MALAYSIA – GENERAL NOTES

TOILETS

There is no toilet paper in the stalls.  There is a big dispenser on the wall as you walk into the main area.  However, always have your own paper with you because sometimes the big dispenser is empty.  Always grab a few restaurant napkins, they work! 

There are usually one or two western sit-down toilets; the others are squat toilets. For me, either one is fine; however, if you have knee issues squat toilets will be a problem for three reasons.  One, the actual squatting. Two, the toilet is usually on a raised platform. Be very careful stepping down from the platform.  Three, the floors are always wet and slippery, even in the sit-down stalls, making the step down even trickier.  I recommend rolling the bottoms of your trousers prior to entry into the stall. 

The reason they are wet is because they all have a bidet hose. The idea of a bidet is great, but the bidets in Malaysia do not have a trigger, like the veg sprayer in your kitchen. They are an open hose with a tap on the wall, that is located in the most inaccessible location possible.  It is usually behind you. You have to somehow aim the hose at your nether region while turning the tap with the other hand while balancing on a slippery floor over an open toilet.  And good luck with not spraying the wall or other parts of your trousers.  Unless you moonlight for Cirque de Soleil, I would just have lots of tissue.  The hotels had proper bidets attached to the toilet seat. Tissue is not thrown into the toilet, it is thrown into the sanitary napkin bin beside the toilet. It is usually overflowing and extremely gross.  In those cases, I flushed my tissue, septic system be dammed.

BUSES

Tickets are cheap. The bus is more comfortable than an airplane, with wide plush seats and no extra fees for luggage.  There are no USB chargers on board, so bring a power bank.  I bought a really powerful little one for only $30.  There are no toilets on the bus, but they do stop every 2 hours.  The bus stops have toilets and lots of snack wagons.

BUS TERMINAL 

Even though you buy a bus ticket online, you still have to queue to get a paper boarding pass, for a fee.  It is a terminal fee.  We did get on buses without the paper ticket. They simply checked our names off their list of booked passengers. The drivers did not seem to care whether we paid the terminal fees.  We generally paid the fee for the paper boarding pass.  It was mere pennies, anyway. 

The bus terminals are huge.  The bigger city terminals are the size of a small airport, with destinations and boarding gates and times on big electrotonic boards.  There are shops, restaurants and food courts.  The terminal in KL used QR scanning to allow you into the boarding area at your designated time, no sooner. 

LRT / METRO

The LRT is another cheap mode of transportation.  But it could use some tweeting.  We had to buy a token, like a poker chip, from a machine where you chose your destination then paid according to distance. We tapped it to gain access to the boarding area then deposited it into the scanner upon departure. It all seemed to work fine, until New Years Eve. (see my blog on Kuala Lumpur)

Most countries have a tap and go system.  Tap your credit card on the turnstile as you enter, then tap again when you get off.  They know where you got on and off to charge you accordingly.  It would save a lot of grief during peak times.

FOOD

There is no shortage of street food vendors.  They have a wide array of items, with chicken prepared in a variety of ways, fish, eggs, noodles, rice and sauces and gravies.  Vegetables are few and far between.  We bought fresh fruit whenever we saw it to supplement ourselves.  The food sits out in open trays, similar to a buffet.  But here there are no heating or cooling trays underneath.  Everything is lukewarm.  You have to tell them you do not want spicy, as they will assume you do. 

You do not serve yourself.  You point to what you want and a staff member will dish it up for you.  You are charged for how many items you pick. It certainly cuts down on food waste. We never left hungry and never threw food away, either.  Street food will run $3-5 per plate. Do not be put off with the appearance of the eatery.  My theory has always been “If you see lots of locals eating, the food must be good, and the turn over fresh.” 

HOTELS

We found that hotels were cheaper than Airbnb in Malaysia.  I used Booking.com and found decent hotels for under $50 / night. When I say “decent” I mean they had clean sheets, a toilet and a hot shower.  They supplied us with bottled water, as well.  They only made up the rooms if you request it, but were happy to supply any extras we ran out of, such as more water, toilet paper, toothpaste, coffee or soap. What more do you need?  Some were amazing!

OTHER TIPS

Download the GRAB app.  It is their version of UBER.  They are efficient and very reasonably priced. Always be polite to your driver.  They can be a wealth of local information.   Taxi drivers are crooks and will rip you off every chance they get. If you are using a taxi, agree to the price before you get in. Preferably make them use the meter. They will have every excuse not to. Also, ask if the price includes both people. They sometimes surprise you at your drop off saying the price agreed upon was per person. Cheeky bastards!

I have mentioned GPSmyCity many times in my blogs. It is an inexpensive app that takes you to all the places, and more, of a hop-on bus.  I have mine set to walking, as we see more walking than riding.  The app also give you a brief description / history of what you are visiting. 

SE Asia is notorious for its uneven sidewalks. There seems to be a step up or down every few feet. Sometimes it is a few inches high, other times it is just enough to stub your toe. Keep your eyes on where your feet are going.

I have the AIRALO e-sim. It covers 137 countries with 20 GB of data, 200 minutes of calling, and 200 texts.  It costs me $125 for one year of service.  I have it set to top up if I ever get close to my limit.  However, with most places having free Wi-Fi and friends back home on WhatsApp or FB, I have never gone over.   

The big advantage of this e-sim is I have the number registered with my bank.  When I get those annoying “prove that this is you” message, it sends me the validation code to this number and not my home number, which requires me to pay $18 every time I turn it on. 

The only issue I have with them is sometimes the Access Point Names acts up.  I don’t even know what that is, but I have figured out how to fix it (sort of, sometimes, with lots of swearing & frustration). But most of the time it works like a charm between countries.  

I cannot stress this next point enough. Do NOT book things from a third party booking site. Do some research on-line and / or contact the organization directly. Example: On-line, through Get Your Guide, going to the orangutan centre was over $200. At the gate it was only $10. Yes, you probably get a private tour, but the rangers are a wealth of information – for FREE!

Always bring an umbrella with you.  It can go from beautiful sunny skies to pouring rain in a heart beat.  It is never cold, but the umbrella will keep you and your phone, dry.

For some reason, most of the cats have bobbed tails.