Hotels and Accommodations in Malaysia

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I have added a page on the site with links to good hotels and accommodations in Malaysia. At this time it covers 4 areas: Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi, Penang and Johor Bahru. Different people have different desires for a hotel room. And at different times even the same person does. In general I prefer to save my money by using discount lodging, but I splurge occasionally – especially if I can get a great deal. I did that, when I stayed at the Prince Hotel & Residence Kuala Lumpur and it was wonderful.

I also have found nice discount places and some in-between. I really nice place in Johor Bahru is Bliss Boutique Hotel that has very distinctive room designs. They also have great staff. If you don’t mind small rooms it is a great choice for Johor Bahru.

photo of the beach at the Sunset Resort

Beach, Sunset Resort in Langkawi, Malaysia by John Hunter

Langkawi is a wonderful place to vacation and relax at the beach. I stayed at the Sunset Beach Resort which had very simple and well maintained bungalows. One of the best “features” was a great Indian restaurant on the beach – right next store to the hotel.

A great hotel in Penang is the G Hotel on Gurney Drive.

Related: Good, Cheap, Johor Bahru Hotels – Tourist Stuff in Kuala Lumpur – Nice Ocean View from Langkawi, Malaysia

The Treasure Store: Lots of English Language Used Books in Johor Bahru

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map of downtown johor bahru showing the danga city mall

January 2012 Update: The store is now closed at this location. I have a new post about the new location in Permas Jaya.

The Treasure Book Store, Danga City Mall, Johor Bahru, Malaysia

The Treasure store offers thousands of popular and rare used English language books at the Danga City Mall in downtown Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Malaysia (as well as Singapore) have very high book prices. 50-100% above those in the USA for the same books. While I was exploring I found this nice bookstore with a source of interesting reading: which was a very nice surprise. I was actually contemplating starting a used bookstore, if I couldn’t find one. The Danga City Mall seemed to have lots of available space (so I was thinking it might not be expensive) and for a good English language bookstore, I was thinking you might be able to draw customers (rather than relying on foot traffic – which seemed like it would be problematic).

Even prices for used books are high in Malaysia and Singapore, as much as new books in the USA. Treasure Books has thousands of used books for sale and rent in English. Authors include: John Grisham, Michael Crichton, David Baldacci, Mary Higgins Clark, James Patterson, Ken Follet, Dan Brown, Danielle Steel… You pay the purchase price but when you return the book you will get a refund minus a 5 Ringgit (or so) rental fee.

The owner is quite friendly and the inventory doesn’t fit in the shop so let her know if you have special requests. Also, I don’t think the store has regular hours, so you would be wise to call ahead and make sure it is open before making a trip.

I was excited to find so many interesting books and hope we can make the store popular and keep in in business. The Danga City Mall in general is nice but if you visit it is obvious the traffic needs to increase to sustain the existing stores and bring in more merchants (there are tens of empty store spots). The mall has a very good IT section with many stores and also has a bowling alley, paintball field and grocery store.

Related: Good, Cheap, Johor Bahru Hotels – Online Resources for Living in Johor Bahru – Malaysian Residence Pass for Skilled Professionals

View an interactive version of the map.

photo of the front of the Treasure Book Store in Johor Bahru

There are Lots of Blogs Connected to Kuching and Borneo

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As I posted a few weeks ago I took a look at Kuching and was as I learned more I have been looking into moving in Kuching. Kuching offers some really nice benefits. It is less expensive that places like Kuala Lumpur and Penang. It also is said to be a very livable city. I plan to look at it in soon.

One thing that drew my interest is the active bloggers from there. Borneo Colours and Sarawak bloggers provide a forum for bloggers for all over Borneo and Serawak and are great places to find related blogs. And also just searching for blogs I found several. Some of my favorites are (including some from the rest of Borneo and even the rest of Malaysia, too):

By far my favorite though is Miao & WafuPafu. The cat is from Kuching, though he lives in Melaka now. This comic is awesome!

I also have found the start of a network using Google+ (John Hunter on Google+).

When looking at the others areas in Malaysia, other than Kuala Lumpor, I don’t find many blogs (and many that I do find, are by expats). That might partially be that I am just missing what is there for blogs in other locations. The blogs are a great way to get a peak at Kuching before I make it there (I should make it next week, or the week after that).

Related: Tourist Stuff in Kuala Lumpur – photos of Penang

Photos from Penang

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I took this photo while walking from Batu Feringgi to Tanjung Bungah on Penang. There were some nice views, like this one, but it probably isnโ€™t very smart to walk that path as considerable distances have no sidewalk at all and you have to walk within a foot of where cars and trucks zoom by. And even when there is a sidewalk you have to be watchful for huge holes, feet across and several feet deep, you could easily fall through.

The lack of consideration given to pedestrians in the design and operation of Penang is a big reason I don’t think I will live there. The buses were very convenient, and cheap, for the Georgetown to Batu Feringgi corridor, that part of the urban planning has been done very well.

See more photos from Penang.
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Floating Houses in the Straight Between Johor Bahru and Singapore

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I updated the theme for this blog and replaced the header image with one of floating houses in the straight between Johor Bahru and Singapore. Here is another photo from my visit in which you can see Singapore on the left and downtown Johor Bahru on the right of the background. It is hard to see in the image, but if you look closely you can also see the causeway connecting the two cities. The photo is taken at the shore a few blocks from the Straights View Condos.

Photo of straight between Johor Bahru and Singapore (with floating houses)

View of the straight between Johor Bahru and Singapore by John Hunter.

Related: Online Resources for Living in Johor Bahru – photos of Johor, Malaysia in the 1970s

Tourist Stuff in Kuala Lumpur

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Today I went to the Islamic Art Museum, Bird Park, Little India and the Aquarium in Kuala Lumpur. I am staying at a great hotel, with a very nice view (even free internet in your room). You can book for great rates using Agoda – I am becoming a big fan of Agoda as I use it on my travels. Here are some photos from the day (and one from last night).

photo of Petronas towers at night, Kuala Lumpur

Petronas Towers at night, Kuala Lumpur, from my hotel room.

photos of jellies at the Kuala Lumpur aquarium

Jellies at the Kuala Lumpur aquarium by John Hunter


Watch a cool webcast on jellies that I posted to my Curious Cat Science blog.
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Early Photo of Me on the East Coast of Malaysia

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I head over to Kuala Lumpor in just over a week. Here is a photo of me on what may have been my first trip to Malaysia. I appear to be looking to jump over the railing.

John (on the left) eyeing a big jump

Perhaps my first trip to Malaysia (I am on the left)

This photo is actually a photo of a slide projected on the screen, which was my brother’s suggestion for a quick way to digitize some slides. It works amazingly well (for posting images to the web) and is very quick and easy.

Looking into Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

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Recently I have been looking into Kuching in the eastern Malaysian state of Sarawak on the island of Boreno. So far I am very impressed. Kuching is the capital of Sarawak with a population of 600,000. Malaysia’s portion of Borneo is about the same size as peninsular Malaysia. As an added bonus Kuching is also know as cat city (Kucing is cat in old western Malay, I read, though from what I have found it may be more likely the city got the name from the Chinese word for port (“cochin”) coupled with the Malay name mata kucing (cat’s-eye) for the longan fruit, a popular trade item.

Kushing is a popular point for tourists to use as a base for visiting the Borneo rain forests full of many wonders one of which is the orangutan. Kuching is the largest city in Borneo and the 4th largest city in Malaysia, after Kuala Lumpor, Penang and Johor Bahru.

Related: Living Life in Malaysia as an Expatriot – Orangutan Attempts to Hunt Fish with Spear – Bornean Clouded Leopard – First Lungless Frog Found
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Malaysian Residence Pass for Skilled Professionals

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The Residence Pass program officially launched on April 1st. I still can’t find much information on it. If I am reading things right, Talent Corporation Malaysia Bhd has been tapped by the government to lead this effort.

The Residence Pass was a new immigration instrument which offers 5 to 10 years of residence and work in Malaysia. Unlike other employment passes it is not tied to a specific employers so it allows workers to move between jobs much more easily. For the initial phase of implementation, Residence Pass applicants must hold a valid Employment Pass. The Residence Pass is targeted at world-class talents and thus, to secure approval, applicants must demonstrate a high level of professional achievements, supported by possession of relevant qualifications and work experience, especially in key economic sectors, as identified under the Economic Transformation Programme.

Currently, only those with current employment passes are eligible to apply (but eventually it will be opened to others). To requirements/materials needed to apply for the RP Talent pass are:

  • Academic Qualification: Bachelors / Masters / PHD degree in any discipline from a recognized Institute of Higher Learning, Diploma or a Professional / Competency Certificate from a recognized Professional Institute.
  • Total years of working experience: MINIMUM total of 5 years working experience.
  • Salary: MINIMUM gross annual salary of RM144,000 (approximately US$50,000)
  • Industry/Sector: Applicant from all industries and sectors are welcomed to apply.
  • Local Sponsor: Applicant must have a local sponsor i.e Malaysia Citizen, 21 years old and above.
  • Recommendation: Any recommendation from regulatory bodies will be an added advantage.
  • Years of experience working in Malaysia: MINIMUM total of 3 years working experience in Malaysia and it must be continuous.
  • Income Tax File No: Applicant must have an Income Tax File Number in Malaysia and have paid income tax for a MINIMUM of 2 years.

    • My understanding (though I could definitely be wrong) is that the last two will be removed at a later date, I believe, allowing those who have not worked in Malaysia to apply. I believe the idea is to retain and attract new talent, therefore the last two requirements don’t seem to make sense. My guess is they are just using it, initially, as a way to control applications.

    The Residence Pass Talent Application Form is required only for manual submission of applications. Required documents include: copy of passport, updated resume, and a copy of educational certificates. It seems to cost 2,000+MYR to apply (about $700).
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