It's been over two years since I went on a trip to Asia to checkout a few places. What would be a good base for me in Asia? I went to Singapore, Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Phuket, and Bangkok. Didn't make it to Bali.
I wanted to go someplace vibrant, gay friendly, good food, interesting things to do, reasonable cost.
The best way to get to know a new city is meeting a local. I did meet two guys in KL, but didn't spend so much time with them. I really enjoy meeting local people. It's hard to make a judgement on a city in just two or three days.
KL I'm not sure about. It seems socially conservative. When I opened Grindr I was greeting with a warning "You are in a conservative Muslim country. Be careful about posting a face pic and meeting people". Not exactly gay friendly. However, there were a fair number of guys with face pics on Grindr. In the streets most of the women were completely covered, despite it being close to 40 C. Omg this has to be miserable. It makes the city seem so conservative. Really not so many attractions in the city.
On the other hand, I hear from some friends who have lived in KL about the active gay scene in the city. I stayed in Bukit Bintang and there was actually a gay club a few blocks from the Westin Hotel. I was surprised that existed so openly. I didn't go. I was by myself and unsure about safety in the city.
The city is generally inexpensive. The food was ok, but I should have explored this more.
I preferred Bangkok to KL. One of my friends told me he really didn't like Bangkok and he described it as just like Bangladesh. I didn't find that at all.
I'm not limited to staying in just one place. I could rent a condo for a month at a time and stay in multiple cities. This might be the best option.
Whatever you decide I am sure you will have a good time. Travel is fun if you have the time and money for it. Stay safe!
ReplyDeleteWelcome to KL where there are full of incredibly useless skyscrapers which serve no function to the nation and plenty newly built and abandoned shopping mall that cripples the young adult into financially debt!
ReplyDeleteI am saying this is not because I don't like my country; it is because is the TRUTH. We do not need any skyscrapers or malls ; we need more green parks, lakes, heritage building, cultural scene, and many more that bring out the best of Malaysia.
You won't be able to visit much in just 2 or 3 days in KL except just circling around Bukit Bintang area, where the businesses are dominated by mostly foreigners such as bangladesh, pakistans, myanmar and arabs. So the people you saw in BB were mostly foreigners and it reflects poorly what it used to be in the glorious days. I would highly suggest you to stay away from BB if you want to visit the local culture scene. Same goes to KLCC , the people there are just higher class of foreigners. Nothing special. We local will not go to these areas anymore because they are pretty much overrated and expensive for our liking.
If you fancy for food hunting, like tasting our local delicacies, you may want to stay in Selangor area.
The most popular areas are:
Cheras (low-median class)
Petaling Jaya ( median to upper class)
Serdang (low to middle class- i stay here at the lower class area)
Mont Kiara ( Upper class - mostly rich expats stay there, many of them migrate to this place)
Bangsar ( Upper class - the ultra rich local and expats stay here)
There are many 5 stars hotel in these area abovementioned. And you may need to use "Grab" car (UBER in the US) to travel around the area.
All that being said, you certainly need a local guy to bring you around the city to eat all the foods. I can show you around when you come for next visit.
If you are scenary guy, then you may want to visit the beaches like Pulau Tioman, Langkawi, Redang, etc. But to me there are more likely the same.
Oh! Ipoh is a great place for tourist esp for food. I have never been but I heard it is good.
Malaysia is certainly not a gay-friendly but they are still being respectful to us. We will not get shot for being gay. If that is what you worry about. After all, we mind our own business mostly. They don't bother us we dont bother them. But if you expect all pride and happy just like the gays in the US, you will never experience that. But we are happy the way it is in our own nest. Just that we don't exaggerate and being WOKE like the queers in US.
ReplyDeleteSince the country is dominated by mostly 3 races : Malay, Chinese , and Indian. We mind our own business and avoid anything causing racial issue. We live in peace. That's all.
I believe it is just the cultural shock when you visit a foreign country. Once you live long enough, you will realize Malaysia is a good place to stay esp for retirement.
The gay scene is tad bit underwhelming but it is just there. You just need to find the right person to lead you. You will be surprised the gay sex scene is quite happening very often but in discreet and undisclosed manner.
What you saw in KL is the complete opposite of what you went through in New York.
If you fancy loud scene, then KL would not be a place for you. Bangkok probably is the one you looking for.
KL can be boring. Not if you know what you are expecting for. :)
Skyscraper-itis has destroyed many cities in Asia taking away architectural and cultural landmarks or overwhelming them and destroying the charming fabric of the cities. My best visits to Asian cities have been to Kyoto, Taipei, Bangkok, Yangon, Phenom Pehn and Ha-Noi. Next up I plan on visiting Laos and its cities of Vientiane and Luang Prabang.
ReplyDeleteFor non-urban travel the isles of Bali and Timor, the Tottori region of Japan, Kep beach in Cambodia and the karsts of Ha Long Bay in Viet-Nam were great.
-CA jock