Malaysia, Australia & Singapore
Arriving in Kuala Lumpur, we checked in to the stunning 5* Traders Hotel for 4 days, right in the heart of the city, in a Twin Towers view room. The stunning Petronas Twin Towers are directly across the city park from the hotel and the view of the towers from your room at night is just incredible! Also at the hotel, the roof top bar is a major attraction for locals and guests alike and the place is buzzing at night!
We did a private tour to the Batu Caves just 30 minutes outside of KL. This huge limestone hill with multiple caves within and it's an important religious site for Hindus. The incredible gold statue, Lord Murugan, at the beginning of the steps up to the main cave chamber is a sight to behold. The very steep steps are not for the faint hearted but the reward is amazing when you get up to the top as the cave itself is amazing. Beware the wild monkeys on the way up as they will try and take any food you have!
Another private tour we did was to the Royal Selangor Pewter factory where we learned about this incredible metal and seen first hand how the skilled workers (pewtersmiths) transformed this material into stunning artwork, jewellery and homewares. We also took the opportunity to make our pewter bowls to take home! It's well worth a visit to the factory.
The dining and nightlife options in KL are fantastic. There are lots of bars, shops and restaurants to choose from within minutes walk of the hotel. Some of the nearby sky scrapers have their own open air rooftop bars that open up at night and the Heli Lounge was a great experience.
We walked around the city centre, took in the sights, the shops, the restaurants and the local aquarium offered a nice escape from a tropical downpour on one afternoon.
Our next stop was Australia for 2 weeks. We flew down to Sydney with Air Asia. They have premium seats for extra legroom so you can really spread out. We stayed with friends for a few days first and spent some time in and around the city catching up. We checked in to the 5* Pier One at Sydney Harbour Bridge for a few days and the experience was excellent. Champagne and chocolate covered strawberries were provided on check in and the rooms here were large, bright and spacious. The staff here are incredible and nothing is too much trouble. The hotels position right on the waterfront with a terrace bar and dining overlooking the harbour is the perfect place to relax after a day of exploring the city. We took in all the main sights in Sydney, restaurants and bars, from the Opera House, to Bondi Beach, the nightlife and the perfect harbour cruise on board a private yacht cruiser for 4 hours around all of Sydney Harbour with food and champagne flowing and a stop along the way to have a swim and jump off the cruiser. I would highly recommend hiring a yacht cruiser for the afternoon, it's a really special and unforgettable way to spend an afternoon.
After Sydney, we flew to Perth to see what Western Australia had to offer. We hired a car for our time here and stayed with family. We took long coastal drives north and south of Perth city. The drives are easy and old coast road offered some incredible sea views and quaint towns to stop in along the way in either direction.
We visited the Pinnacles Dessert and Visitor Centre a few hours drive north of Perth. These strange limestone rock formations are like something from another world! While geologists are not certain how they were formed, they resemble a petrified forest, as though the tree stumps were turned to stone millions of years ago! Its a fascinating way to spend a few hours walking or driving the trails.
Another must do for wine enthusiasts (of which I most certainly am, who isn't?) is the abundance of wineries around Perth. We spent a fabulous 5 hours being driven from vineyard to vineyard tasting a plethora of wines and it didn't disappoint! Ask me about which vineyards we visited, there are many to choose from. Some vineyards have dining options so it was also a great place to dine al fresco and have lunch with a small tray of wines to taste with your food.
One of the more unusual places we found while on our Swan Valley wineries tour was the Old Youngs Distillery where they had a range of Vodkas and Gins flavoured in very unusual ways, from a smoked vodka and a pavlova flavoured vodka, to coffee flavoured sweetened gin.
We spent time out in Fremantle, a nice area and a night time hotspot with lots of great bars and restaurants to choose from. The island of Rottnest is just 24km off the coast and takes around 25 mins to get across by boat. See the quokkas on the island, they're very friendly!
Perth is a nice modern city, especially around Elizabeth Harbour. In the evening, a great place to spend some time is Kings Park. Take a bottle of wine, find a place on the hill with views towards the city and just enjoy the balmy evening with incredible views. There will be plenty of other people doing the same thing, so get there early to get a good spot and watch the sunset.
We left Perth and it was on to Singapore for 3 nights and the last leg of our honeymoon. We stayed at the 5* SO Sofitel Hotel in the heart of Singapore. There is a fabulous food hall, the Telok Ayer Market, just across from the hotel that spills out onto the street after 6pm and they close the road to accommodation the crowds! The food here is a mix of Singaporean, Indian, Chinese, Japanese and more and its incredible value too, we spent hours here trying out all the different flavours.
A visit to Gardens by the Bay, Universal Studios and Raffles Hotel the home of the Singapore Sling were top of our "must do" list and they didn't disappoint. Gardens by the Bay was incredible and the lightshow and music at night was magical! The cloud forest and flower dome were amazing too! Universal Studios was a day of laughs on the rollercoasters and a evening at Raffles Hotel with a few Singapore Slings was a great way to end a busy few days.
We flew home in Business Class with Turkish Airlines and what a great way to finish an incredible honeymoon!
There is so much more I could say but there just isn't enough room to write it all. Get in touch if you're planning a trip.