Malaysia
by Ben Poole
Starting with the capital - Kuala Lumpur is a ‘fab’ city. It has a great mix of culture and the people are so friendly. It has a safe feel and offers excellent value for money when you get there - £6 a head would cover a 3 course meal in most restaurants. The Chinese market is amazing! 4 streets of market stalls selling amazing copies of designer handbags, watches & jewellery.
Hotels to consider in Kuala Lumpur include the Mandarin Oriental, the Hotel Maya and my personal favourite Traders. Traders is situated the opposite the city park and has great views of the Petronas Towers, it is a funky, contemporary, and chic hotel – similar in style to the W hotels.
Later we travelled 5 hours by road through lush and scenic rainforest to the Camerons Highlands Resort. This is a pleasant boutique property and is definitely a place to relax amongst the tea plantations, but apart from golf there is little to do.
More my cup of tea is Pangkor Laut Resort – a private island retreat reached via a 45 minute ferry crossing from the mainland. It would be tempting to compare the resort to the Maldives, but that would be unfair as the two places are both very different in regards to topography and beauty. Here is nature’s paradise, hornbills, monkeys and giant monitor lizards all roam freely. The style of the rooms is I would describe as rustic luxury – lots of dark woods, refurbished bathrooms and even outdoor bathtubs! The cuisine is superb and is very reasonable for such a luxury resort. The spa at Pangkor Laut is simply out of this world with all the treatments you could wish for – I would recommend the 50-minute Balinese massage. Heaven!