most of my tips for places to visit will include a reference to the toilet situation. This way you can plan your 'pit stops' ;-)
When we stayed at the Awana Hotel on Langkawi we saw the fishing boats. Every evening we would see the local fishermen go out in their boats for their nightly catch.. They would stay out all night, coming back to shore at daybreak. Some I am sure did this to supply their family with food but they would probably sell you some fresh fish if you asked. I really enjoyed seeing the boats coming back in just as the sun was coming up.
Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur
13 Reviews and 928 Opinions The Shangri-la is in a very convenient location, close to the Petronas towers, the KL tower and a...
Shangri-La's Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa Penang
15 Reviews and 554 Opinions we were overall very pleased with the hotel especially considering we found a package meaning rooms...
Aldy Hotel Negeri Melaka
1 Review and 50 Opinions Aldy Hotel is situated in centre of Melaka Town next to the Police Station and opposite the...
Reviews and photos of Malaysia attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Malaysia sightseeing.
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Q: Hi Just wondering if anyone could suggest a plan of attack for a holiday for 7 adults and 3 kids at xmas time for 12 days, fun...
A: For fun in the sun- take a coach (aircon) to Penang Island. Travel time about 3 hours from KL. Batu Ferranghi area is lovely, and the Penang Park Royal Hotel is right on...
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