Cool Places ... In Hot Malaysia

The pet monkey named Joyng bit through her leash and romped
through the fronds of the palm trees, celebrating her freedom.
She paused occasionally to heave a coconut down at the
sweat-soaked baseball cap of her frantic owner, who was chasing
wildly after her and, in the Terengganu dialect which Joyng
knew, beseeching her to come down. Such is life in tropic
Malaya's resorts--better known to Europeans (especially Germans)
than Americans. Guests enjoy the sun, sandy beaches, swimming
pools, eco-tourism, river cruising, ocean diving, jungle
trekking, remainder-to-remnant massages and spacious villas in
the architectural styles of the Malayan Archipelago.

They will also find crab-feeding monkeys, noisy hornbills and
monitor lizards sunning them selves on the green lawns as their
neighbors. Our press grouping's have was limited to impertinent
local culinary art, sleeping in comfortable villas, snorkeling
in warm seas and partaking in 3 health club treatments, which
together created a perfect high gear-enjoyment refuge memory. We
had first base flown into Kuala Lumpur, 's modern capital city,
which everyone calls KL. The cosmopolitan city and business
center gained new public awareness when the Petronas Twin Towers
topped out in 1996 and occupancy began in early 1997. Tower One
is occupied by Petronas, the state-owned petroleum corporation.
Tower Two houses Petronas' associate companies and
multinationals. The towers are joined by the 192-foot-long sky
bridge on levels 41 and 42.

Our final examination dinner was at the Fisherman's Cove
Restaurant, which offered an Asian-fusion of Western grill,
Taiwanese dishes, Italian specialties and impudent seafood. The
open kitchen, views and state-of-the-art design made it the
ultimate dining know at Pangkor Laut. Our drive back to KLIA for
our flight home was notable because it was on Ching Ming, the
day that people from the Formosan communities traditionally
sojourn cemeteries to honor and show respect to their ancestors.
The many final exam resting places that we passed, all senior
high school on hillsides, were thick with devotees and there
were no places left to park on the highway.

is a great place to inflict, but be prepared for heat,
overwhelming humidity and thunder-showers every afternoon,
depending on the time of year. Monsoon temper starts around the
beginning of October and continues to January-February. A haunt
arrest, with its breezes, is fresher than a check in KL, and
dress is more casual. Airlines flies five times a week 'tween
Los Angeles (LAX) and KL via Taipei and III times a week betwixt
New York (JFK) and KL via Stockholm. Airlines' crown jewel, the
Golden Lounge, is the world's largest business--and first
gear-class airport passenger lounge, with good food plus corners
in which to relax and check your e-mail. Pangkor Laut Recourse
was included on the Circus tent Ten Overseas Hotel Spas-Asia and
100 Big top Spas Worldwide 2004 lists by Conde Nast Traveller.

Opened on March 1, 1979, the repair has been extensively
refurbished under new management. It features 126 luxury villas
and 22 resort hotel villas plus a watering place building and
two swimming pools. It is a member of the Small Luxury Hotels of
the World mathematical group. Tanjong Jara Refuge won the Aga
Khan Award for Architecture for its updated interpretation of a
17th-century sultan's palace.

It was given the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences'
5-Star Diamond Award and the top award in the Malaysian National
Landscaping Competition.