Of the places I visited in Southeast Asia, Malaysia was one where I experienced the most intense culture shock. This was likely intensified by factors like illness and jetlag, which are not directly related to Malaysia and can be attributed to mistakes we made. None the less, after reflection I identified a few things that made Malaysia very accessible for me and a few factors that did the opposite. It should also be noted that we only visited Kuala Lampur and a few areas just outside the main city. Our experience of Malaysia may not be reflective of the rest of the country. None the less, hopefully this post will help you answer the question, just how accessible is Malaysia?
To read my itinerary, check out 3 Days in Kuala Lampur: My Malaysia Itinerary.
Disclaimer:
This list is far from all-encompassing in terms of factors that make a country accessible to travel. I am writing this from the perspective of a white, able-bodied, English speaking woman with an American passport. Except for the safety issues that often accompany being a woman traveling abroad, I did not encounter many barriers to travel that others sometime do, and I cannot provide much insight into some of these issues. I have tried to stick to the topics on which I feel I can share my experiences without extensive research, but I am not an expert and encourage everyone to research safety tips for your personal situations before visiting any region.
COST
The USD fares very well in Malaysia and this was one of the factors that made Malaysia easiest to travel. When we were there the exchange rate was $1 USD = $4.44 MYR (Malaysian Ringgit) or 1MYR = $.023 USD. We spent three nights in the Back Home Hostel there and paid 364 MYR total which is about 60 MYR per person per night or $15 USD for a bed in a 6 person dorm with breakfast included. Our flight from Singapore into Kuala Lampur was $45 USD each, and our time at the KWC shopping mall resulted in a lot of items (skirts, jewelry, makeup) being put in our bags that were 10-15 MYR. The only place our dollar stretched further in this trip was Thailand.
EASE OF NAVIGATION
Generally speaking, directions are not my strong suit. I can get turned around walking in a straight line, so my opinion on the ease of navigating an area should be taken with a grain of salt. That being said, I struggled a bit getting around Malaysia but it was nothing too terrible. Maps were fairly accurate and I used our google maps GPS to guide us often.
There were a few times we wandered aimlessly in search of a mosque or restaurant and never found our way, settling for something else we stumbled across instead. After a bit, we got our bearings in our “neighborhood” and managed to navigate the subway system and get around with only minor detours. I think a less navigationally challenged travel duo would have a much easier time than Marie and I did. Aside from personal navigation, we were able to get taxis and Ubers from the airport and our hostel with no real issue. Even better, the cost for both Uber and taxi is relatively inexpensively inside Kuala Lampur.
LANGUAGE
The official language of Malaysia is Bahasa Malaysian, which I do not speak (shocker, I know.) English is fairly widely spoken, widely enough to get by from my experience. As is typical, hostel staff speak English and there are maps available in English as well. The language barrier did present a challenge in some places, but it really felt like it was easier than I would have expected to get by with no Malaysian.
A side note…
*Looking back on our time this leg of the trip, we spent a lot of our Malaysian adventure in museums, parks, butterfly gardens, etc. where we did not often interact much with others after we entered the facility. We were also primarily in Kuala Lampur, the capital city with a lot of tourism which equates to more English being spoken. I would imagine that if you stayed in more local accommodations or you were in more rural regions of Malaysia, English may be less widely spoken and an understanding of basic Malaysian may be more essential.
**It is always a considerate act to try and learn the basics of a language before visiting a country “hello/goodbye, yes/no, please/thank you”. As you can see from this section, I am not always successful in this endeavor (it’s hard to do when backpacking several countries for a few days at a time) but still something I am striving for in the future and would recommend to anyone. Knowing how to say hello and thank you can go a long way to getting your polite point across.
ABILITY TO WORK (WI-FI/INTERNET ACCESS)
The hostel we stayed in had decent Wi-Fi. I was able to access and reply to emails without too much problem, but I think a video chat or Skype call would have been unreliable from our hostel. Wandering the city, it was pretty difficult to get Wi-Fi even though I had unlimited data through T-mobile. I think it would be fairly easy to work remotely from Kuala Lampur, provided you just need basic Internet access. If you need more than that it is definitely important to test your connection before your big work meeting because it’s can be spotty. Kuala Lampur is a big city and there are a lot of business people working digitally through the city so Wi-Fi should be easily accessible with a bit of research – I cannot speak to how widely available it is throughout the rest of Malaysia.
PHYSICAL ABILITY
I think Malaysia fell about middle of the road in terms of ease of navigating the country with physical limitations. Most of the museums/hostels had elevators or rooms on the bottom floors and the subways are fairly efficient and helpful to get around, but the streets in Kuala Lampur are extremely busy and challenging to cross and might be difficult for those restrained to wheelchairs or other walking devices.
We got stuck a few times walking to an attraction and found ourselves in the middle of a busy road with no great way to cross, sometimes requiring a little climibing or otherwise retracing a half-mile journey to get where we meant to go. Sometimes the sidewalks are not really treated as sidewalks, and are occupied by shops, stalls, construction, or storage which leaves you little space designated to walk. Other sites like the Batu Caves, which have 272 stairs to get to the temple at the top, don’t have alternative means of access. In all accounts it seemed pretty on par for a big city – accessible but not without its challenges. Oh, and it’s HOT!!!! If you don’t like the heat, aim for the public transportation because you will get sweaty quickly walking around anywhere (we visited in March, for reference).
SAFETY
On the whole, I felt decently safe traveling around Malaysia. There were a few occasions where men stopped us asking to take photos with us. Once, an older man in the restaurant we’d been dining grabbed us by the face telling us that we were beautiful and should visit Kuala Lampur again. (I assume if he found us less attractive we would not be welcome to return?!). We encountered some mansplain-y hostel goers too, who had an awful lot of unsolicited advice to give Marie and me about our trip plans. However, aside from the male-dominated gender dynamics I was sensing, I didn’t feel unsafe.
Scratch that – crossing the street made me feel VERY UNSAFE. At one point, we were struggling to cross when a local noticed us and wordlessly chauffeured us through the busy intersection. He paused when we paused and motioned us along until we’d crossed safely. But as this incident suggests, we met a lot of helpful people. More than once, a stranger approached us to offer us directions when they noticed our dismayed faces staring blankly at a map in the subway station. (Yes, I know ideally you’re supposed to look like you know where you’re going to be safe. When that fails, I’ve found when you look hopelessly lost and desperate, sometimes people are inclined to help!!)
On traveling as an American in the age of Trump
We did get some uncomfortable looks when we told those who inquired that we were American. I suspect that it has a lot to do with the political climate of the US at the moment. We didn’t forget about the hateful rhetoric about Muslims sometimes spewed by American citizens and politicians. Neither had we forgotten the inequity in the fact that we had no issues entering Malaysia for vacation, while Muslim tourists from Malaysia would likely have a much more challenging time gaining tourist privileges in the United States. Even then, unfortunately, they may not be treated with a warm reception in many regions.
Nobody’s reactions made me feel unsafe. Rather, it seemed the overwhelming reaction was skepticism when a Malaysian local would find out we were from the United States. They usually stopped asking us questions after that and would continue checking us out or doing whatever they were doing before we started chatting, leaving me feeling far more guilty and sheepish than unsafe.
RELIGION:
Islam is the official religion of Malaysia, with just over 60% of its citizens practicing. Buddhists make up another nearly 20% with Christianity and Hinduism making up most of the remaining population. Be aware of this – there are many attractions which have a specific dress code for entrance. In many other places, there may not be a mandatory dress code but you might stand out substantially wearing more revealing attire. Religion is a major part of Malaysian culture, and you will hear calls to prayer throughout the city, which I really enjoyed. Do a little research into Islam before you go! You’ll get a lot more out of the many beautiful mosques and Islamic arts centers around the city.
Overall, I think most people would be fine navigating Malaysia once arrived – especially in Kuala Lampur. Again, our experiences are limited to the main city and we were there for just a few days. I may have missed things or had vastly different experiences than others. This is not an official safety guide – just one wandering woman’s reflections that hopefully you’ll find helpful.
Do you agree with my assessments, or have you had different experiences in Malaysia? Leave your comments below!
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