Where to stay

Boat
In Peninsula Malaysia, there are regular scheduled ferry services between the main islands, Pulau Pangkor, Penang and Pulau Langkawi, and the mainland. There are services from Mersing and Singapore to Pulau Tioman. There are passenger and and car ferries between Butterworth and Georgetown, Penang, every 20 minutes. For other offshore islands, mostly off the east coast,fshing boats, and sometimes regular boats leave from the nearest fishing port.

Local water transport comes into its own in Sarawak, where lack of roads make coastal and river transport the only viable means of communication. On the larger drivers in Sarawak, such as the Rajang and the Baram, there are specially adapted express boats. If there is no regular boat, it is nearly always possible to. charter a local longboat, although this can be expensive. In the dry season the upper reaches of many rivers are unnavigable except by smaller boats. In times of heavy rain logs and branch debris can make rivers unsafe. Some river transport still operates on drivers on the peninsula's east coast.

Feri Malaysia runs two routes, both on a weekly schedule. 1) Port Klang-Singapore-Kuching-Kota Kinabalu-Singapore-Kuantan-Port Klang. 2) Kuantan-Kota Kinabalu-Kuching-Singapore-Port Klang, Tourism Malaysia offices have information Fen Malaysia and can place bookings. For price guidelines.

Other local transport
Cycling
We have had a number of letters from people who have cycled through various parts of Southeast Asia. The advice below is collated from their comments, and is meant to provide a general guideline for those intending to travel by bicycle. There may be areas, however, where the advice does not hold true. Some of the letters we have received even disagree on some points.

Bike type Touring, hybrid or mountain bikes are fine for most roads and tracks in Malaysia-take on an ordinary machine: nothing fancy
Spares these are readily available for most machines Mountain bikes have made a big impact in the country, so accessories for these are also widely available What is less common are components made of unusual materials titanium and composites for example it is best to use common service
Attitudes to bicyclists cycling is becoming, more common in Malaysia and club are springing up across the country. unlike Indonesia and Thailand, a foreigner on a bike is not such an object of interest
Road condition the maps in this guide are not sufficiently detailed for bicycling colour map a useful in determining contours and altitude, as well as minor roads
Road users attitude to bicyclists Cars and buses rarely give way to a a bicycling Be very wary especially on main roads
Taking bikes on buses Non-a/c cheaper buses are more accommodating of bicycles;a/c tour buses may refuse to carry a bike
Bicycles on airlines Many international airlines take bicycles free-of-change provided they are not boxed. take the peddles off and deflate the tyres
In general Avoid major roads and major towns
It is easy for foreigners to hitch in Malaysia: look reasonably presentable and it shouldn’t be long before someone will stop. Hitching is not advisable for single women

There are two types of taxi in Malaysia-local and out-station-or long distance-The latter-usually Mercedes or Peugeot - connect all major town and cities they operated on a shared-cost-basis-ass soon as the full complement of four passengers turns up the taxis set off. Alternatively, it is possible to charter the whole taxi for the price of four single fares, taxi stands are usually next door to major bus stations-Fares government and posted at stand, so there ; no need, or point in bargaining if shated taxi fares usually cost about twice as much as bus, Fares, but they are much faster groups travelling together taking a taxi makes good sense Note that it is easier to find passengers going your way in the morning than later in the day.

Local taxi fares in Malaysia are among the cheapest in Southeast Asia. Most local taxi in major town ate now metered and a/c turning the a/c on costs an additional 20% if there is no meter,or,as is more often the case the meter is broken, fares should be negotiated advance.

In KL it as long been too dangerous for trishaws. apare from around Chinatown and subur areas. In town such as Melaka Georgetown and Kota Bharu, as well as In many other smaller town, they remain one of the best and certainly most pleasant ways of getting around particularly for sightseeing It is necessary to negotiate fares in advance as Malaysia becomes more affluent, so trishaws are disappearing before long, presumably it will be like Singapore an expensive wa to travel for well-heeled tourist

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