Indonesia, Malaysia....

Anyone been here?
Got some tips and hints to share....?

I need to know what its like for a single white female traveller? Is it similar to Thailand for travelling purposes?
What are the must visits?
Any recommendations of places to stay? (backpacker prices)
Can anyone recommend a retreat/yoga/detox kind of place too?

All hints, advice and tips gratefully appreciated

Do not pay more than $30 and always check the correct plumbing is in place before taking your new friend back to your hotel room.

HTH.

Originally Posted by clanger

Anyone been here?
Got some tips and hints to share....?

I need to know what its like for a single white female traveller? Is it similar to Thailand for travelling purposes?
What are the must visits?
Any recommendations of places to stay? (backpacker prices)
Can anyone recommend a retreat/yoga/detox kind of place too?

All hints, advice and tips gratefully appreciated

My elder bro is a teacher out there, I'll forward your questions on to him.

You may not get a speedy response - he's always away island hopping!
Dirk

Am I right in thinking that Malaysia is an Islamic country with Sharia (sp??) law? or do I have the wrong end of the stick?

Pretty sure that it's largely based on English law with bits of Muslim law for things like coveting neighbours wives and the like. Might want to double check that as women tend to get the **** poor treatment in that regard and you don't want to end up locked up (if only for a couple of hours) for not covering your hair if you find yourself at some religious site or something.

Pretty sure it's all quite laid back generally though - tourism is too important to get overly pedantic.

[Biker Biggles]

Both are Islamic while Thailand is Buddist.Never insult the King in Thailand and make sure you have no possible hint of a connection to any drugs in any of those three.

[TimTucker]

Your best bet for current information on places to stay is probably the Thorn Tree bulletin board on Lonely Planet's website.

Getting around is easy, especially in Malaysia, which has a good public coach network (though not quite as good as Thailand's). The buses aren't in such good condition in Indonesia -- and neither are the roads nor the driving skills -- particularly once you get away from Java and Bali.

Indonesia is the poorer country of the two and much more "third-world" in feel. Malaysia is at the same level as Thailand in this respect.

Both are Muslim countries and you can, as a single western women, expect some unwanted male attention. Wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt and trousers rather than crop-top and shorts away from the beaches will help enormously in this respect. Travelling in a small group, or even with one other person, also reduces this. It's easy to meet up with other people on the road and travel with them to your next destination.

On the plus side, Bahasa (in Malaysia) and Bahasa Indonesia are both simple languages to pick up, aren't tonal (unlike Thai) and are written in the Roman alphabet, so you can read all the signs, menus, etc.

Places worth visiting on peninsular Malaysia are:

- Penang
- Melaka
- Kota Bahru & Pulau Perhentian (Perhentian Islands)
- Cameron Islands

I'm not a huge fan of Kuala Lumpur, but it's worth a stopover to see the Petronas Towers.

The food is fantastic. You usually have a choice between Chinese, Malay and Southern Indian cuisines at most places.

On Indonesia, the places I really enjoyed were:

- Sumatra: Bukittinggi, Lake Toba; Padang is worth a visit if you decide to overland it down to Java. Medan, the town you arrive in from Penang is awful
- Java: Yogyakarta (you have to visit Borobodur), Solo and Mt Bromo
- Bali: Hideously over-commercialised, but beautiful, especially the centre of the island; quieter on the north coast, but the beaches aren't as good; Ubud is very interesting culturally
- Lombok: the Gili islands were lovely a decade ago, not sure if they still are now; climbing Mt Rinjani and camping a couple of days in the crater is a good experience

As for retreats or detox places, I'm not sure there's much for backpackers in either country. Langkawi is the centre for such places in Malaysia, but they are expensive.

If you're heading to Thailand, you might want to think about the ten-day silent retreat at Wat Suan Mokkhaphalaram at Chaiya, north of Surat Thani. Retreats for farang start on the first of every month. Lots of meditation practice (not vipassana) and some lectures on Buddhism. The wat has a website which should be able to provide more information.

HTH

Clanger/Tim,
Check out a site called Boots 'n' All www.bootsnall.com. I've been a member for a while but dont post much. They seem to be quite useful for information, friendly and it seems easier (for me at least) to navigate that the thorn tree one. (The thorn tree is setup by lonely planet afaik)

As for being a solo traveler (male or female) don't worry, it will all fall into place, even if you are usually quite reserved/shy (like me, apparently?).

Enjoy, and don't be afraid to stay in odd places, or take the odd risk. All good fun

Dan

"Indonesia beautiful - keep away from Jakarta and head
to Bali - beautiful - there are Australians there but
do not worry - they can be avoided. When I go to Bali
I stay at Kuta - 10 mins from airport - if your friend
wants more upmarket - Nua Sedua (5* luxury spas). It
is a very cheap paradise island - if they go I can
give tips on where to stay and bars etc....
Personally, I would by-pass Malaysia (for me and
travel anyway - I want bars and clubs etc... f*ck
nature but some folks like that sh*t) and head out
further afield - Thailand or Vietnam - airasia fly
there for virtually free (hubs are Bangkok and KL).
Another possibility is Philippines - a paradise island
called Boracay - I am heading there in November - you
fly into Clark from KL on airasia for almost free and
then get an internal flight there for very little
money - meant to be tip top. All this depends on when
your friend is thinking of travelling - need to look
at dry/wet seasons as these differ for each country. I
have met single white women travelling all over asia -
I am not aware that it is an issue in Malaysia,
Indonesia or Thailand, Cambodia is bandit country
though. If you want more specific info just ask."

big brother has spoken.

Cheers for your answers peeps. I'm not new to travelling - I set off on my first adventure in October 2005 for a year alone, and headed to India, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia and had a superb time.

But rather than head back to 'easy' Thailand as sooo many others do - I wanted to travel further afield, and see what other places have to offer.

So thanks for all the advice about clothing, and travelling about...Im already highly aware of that attention already...I had my moments in India and Vietnam, I can tell you....*phew*

Just really wanted to know a little inside info on Indonesia & Malaysia, and some of you have done this - so thanks muchly for that.