The Rough Guide to Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei (Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei (Rough Guides)) (Paperback)

by Charles de Ledesma (Author), Mark Lewis (Author), Pauline Savage (Author) "There are frequent flights to Kuala Lumpur (KL) and Singapore from London Heathrow and from Manchester..." (more)
Key Phrases: cheapest available room, longhouse hotel, ringgit price, Kuala Lumpur, Kota Bharu, Kota Kinabalu (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Guidebooks devote few pages to Langkawi, but the Rough Guide's Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei is the most helpful." -- Condé Nast Traveler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
INTRODUCTION At first glance there seems little to link Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, not even geographical proximity. Six hundred kilometres of the South China Sea separates Peninsular Malaysia (also called West Malaysia or the Malay Peninsula) from the Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah (also called East Malaysia) in the north of Borneo. And Bangkok is as close to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore as is the Bruneian capital Bandar Seri Begawan. But all three countries are born of a common history and ethnic composition that links the entire Malay archipelago, from Indonesia to the Philippines. Each became an important port of call on the trade route between India and China, the two great markets of the early world, and later formed the colonial linchpins of the Portuguese, Dutch and British empires. However, Malaysia has only existed in its present form since 1963, when the federation of the eleven Peninsular states, along with Singapore and the two Bornean territories of Sarawak and Sabah, became known as Malaysia. Singapore left the union in 1965, gaining independence in its own right; Brunei, always content to maintain its own enclave in Borneo (it decided not to join the Federation of Malaysia in 1963), only lost its British colonial status in 1984.

Since then, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei have been united in their economic dominance of Southeast Asia. While the tiny Sultanate of Brunei is locked into a paternalistic regime, using its considerable oil wealth to guarantee its citizens an enviable standard of living, the city-state of Singapore has long been a model of free-market profiteering, transformed from a tiny port with no natural resources into one of the world’s capitalist giants. Malaysia is the relative newcomer to the scene, though it has an ambitious manifesto by which it aims to achieve First World status by 2020. This will involve doubling the size of the economy and increasing personal income fourfold by that time, with tourism massively expanding in the process. The most ambitious part of this project is the building of the Multimedia Super Corridor, a belt of hi-tech development stretching 50km south from the capital Kuala Lumpur, and including a new, purportedly paperless, administrative city, Putrajaya.

Though Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei don’t have the grand ancient ruins of neighbouring Thailand, their rich cultural heritage is apparent, with traditional architecture and crafts thriving in the rural kampung (village) areas, and on display in cultural centres and at exhibitions throughout the modern cities. The dominant cultural force in the region has undoubtedly been the Malay adoption of Islam in the fourteenth century, while in Singapore, Buddhism and Taoism together hold sway among half the population. But it’s the commitment to religious plurality – there are sizeable Christian and Hindu minorities – that is so attractive, often providing startling juxtapositions of mosques, temples and churches. What’s more, the region’s diverse population, a blend of indigenous Malays, Chinese and Indians, has spawned a huge variety of annual festivals as well as a wonderful mixture of cuisines.

As well as a rich cultural life, the region has astonishing natural beauty. With parts of Thailand starting to suffer from overexposure to tourism, it comes as a welcome surprise to discover Peninsular Malaysia’s unspoiled east-coast beaches, while both the Peninsula and the Bornean states have some of the world’s oldest tropical rainforest. The national parks are superb for cave exploration, river-rafting and wildlife-watching, and provide challenging treks, including that to the peak of one of Southeast Asia’s highest mountains, Mount Kinabalu in Sabah.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 666 pages
• Publisher: Rough Guides; 3rd Updtd edition (January 11, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1858285658
• ISBN-13: 978-1858285658
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,094,904 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #17 in	Books > Travel > Asia > Malaysia & Brunei
  #56 in	Books > Travel > Asia > Singapore

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad...but could've been better, July 1, 2001

By A Customer

This guide is great, at least from a pre-trip standpoint. When it comes to planning a trip to Malaysia, the historical and cultural aspects of the book are above reproach. The authors clearly know their way around the country. But that doesn't translate into using the book when you get to Malaysia. While hotel prices are listed, they're done so using a code system, forcing readers to continue flipping back to the key located early on in the guide. I've relied on Lonely PLanet's guidebook before, and I'll keep doing so - only because its layout is superior to the Rough Guide.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars does not contain much.., November 15, 2002

By A Customer

this rough guide isn pretty much the same as the other guides.. as usual in singapore it contains the usual places.. orchard, little india, sentosa, east coast and the usual touristy places. It does not include the heartlanders area eg. Hougang, Yishun etc. For eg, in woodlands.. it only mention the the zoo.. did you know that's a big Shopping Mall in Woodlands called the Causeway point.. nect to the MRT station.. As for eating places.. it fail to capture the good places for local food.. may interest the food lovers and those adventourous enough to try..

It should include a portion on the heartlanders.. I'm sure some tourist may want to see our locals their way of life.. for eg a tour of an HDB estate (public housing) that may include the market, the coffeeshop, look at the flat inside out.. etc.. the peculiar and distinct characters of the heartlanders.. etc.. otherwise tourists may think S'pore is just of the "place"

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great book - invaluable!, August 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Malaysia Singapore Brunei: The Rough Guide, Second Edition (2nd ed) (Paperback)

This book was a godsend on our recent trip. On the Island of Langkawi we found the advice on boat trips to the coral reef saved us some money.