Malaysia & Singapore - Places To Visit, Things To Do?

Question

I'm plannig on backpacking through Asia at some point next year & am putting plans together. I'm having trouble with Malaysia & Singapore.

I realise Singapore is rather small so how long should it take to see its main attractions? And what are they?

As for Malaysia; what are the best couple of cities to see & what should I see in those places?

All help is appreciated; thank you.

Answer 1

If you're going to Malaysia, I'd recommend going to the island of Borneo.  Kuala Lumpur is fine, but there's not much to see there besides the Petronas Towers and the other tower there.  Borneo on the other hand is amazing!  My favorite places there are Gunung Mulu National Park where you can visit the biggest caves in the world, there's also the Niah Caves which we didn't have time to visit.  You can get there via Miri.  Also, Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary is a must-see and if you're into scuba diving, you have to go the Semporna and dive Sipidan Island.  WOW!  Malayasia has way more to offer in terms of natural beauty.  You can also see pygmy elephants in Borneo, Proboscis monkeys, and rhinos.  There is no other place in the world where pygmy elephants live.  Their cities are kind of non-descript.  I would advise you to steer clear of the cities and take in the sights of Borneo instead.  You'll get enough city in Singapore, that's basically all it is!  Have fun!

Answer 2

...hi welcome to Singapore and Malaysia...; ))

...when u are in spore....i presume u wuld want a budget hotel..i recommend tis hotel coz i have an Aussie fren where we took half a day looking for budget hotels within the city area and he settled for this.So i took his words.This hotel is in the heart of the city.

...take the train rides...it wuld give u an overview of Singapore and its lifestyle...but the train does not cover the zoos and bird parks and the beaches.However stopping at the Harbour Front Station..u culd take the monorail to Sentosa.Stop at the Yishun Station for buses or cabs to the zoos and at Jurong West Station for the Jurong Bird Park.

..All these plus some shopping in the city...u culd do it within  2 days.

..For night life...i suggest Clark Quay...take the MRT and stop at Clark Quay Station.

..after tat go to Queen Street and take Bus Service 170 to Johor Bahru Larkin Bus Station (Malaysia)

....if i were to imagine myself back packing..which i have never done....

..i wuld wuld find the east coast more appealing...so from Larkin Bus Station...i wuld head for Mersing...there's a nice beach at Air Papan..and some cheap lodgings.,,,,nearby Mersing there are Orang Asli( Natives) Communities...take a cab there..ask the locals.

..from there i wuld go to Kuantan and Cherating Beach...

..then i wuld proceed to my all time favourite place Trengganu and Redang...please dont miss this place if u are a sea lover...and a nature lover coz tis state offer a lot of nature within cab distances...

...then from Kuala Terengganu...take a bus to Kuala Lumpur...for city life...and then after that head north to Penang,Kedah and its padi fields and then to Langkawi for more beaches.

..BTW,,,actually i miss out Malacca,,,which is worth visiting coz it explains the history of Malaysia....(u culd replace Mersing with Malacca and from there proceed to Kuantan)..

...presume all tis wuld take about 1 week...

...if u are heading for Thailand...u can actually take the International Train at Butterworth (Penang).

..sounds fun...wish i culd do tat...but my luggage now includes 3 city-spoilt boys....

..sorry i culdn't help on the budget hotels in Malaysia....

..have fun...

Answer 3

Hi ,

I'm from Malaysia and had worked in S'pore for 3 years. Ok, let analyze this:

Singapore:

~ you only needs 3 days to cover all the island Attractions.

~clean and authentically culture fake city.

~convenience. very small island easy to get transportation.

Malaysia

~this is depend on what, where, which destination of your choice.

~quite a big topic to discuss.

~transport not really convenience at certain place .

~cheap and clean  hostel available for back packer.

The list goes on..... But I'm providing u with these site to be fair ok...  

Answer 4

Malaysia - Penang and Melaka just got listed as World heritage status. Kuala Lumpur, just stop to see the Kuala Lumpur Twin Towers.