Bali/KL recs

[kpol]

We're going to Bali next month and are looking for some recommendations. Right now, we're deciding between the Intercontinental (Jimbaran) and the Laguna (Nusa Dua). We'll be doing 6 days on the beach then heading to Ubud for two nights. We'll also have almost a two full days in Kuala Lumpur. What are some of your favorites in either area? We want to take most of the time to relax and enjoy good food and culture but are open to almost anything. 

[Deleted]

Just popping in here to see if anyone recommends anything.
We've got a day in Bali and one in Lombok on our cruise and a day and a half in Kuala Lumpur around Christmas/New Year. We got a pretty good deal on the Novotel City Centre in KL with Hotels.com and a friend had also heard it was fine.

kpol these are a few of things I've found looking at various travel sites for KL (definitely not a complete list)
Batu Caves (outside city)
Petronas Towers
Sri Mahamariamman
Central Market


And a friend here in Shanghai who used to live in KL recommended the restaurant Mae King Fatts in the Ampuang district for Chinese/Malaysian cuisine.

[Brit]

Dec 4, 2013 7:12:45 GMT -5 @juliash said:

Batu Caves (outside city)
Petronas Towers
Sri Mahamariamman
Central Market

These are all great suggestions.

I will respond about Bali later when I have more time.

[kpol]

Dec 5, 2013 14:29:58 GMT -5 @publius said:

Food in KL:

Have dinner on Jalan Alor. It's a street down by Changkat Bukit Bintang (where most of the bars are) that comes alive after dark with hawkers. It's the place to go for fresh Chinese-Malaysian seafood, but you can get non seafood dishes there too.

If you go to Batu caves stop at one of the restaurants at the bottom of the steps (across the street and to the left) for a roti chanai. It's the staple Indian-Malaysian breakfast food and it's amazing.

If you want some good Indian, Passage Thru India is worth trying. There is one in the city on Jalan Tun Razak.

There is a coffee shop/hawker center up the street from the central market that makes really good Char Kway Teow (a spicy noodle dish from Penang). I can't remember the name at the moment, but if you leave Central Market and walk to the street in front, turn left and walk up to the light. Cross the street and it's right there on the corner. I'll come back to this post when I think of the name.

There is a bar on the top of Traders Hotel that has an amazing view of the city.

This is amazing! Thank you! We're staying at the Traders so that's an easy one to check off the list. 

[kpol]

Dec 4, 2013 20:39:00 GMT -5 pagas said:

I would spend more time in Ubud than at the beach, I wish we had. We stayed at the Four Seasons Sayan and it was one of the best hotels ever. We stayed at the Conrad for the beach portion, it was fine, but nothing special. Ubud is an amazing place, one of my favorites. We did a rafting trip, Uluwatu Temple at sunset, Tirta Empul (water temple,) Tanah Lot and Taman Ayun, Elephant cave, visit the rice patties, and Monkey Forest.

I didn't enjoy KL very much, everything felt like one giant shopping mall.

Everyone I've talked to has raved about Ubud so we're looking forward to that. A rafting trip might have to be in our future! I didn't have much interest in KL but it was almost impossible to find a flight back to Seoul without stopping there so we figured we'd just tag an extra day on. 

[Deleted]

Dec 7, 2013 15:02:30 GMT -5 @publius said:

The coffee shop/hawker center with the great char Kway Teow by the Central market is called Kopi Lai Foong. It's on the corner of the street the Market is on and Jalan Tun TS Lee.

I used to eat here like 3 times a week when I was stationed in Malaysia for work. I like the Nonya restaurant in Central Market too. They have good fish head curry. If you don't feel comfortable with hardcore street food, you can go to the food court in Lot 10 (Bukit Bintang mall) where a lot of the known hawkers have stalls. It will probably be more hygienic and comfortable.

You can take a half day tour through the hotel to see most of the places in KL including Bukit Bintang. If you have time, you can go to the Genting Highlands. There is a cable car that pulls up the mountain and there is a casino and amusement park up there.

[babygirlpriest]

Dec 4, 2013 20:39:00 GMT -5 pagas said:

I would spend more time in Ubud than at the beach, I wish we had. We stayed at the Four Seasons Sayan and it was one of the best hotels ever. We stayed at the Conrad for the beach portion, it was fine, but nothing special. Ubud is an amazing place, one of my favorites. We did a rafting trip, Uluwatu Temple at sunset, Tirta Empul (water temple,) Tanah Lot and Taman Ayun, Elephant cave, visit the rice patties, and Monkey Forest.

I didn't enjoy KL very much, everything felt like one giant shopping mall.

Literally got back Friday from a couple weeks in Bali!

Ditto this. The beaches were lovely but I've seen better. We stayed at the Viceroy in Ubud and loved it. Took a couple yoga classes from Radiantly Alive (flying class was especially fun). About 6-10 shops down from there was Sang Spa. The four hand massage was amazing and like $20. I could have spent a full day walking the shops in that area. Also enjoyed the rice terrace walk. It's not the best, most dramatic views but we had a guide that was really informative and eager to talk about life, in general in Bali.

We used Bali Adventure Tours for the "white water" rafting trip. It being the very beginning of the rainy season, the rapids were non-existent but it was still a beautiful, fun ride. A month of rain and you'll probably have a different experience. In and near Ubud I liked Gunung Kawi Royal Monuments, elephant temple and the holy water one (don't remember the name). I also enjoyed seeing the mother temple but I think that's a bit further away.

We stayed at The Stones in Kuta for 2 day (If I were to do it again, I'd skip Kuta altogether) and the Ayana south of Jimbaran 4 nights so don't know a lot about Jimbaran vs. Nusa Dua. We snorkeled one day in Nusa Dua (not a fan) and it seemed more crowded than Jimbaran but I could be wrong. Nusa Dua also seemed to be the beach stop for cruise ships. For you guys it might be a good thing (more beach activities offered but don't need to worry about crowding since you'll have beach space at the hotel?).  

Also - random but we were not prepared for how few places wanted to take cc. We'd read they were widely accepted but found several places advertising that they took cc would really push for cash instead. 

ENJOY!