@Sean H Thanks for sharing. We in the West could learn much from wonderful Malaysian hospitality. Also the overall Asian way. STL

That’s basically Malay customs, we are to treat our guests well whenever they’re around. At the very least offer a beverage.

@@SideTripLife 100% I think it is true (certainly OUTSIDE the developed west) that often those with the least, share the most. I saw an amazing moment on a sailing channel. The couple in their early 30s are not rich, they are definitely on a budget, but whilst in the Solomon Islands in a remote place with a few families, as they were lifting the anchor to set off after a few days, there was a young girl frantically getting her mother to paddle her over to the boat in their small canoe, so she could give the lady a garland of flowers she had made. Expecting nothing in return, she just wanted to give her a gift.

Depends on where in Malaysia. In Kuala Lumpur people are usually very busy and they don't have time to be so inviting. Having said that, people are actually much nicer in KL compared to somewhere in New York. I was quite shocked by how rude New Yorkers were when I first went to New York. I guess it's not really rude, it's just the way New Yorkers speak that are very direct.

@@SeanHendy Nice to hear your story, hope you could visit Malaysia some day. Living in small town in Malaysia, people here still serves drinks and some food to even municipal workers that cut grass and clean the drains xD

@NomadicSouls Well said, agreed. May Malaysia be moving you in the future. STL

If you are retired and u have enough savings, you can live very well. But if you are still young and you have to work in Malaysia making Malaysian Ringgit wages. I doubted you would get good value for money. Income to cost of living here is not affordable. But of course, nothing can beat the unaffordability of San Francisco or New York. PS : It also depends on where you come from. If you are from America, developed European countries like the UK, France, Germany, etc or Japan. You have white collar experience. You can get paid significantly higher than the average population. But if you come from a 3rd world country. You wont get paid that much higher than the locals.

You are welcoming here

Yep, love both for different reasons. Cheers STL

Thanks! (my pleasure to film in beautiful MY:) STL

Great comment! Heartily agree!

TACK Mr Peter in Sweden! STL

Penang is better suited for tourists IMO. Closer to Thailand and offer tons of food to try. Have a mix of urban and countryside experience within driving distance. - am Malaysian.

Great suggestion nimay13. Penang is lovely but time permitting would try to do both personally. Fly to KL, take the train up to Penang, then fly back, or overnight sleeper train to Bangkok, perfect trip.

@@nimay13 KL is the place to be if you want world class shopping, dining, and entertainment.

@mauihowey so THAT"s how you know KL so well! Glad to rekindle fond memories while making my own in beautiful KL. Cheers, STL

@Heather Davies Thanks. Traders looks quite nice and of course amazing views (might add the staff were lovely as well). Will be going on the nearby MRT/LRT next vid so stay tuned. STL

You are right.Mrt started in 2017.

Yep, that X70 is a beaut! STL

Reminds me of BGC Philippines

Thanks Matthew! KL really is a great city, enjoy!

Thanks for watching in YYC Cowtown/Calgary Rudy! STL

Noted and Thx! STL

And as far as KL is concerned, the answer is a resounding yes. In my view, KL combines the best of Southeast Asian (weather, greenery, food, a modicum of chaos) and European cities (infrastructure, walkability, culture). Yes, Bangkok is a little more exciting, but KL is more liveable.

Well said! STL

Karl Travel you're the DUDE! Much appreciated :) STL

@@SideTripLife Sorry STL , your the dude LOL thank you for your work .

Thanks for the insider tip, appreciated. STL

Hope you’ll have a great time here. If it’s your first time, here’s a tip. Bring a water bottle with you. The heat can overcome you (26-34c, with 32c avg). Also, get the app Grab for your e-hailing needs. Taxis are mixed bag, some are honest, some will scalp you without any second thoughts. Welcome.

Good advice again Nimay13. Thankfully heat not too bad currently with spotty showers about but always a good idea to have h2o in hand. As for taxi's, esp the one's just waiting along the roadside can be opportunists anywhere in SE Asia. If a Grab isn't avail within a few minutes, I check the app for price then ask the price from the waiting taxi. If they highball too much over that price I just smile and move on.

Thank you. My pleasure filming beautiful KL 😊

Yep, love Malaysia and I too have often thought Penang would make a great base. Btw, pretty tough to beat the price of grog in Cambo (just keeping it 'Riel';) To any looking in, have a look at For Riel's excellent and informative channel for all things Cambodia :) Cheers, STL

@That Crazy Uncle KL at night coming up next. Cheers, STL (PS - love your username;)

Thanks! My pleasure filming around beautiful KLCC, glad you enjoyed it. STL

@@SideTripLife 😁

Thanks Kate! Place was heaving, great vibe too! Coming up next. STL

Thz Ant, KL really is. STL

Love KL! Wonderful people too!

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it! STL

I've a complicated itinerary this outing but deffo will be heading to both upcoming. STL

Cheers! STL

@@SideTripLife enjoy Kl dude👍

Penang Island comes to mind. Will be visiting upcoming. STL

If you’re interested with countryside, East coast of the Peninsula will suit you best (Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Johor). Very friendly people, good food. Long strech of beaches, a few nice islands to visit (Perhentian Island, Redang and Tioman). You can also visit East Malaysia aka northern Borneo. Same vibes but much much cheaper.

Or even Melaka Or Langkawi. You can search for terrace or traditional houses to rent and it may cost about half of the rent in KL or Penang. Maybe Ipoh too.

@Ashtriana Hamzah @nimay13 Thanks both for the wonderful suggestions :) STL

Thanks guys, interesting.

Thanks RB, KL really is worth a visit! 30K subs is wonderful and GREATLY appreciated! But unfortunately this doesn't equate to 'success' at least in real time. In reality, my channel is getting less and less views despite some daft few say great content, usually, comparatively. Despite my somewhat banal presenting style (lol;) a lot of the decline gets down to the first few hours after uploading a new vid. To better explain, I'll copy n paste a slight rant I just posted elsewhere: Fact is 90% + vid views comes NOT from subscribers, rather from the YT 'up next' and 'recommended' feeds algorithm. Of course each and every subscriber is greatly appreciated by the creator. .However, YT focuses primarily on the first few hours after upload. Unfortunately, if fewer viewers click on a new vid, usually YT will NOT add it to the algorithm freight train. Thus, despite all your efforts your brand new vid which you spent countless hours filming and editing is essentially D.O.A. (rule of thumb for decent content =1 hour editing per 1 min video and that's not counting actual filming, re-filming etc etc). As a creator I've just spent approx 20 hours editing a new KL Vid and now I'm thinking 'I NEED to make a click-baity title and thumbnail OR this vid will not get the necessary initial click-throughs to trigger the YT algorithm'.... That's just not how it should be... Also results in dumbing down of YT in general with endless click-baity titles ala 'We didn't expect THIS!!!'.... or ' We couldn't BELIEVE it!!!'... (or simply, 'Trip to the Mall' but with a close-up of cleavage etc guaranteeing clicks... zzzz) Ok rant over, off to make a thumbnail and title (which I'll likely regret lol;) Cheers, STL

@@SideTripLife I had no idea YT operated in that fashion. I can only imagine the frustration you must feel at that. So it's 'views' not subscribers that denote success or failure. Not to mention that it's time sensitive which to me seems ass backwards. Everyone likes to have their work appreciated no matter their occupation so to have your time consuming hard work effectively undone by a bloody algorithm is just a bitter bitter pill to swallow and your rant is completely justified. Sorry to hear this but please please don't lose faith in your style. It's unique and very enjoyable not banal at all. I understand the temptation to go the clickbait route but please weather this setback first. Su Su.

@Nicky Dunn Thank you! You too! STL

@@SideTripLife Thank you

Ya never know (KL deffo looks great ;) STL

Malaysians in general are shy and probably because Muslims is the biggest population, they have fun in a moderate way.

I prefer calmer and quieter so KL wins for me as far as big cities go.

Agreed, the current MM2H requirements excludes most people, but look into the Sarawak MM2H program as an alternative. It is far more affordable, its good for 5 years, and you are only required to live in Sarawak for 30 days per year.....you can spend the rest of the year in KL, Penang, etc. The Malaysian government is also going to review the current MM2H requirements and (hopefully) bring them back to more realistic levels in an effort to get their economy moving again. They know they are missing out because far more people are going to Thailand and other neighboring countries.

Great company too! Also Air Asia. STL

Grab was born in Malaysia. But now moved to Singapore and is considered a Singapore Company. Also listed on Singapore. What a sad story.

We normally go out in the morning and night time. Skip the noon unless need to buy lunch . Most of the time will stay indoor .

lol! That was the very point of this particular vid - can I live in KL (as an expat). Of course I'd also hit street food etc as I do in next vid and have done every where I go, that's a given. But in this vid wanted to focus on Expat living and associated costs is all. Cheers

Cheers Shirley Boy, KL really is great! STL

Your home is pretty cool :)

@@SideTripLife yeah, looking forward to go back. Are you in KL by any chance?

Headed South, but will be back!

@@SideTripLife cheers, mate. Btw, I’m having a hard time finding short term rental place in KL. Any suggestions? All the property agents I contacted said the tenure would be atleast 1 year. I am looking for 3 month to escape the UK winter.

Agents want min 12 months for the commission. The other option is AirBnB but expect to pay more for shorter term. Good luck

Thank you :)

Spot on advice right there! Love me some lamb n mint sauce! Was partial to Cross & Blackwell (the thin version, not the thick one).but now discontinued, sigh... STL

lol! Actually, had my adidas + socks in my pack so threw em on instead of sandals to go up to Traders (can see if you look closely ;) STL

Thanks Lk M, I greatly appreciate that you always watch and comment :) Cheers, STL

Absolutely yes! Will be back in the New Year, love KL, have so much more to explore there and around Malaysia

@@SideTripLife Ah. Great2 cant wait for your return

Thank you!

terimakasih :)

Thank you!!

Thanks! On Agoda try searching 'Expressionz Kuala Lumpur' - several agencies have suites like G Suites, Perfect Host, My Key, etc so if those do not appear try refining the search adding those names. Around the same area and price range plus amazing views, there's also Ceylonz, Regalia and D'Majestic Suites. All have amazing rooftop pools and all are on Agoda. Here's the link: www.agoda.com/search?city=14524&cid=1898974

Sorry about that Ken. I tend to cram a LOT more info and content than most into my vids, so I'll need to either add far less content or perhaps just walk n talk selfie style for most of the vid (as seems the norm these days). Meanwhile, pls use 'pause' button where necessary and I'll try to adjust my style. Thanks, STL

That place looked great!

@@SideTripLife Indeed 🙂

@@SideTripLife Amazing video, by the way 👍👍👍

@MATMETZAT Thx, your nice cat vs angry cat vid was pretty good too ;) STL

As shown on the vid, that was indeed the price at the time. Since then intnl travel has increased dramatically, plus inflation. There's likely still some deals around (perhaps check Facebook Marketplace as I did) but they are fewer and get snapped up quickly. Good luck.

Cheers James! STL

For sure! Perhaps this year too.

​@@SideTripLife Great. Can't wait to see your return

Pls see approx 3 mins into the vid: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/paueaceb2r7MhKc.html That was the price advertised at the time.

Am I reading this correctly - the one you are staying in isn’t $312 / month but a “ similar” one is?

And yours is actually $470/month.

It's stamped on the scene MudaMY (monthly rental price based on a year lease as is standard). If you want shorter term best look at AirBnb but it'll be a higher price for shorter term. Was looking at living costs, not hotel prices (see prev vid for hotel proces). STL

Property Guru and Mudah. But would also look at FB rental groups and at more areas ie Brickfields (+someone in comments also mentioned burbs like Mont Kiara, Bangsar and Desa Park City) STL

Melawati, Wangsa maju, Setiawangsa too