When Is The Best Time To Visit Malaysia???

Throughout my profession, I have been asked by tourists when is the BEST time to visit Malaysia...so here I would like to share with you with my own opinion when should be the best time to visit Malaysia.

First of all, before visiting Malaysia, one has to know what are the reasons or motives of visiting Malaysia. This is because the tourists can have various reasons for visiting Malaysia.

For those eco tourists enthusiasts, please be well aware that it is not suitable to visit Malaysia during the monsoon season. Malaysia's monsoon season is usually from November till February.

Even though Malaysia is well known for its wetness, but the monsoon season is the wettest of all. It rains so heavily that usually the north east of Malaysia ( Terengganu and Kelantan ) is flooded.

For those who are interested to go for diving, please be well aware that those islands at the north east of Malaysia, namely Pulau Redang, Pulau Perhentian, Pulau Kapas, Pulau Lang Tengah, etc. are closed due to the monsoon season.

Other than the monsoon season, any time is the best time to visit Malaysia.

But please don't misunderstand that during the monsoon season is not suitable to visit other parts of Malaysia. As I have mentioned, it depends on the reasons for you to visit Malaysia. If you are visitting Malaysia for the sake of enjoying Malaysia, then of course ANY TIME IS BEST TIME TO VISIT MALAYSIA.

But then, for the shopaholics and fruit connoisseurs, the best time to visit Malaysia is always during the month of July and August.

For the shopaholics, the annual Malaysia mega sales is held during this time. All shopping complexes throughout the country will organise crazy sales during this time of the year. Unbelievable prices for clothings, electronical products, etc can be bought.

As for the fruit lovers, it is the Malaysia fruit season of the year. Every where you go in Malaysia, you will bound into fruit stalls selling variety of local fruits. One of the best durian species, Mau San Wang ( in Mandarin, and if translated in English it means King cat of the hill ) is at its cheapest price during this time of the year. During the normal season, this durian price can fetch up to RM42.00 per kilo. But during the fruit season, its usually at RM18.00 per kilo. One can even buy mangosteen at RM10 for 3 kilograms.

As for divers, those who go for diving at the north east Malaysia reported that the whales and dolphins can be seen during this time of the year. Last month ( June ), when we went for our company trip to Langkawi, we saw a school of dolphins swimming around. This is indeed an unforgettable experience!!!

Importance of Being Able To Speak Various Language

Since the month of May,2009, it has been very very low season for most China market tour guides. Previously, on average there will be about 30 groups coming into Malaysia via Singapore. But these days there are only about 5 China groups per day.

I was told that the China government started to impose strict regulations to all the travel agents in China. If there is any complaint from the chinese tourists, then the China travel agent will be black listed.

As for the China tour leaders, they are also strictly controlled as well. They have to deposit RMB40,000 and to ensure that there will be no complaints towards them. Or else their deposit will be forfeited.

Due to this reason, the China travel agents are very reluctant to market their tours to South East Asia.

Of course there are other reasons like the recession and also the H1N1 that made the China tourists reluctant to travel overseas as well.

I am one of the lucky tour guides for I am able to speak fluent English and Malay. As such, I am able to take the Indian and also the Indonesia tourists. I was told some of the China market tour guides can only lead a group a month.

As for last month, I lead a China group, an Indian group and also two Indonesia groups.

So, it is very important that as a tour guide, we must be able to speak various languages in order to survive.

Being able to lead various countries tourists is also an added advantage because I am able to know the habits, culture, likes and dislikes of the tourists.

New CIQ complex opens

JOHOR BARU: The new Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex will be fully operational tomorrow and replace the Causeway checkpoint in the city centre, which will be closed.

This means that all vehicles travelling to and from Singapore will have to use the new complex to get their passports stamped and Customs checks.

Ready for action: An aerial view of the new Sultan Iskandar Building (background), which houses the new Custom, Immigration and Quarantine complex in Johor Baru.

The RM1.3bil new complex, which has 76 lanes for cars and 100 for motorcycles, was partially operational on Dec 1 when vehicles from Singapore were diverted to the complex for a drive-through after completing their Immigration and Customs procedures at the Causeway checkpoint.

Starting tomorrow, all vehicles coming from Singapore must also use Touch ’n Go cards to pay toll as they enter Malaysia.

Previously, at the Causeway checkpoint, toll payments could be done with cash and Touch ’n Go cards.

Johor traffic police chief Supt T. Raveendran said full operations of the complex would start at 12.01am tomorrow and would involve all cars, buses, vans and motorcycles.

Lorries, however, would still use the Tanjung Puteri checkpoint.

Supt Raveendran said that at 11.45pm today, the existing Immigration counters in Jalan Tun Razak just before the Causeway would be closed.

All vehicles heading to Singapore between 11.45pm and midnight would be diverted to Jalan Sawmill behind the Johor Baru (central) police station, he added.

Vehicles would then have to go on either Jalan Pantai Lido or Jalan Wong Ah Fook to Jalan Tebrau and subsequently to Jalan Lingkaran Dalam to enter the Sultan Iskandar CIQ complex, he said.

After midnight, all vehicles should head directly to the Sultan Iskandar CIQ complex via Jalan Lingkaran Dalam.

The old Immigration checkpoint at the Causeway will be demolished after authorities are satisfied with the smooth flow of traffic at the new complex.

Engineer Darryl Chong, 32, who works in Singapore and used the new complex, said that he was concerned over the narrow roads at the new complex.

“The roads are very narrow for big vehicles,” he said.

He added that he was unsure whether larger vehicles would slow down the flow of traffic while trying to manoeuvre the winding roads.

Chong also noted the complex was fully covered.

Sources : The Star 15th Dec 2008

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Upon reading this news, I do not know whether to be happy or sad.

During Tun Dr Mahathir's era, he had planned a bigger and wider bridge to connect to Singapore. He is so determined to get this project done that he insisted that if Singapore did not agree, then he will continue on the project with a crooked bridge.

Alas, the leadership changed to Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi. He is famous for being a softie leader that he decided to change Tun Dr Mahathir's plan and bow down to Singapore. The old bridge is not dismantled at all.

When I came to know of Datuk Seri Abdullah's decision, my heart really aches and I believe same goes to all the Johoreans.

How I wish these leaders will go to the CIQ at 5am in the morning to see how terible the jam is. I really pity those Malaysians who travell to work in Singapore every day. They have to wake up at 4am or even earlier just to cross the bridge.

This suffer is actually not felt by the Johoreans only. The China tourists who visited Malaysia suffered the worst. The China tourists come to Malaysia via Singapore and go back to China via Singapore as well. This is due to the cheap flight tickets.

So, lets say the flight of the China tourists is at 10am. The Singapore travel agent will arrange a tour bus to pick them at Woodlands at 7am. This is because 1 hour is needed for the travel time from Woodlands to the Changi airport. And it is also a regulations that all tour groups have to check in 2 hours before flight time. So, thats the reason why Singapore travel agent will arrange the tour bus at 7am.

As for the Malaysia part, the tour guides will definately have to arrange 3.30am morning call and 4.00am check out from the hotel. We must reach the CIQ latest by 4.30am because if we reach later then that, all the industrial buses arrived and this will create a terrible jam.

Due to these circumstances, usually the China tourists will reach Singapore at about 5am. The worst is that the China tourists will have to sleep in the Malaysian tourists bus and wait till 7am. This is because the Singapore bus driver will only fetch the China tourists at 7am.

So, from here you can understand that not only the China tourists suffer but the Malaysian tour guides and drivers have the same fate at all.

I am hoping with this new CIQ, everything will be smoother and faster so that we need not have to wake up so early in the morning.

S'poreans still big spenders in M’sia despite slowdown

While reading news from the website, I came across this article from the STAR which will benefit all fellow Malaysian tour guides.

I really hope that the Malaysian tour guides will print this article and show it as a proof to the tourists that WE in Malaysian definitely is the shopping paradise compare to Singapore.

The Singaporean tour guides will always bad mouthed about Malaysia to the China tourists. This is because the KIASU or KIASI country will always be the first destination. So the Singaporean tour guide will bad mouth about Malaysia and hope that the China tourists will spend and purchase more items in Singapore.

So, I hope with this article we can show to all foreign tourists that Malaysia is not only the TRULY ASIA country but we are also the TRULY SHOPPING PARADISE.

Below is the article which I get it from the STAR newspaper dated 13th Dec 2008.

JOHOR BAHARU: Singaporeans, despite facing some tough economic conditions back home, are still the big spenders in Malaysia.

Figures gleaned from the 2008 Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival statistics showed that Singaporeans spent the most with a whopping RM64.7mil in credit card transactions.

Indonesians are next with RM42.9mil and that is why Tourism Malaysia is confident that the Malaysia Savings Sale 2008, which began on Nov 29 and ends on Jan 4, will enjoy the same success, if not better.

Speaking at the Johor launch of the Malaysia Saving Sales 2008 at the Plaza Pelangi on Friday night, Datuk Idros Mohd, the chief executive officer of Pempena Sdn Bhd, the Shopping Malaysia arm of the Tourism Ministry, said that Singapore was still the country's No 1 market.

"There is no denying that we depend a lot on Singaporeans as far as tourist arrival figures are concerned. In fact, last year we welcomed an estimated 10.5 million Singaporeans. "In a way, the Malaysia Savings Sale 2008 is targetted primarily at the Singapore market and Johor Baru being the closest to the republic is our main focus.

"People say that during these tough economic climate, shopping is the last thing on their minds. But I see it as a blessing in disguise for Malaysian retailers. "Times are tough and consumers are more careful with their money. That's why it's so attractive for Singaporeans to make their short hop-over to Johor Baharu to shop because of the favourable exchange rate," he said.

The opening of the new Customs and Immigration Complex scheduled for Tuesday also means that Singaporeans will enjoy a smoother drive into the city, Idros added.

The Malaysia Savings Sale 2008 was first launched by Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said at the Pavillion in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 29 and since then it had launches in Langkawi, Miri, Kota Kinabalu, Penang and now Johor Baru. - Bernama

Thousand Apologies...

First and foremost I must apologise to all readers for being absent for such a long time. I was just too busy with my China tours.

Actually I really feel very lucky for during this bad season ( due to the bad economy, terrorists in Mumbai, India and the strikes in the Bangkok airport ), I can still take China groups non stop.

All my company tour groups are not affected by the Bangkok airport incidents because my company only deals with the Guang Dong agents. Most of the Guang Dong tourists will fly directly to Singapore first and then only to Malaysia. So, this is the reason why I am not badly affected.

Any way how, from now onwards, I will try my very best to update my tour blog from time to time. And of course, I really hope to hear some feed back or any questions pertaining to tours in Malaysia.

Thank You.

Advises For Tourists During The Stay In Malaysia

1. Rules And Regulations of The Country

It is very important that all tourists follow the rules and regulations of the country. Malaysia is a very environmental friendly country and we protect our mother nature very well. So, these are the basic rules and regulations to follow:

i) Smoking : In most public places and air conditioned rooms in Malaysia you are not allowed to smoke. The penalty will be at RM500.

ii) Littering : In most cities in Malaysia, there are the dark blue coloured uniformed town councilor officers who will fine those people who are caught litter around.

iii) Drugs: Malaysia is also internationally well known for its tough law against drug. We have the death penalty for those caught trafficking drugs.

2) Passport And Valuables

Please be careful that your passport and valuable items are taken care at all times. Here are some examples of crimes happened in Malaysia and it is my hope that upon knowing and realizing the crimes in Malaysia, every care is taken care of the valuables.

i) Snatches

There have been many cases of snatches of handbags in Malaysia and very unfortunately that this crime is still on the rise. The Malaysia authorities have taken lots of measures to prevent this crime among tourists and Malaysians by deploying more polices at the main roads of the cities.

Usually the robber will be riding the motorcycle and snatch the handbag and speeding away. This usually happen at places which is dark or places where there is hardly any people around.

So, it is very important that passports are not left in the handbag. Its best to leave the passport in the safety box of the hotel room or at the safety box at the reception. Should you need to carry along the passport, then it is always advisable to put the passport in the trouser’s pocket. This is so much safer than putting the passport in the handbag because in Malaysia, pick pockets are lesser than snatchers.

It is also advisable that not all cash is put in the handbag. It is best to separate the cash to different pockets and the handbag as well. The best policy is to just bring enough cash for spending and not to carry handbag around.

ii) Pick Pockets

Even though pick pockets do happen in Malaysia, however it is so much fewer cases compared to snatchers. The pick pockets syndicates are usually carried out by the Phillipinoes in Malaysia. The Phillipinoes usually carry out the activity pick pocketing in groups of four to six persons. They use various methods and techniques in order to pick pocket the victims. Please be very careful at crowded places for example at the shopping centres, bus stops, stations, etc. These are the techniques which are usually used during pick pocketing.

a) At escalator, there will be a person who will accidently dropped the coins around. Because it is crowded and everyone will try to help to collect the coins dropped. So, this is when the pick pockets will go into action.

b) At the lift, a handicapped person will accidentally fall down upon entering the lift. Upon seeing the handicap person fall down, usually people will try to help him. This when the pick pocket goes into action.

iii) Hypnotis

These hipnotis are usually done by the middle east people. They portray themselves as tourists as well. They usually consist of a family. The wife will usually carry a baby along to reduce the suspect of the tourists. They will usually try to befriend the tourists at the tourists spots by asking the victim to help them to take a photo for them. After befriending the victim, the husband will ask where did the victim come from. Then usually the husband will say he has never seen the currency of the country the victim originated. He will take out a piece USD 10 to change the currency or asking for loose change. When the victim took out the wallet, usually what happened after that, the victim will not know because the victim will be in hypnotized situation. When the middle east people left, then the victim will realize that part of the money in the wallet has been taken.

Adivice: Because Malaysia is a multiracial country, as a foreigner in the country, its very difficult for tourists to know who the criminals are from. Usually, the Indonesians look like the local Malays, the Bangladeshis look like the Indians, etc. So, its important that when you are approached by someone who you do not know, its best not to befriend them.

3) Take off shoes

As Malaysia is a Muslim country, there are a lot of places which required the tourists to take off the shoes.

When we enter the Malay houses for visit, generally we are required to take off the shoes. In fact, most of Malaysians, through the influenced of the Malays, take off shoes before entering the house.

Mosque is a prayer place and should be clean at all time. As such all tourists are required to take off shoes upon entering the mosque.

4) Be careful And Know How To Differentiate Between Prayer Rooms And Toilets

We can differentiate a toilet and a prayer room through the picture signboard on the door.

The prayer room for the males will have a picture of a male wearing a songkok ( a black color hat for the Malays during prayer ). The prayer room for the females will have a picture of a female wearing a head scarf.

As for the male toilet, the picture of the male is without the songkok and the female toilet is the picture of the female without the head scarf.

5) Respect The Local Lifestyle And Culture

As Malaysia is Truly Asia, most of the traditional culture of the Asians are still practiced. As such its very important as a tourist in Malaysia, one has to respect and follow the lifestyle of the locals. For example, it’s not good for a couple to hug or kiss each other in the public.

Please take note that the above mentioned advises are only in general form. There are some special advises to be noted as and when the tourists are in the tourists spots. For example when at the King’s Palace, do not stand too near to the horses for photography.

And again I should stressed that even I emphasized that there are snatches and pick pockets, please do not misunderstand that Malaysia is not safe. It is still very safe to travel all around in Malaysia. I always believe that no matter where we are, it is always important that we must know how to take care of our valuables.

For further information of some tips of warnings and look outs for tourists while in Malaysia, please go to: http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/Malaysia/Wilayah_Persekutuan/Kuala_Lumpur-1282074/Warnings_or_Dangers-Kuala_Lumpur-BR-1.html