Since Malaysian Airlines had such a good offer, we decided to fly them and do a stopover in Malaysia. The flight was ok, though the plane was so small that it didn’t have an entertainment system built into the seat. We connected up to their WiFi and eventually worked out that we could watch movies, from their app, on our iPads so once we did this, all was good.
Bruce decided to use the voucher system at the airport to get a taxi and it turned out to be confusing and therefore a bit expensive, it cost of around $120 for a very nice van, but I think we could have done it just as well ourselves, only cheaper [on return journey, we took a Grab 6 seater and it only cost $40, with less wait time, very easy to find pickup point]. We arrived at our hotel in KL around just before midnight and looked out the window to see:
Lucky we looked out the window, since the lights went off at midnight so we wouldn’t have known it was there.
Off to bed and then a late wake up for a leisurely breakfast at the Concorde Hotel. The breakfast was very good, though very crowded.
Bruce then booked a Grab taxi to the golf course, which arrived immediately (quite cheap too).
Bangi Golf Course Game 1
Bruce picked this golf course since it appeared easy to book and it didn’t cost much, so we could miss out if the weather was really bad (as predicted). We caught a Grab taxi from KL, which took just under an hour and cost just under $20, very good value.
The game cost us around $40 each, which included a shared buggy and a $10 food voucher. We didn’t have to have a caddy, so we didn’t.
The course was a bit run down and they had filled in all the bunkers and left longer grass in them instead, still making them a problem, but much easier to upkeep, could also be easier to maintain given the large volumes of rain they get. The fairways were wide open and most holes were quite short off the white tees, Bruce could reach nearly all the holes in regulation, so both Rosie and Bruce found that it was very much about accuracy and consistency if you wanted a good score. The greens were small but played well.
Bruce shot 41 for the first nine, while Rosie did a 45. The second nine was a little bit more difficult, with more slope on the greens. We also had our usual mid round slumps as the heat and humidity got to us.
After the game, we had a huge lunch, which was of an ok standard, but since it didn’t cost us anything (food and beverage vouchers came with golf booking), we couldn’t complain and didn’t even bother having dinner that evening. While eating our lunch a huge electrical storm came in around us so we got a good light show. Wasn’t quite close enough to stop people playing golf, though it would have stopped us.
We would definitely play this course again, especially if we just wanted a truly relaxing game of golf.
Another Grab taxi back to the hotel for a swim and a relax.
Looking around Kuala Lumpur
After golf we went to the bar in the hotel where a beer cost the same amount as a pizza, Bruce was desperate, so he had a beer (none at golf course or anywhere else we had seen). Then a walk over to Petronas Towers to see the Symphony Lake Water Show. The best way to get to this show is to walk through the shopping centre below the towers, or to cut through the alleyway just before you get to the towers. The light and water show was ok, but wouldn’t go back a second time. The night view of the towers was good.
We finished the night off by going to the hotel bar for a drink, but it was so entertaining that we stayed for two. They had live music and the act we were watching had quite a following. Not sure if it was a gay bar, but watching women in hijabs line dancing to “Achy Breaky Heart” was very entertaining and unexpected.
We were going to take a look around the sites the next day, so we caught the GoKL busses. They cost 30¢ every time we got on and we went to a couple of the major sites. Unfortunately both were closed since they were under construction. We did take a look at a mosque:
While taking this picture, a person dropped their Chinese passport. We tried hard to find them, but couldn’t track down the person. We handed the passport in at our hotel so they could give it to the police.
After this we got a bit hot so went back to the hotel for a swim. We are not very good tourists in the heat and humidity.
Although cheap, the GoKL busses were very confusing, you didn’t really know if you were at a bus stop or not and assuming you were at one, you had to wave your hand and the bus might stop. Don’t think we would use them again.
Once it cooled down in the evening Bruce took Rosie to Chinatown for her birthday. We took another Grab taxi (which was very good value and easy to use) to Kwai Chai Hong, which is a small alley that you go down. The Grab taxi dropped us off at the entrance to the alley and when we walked down it you saw the small bridge off to your right and this took you into the street art alley. It was very good.
Once we viewed the main section, you got to see lots of other street art along the different alleys leading you back into Chinatown. Again, road works prevented us from actually finding the main section of Chinatown, but it was still a very nice evening out.
Had to get up very early Sunday morning to catch our plane to Chiang Mai, but it was an interesting stay in KL.
Very happy to use Grab taxis, they are good quality and cheap. You have a choice as to the quality of the taxi you want and you choose how much you want to pay. We found it best to choose a car that was near by, rather than the cheapest, since traffic can cause huge delays in the pickup time. Bigger is better, so we always took a slightly bigger car, 6 seater when we were going to and from golf with our clubs.
When we return, we will play Bangi Golf course again, but we will be staying at a town closer to the airport.
Return to Malaysia
After leaving Chiang Mai, we returned to Malaysia for a two night stopover. This gave us more flexibility with flight times and Malaysia is cheap. This time we stayed in Putrajaya, since it was closer to the golf course and the airport. We were asked a couple of times by people what we were doing in Putrajaya, stunned that a western tourist was there. Putrajaya was established in the 1990’s and is very similar to Canberra. It is a planned city for government and bureaucrats.
It has some very pretty bridges and some lovely shopping malls, but that is about it. We stayed at the Doubletree Hilton, which Bruce thought was centrally located, but as it turned out, is was a bit isolated, you had to catch a taxi to get to the malls, which is where the locals went to eat.
Bangi Golf Course Game 2
Rosie enjoyed playing this course the first time, she really enjoyed being able to share the golf cart with me and not have any caddies. It was just like playing at home and she found it relaxing.
We both played a very similar game to the first time, with a few wasted shots but generally pretty good. Unfortunately it was very hot and humid and Rosie couldn’t continue to play the last three holes. Bruce kept going and parred one and should have parred the other two, poor putting and a poor approach shot. Bruce shot 88 off the stick and Rosie was on track for a 92.
What we learnt in Malaysia
- Use Grab taxis all the time, they are easy to use and cheap.
- If you use the automatic passport entry on arrival, you must use it on the way out (you find it hidden away on the far left of the customs hall)
- Malaysia is very hot, might be better to play golf in the early morning, rain is more likely to be a problem in the afternoon.
- You don’t need much cash, Grab use your stored credit card and you can book golf using the QIsoft app, it seems to give you access to most courses.
