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Malaysia Travel Resources

Malaysia consists of West and East Malaysia. West Malaysia is bordered by Thailand to the north and Singapore to the south. East Malaysia shares its southern border with Indonesia. Kuala Lumpur, the capital city, is centrally located on the west coast of East Malaysia.

GETTING THERE: Forty international airlines serve the city’s Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at Sepang. Malaysia Airlines is the primary national air carrier that flies to and from KLIA. Malaysia Airlines is a partner in the Enrich Miles program, along with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Swiss International Airlines and Virgin Atlantic.

LANGUAGE: Bahasa Malaysia is the official language; English is widely spoken.

CURRENCY: The Malaysian unit of currency is the Ringgit Malaysia (RM); at press time, the exchange rate was 3.27 RMs to $1.

TIME ZONE: Malaysia is eight hours ahead of Greenwich Meridian Time, 16 hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time and 13 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time. Malaysia does not observe daylight-saving Time.

ELECTRICITY: 240-volt 50-cycle system. Visitors are advised to bring converters and adapters.

CLIMATE: Malaysia has a warm tropical climate; with general temperatures ranging from 70° F to 90° F. May to September is the dry period. The rainy season falls between November and February.

TOUR OPERATORS: A partial list of tour operators and wholesalers with Malaysia programs includes

* Absolute Asia (800-736-8187)

* Asia Classic Tours (800-717-7752)

* Asian Affair Holidays (800-742-3133)

* Asian Pacific Adventures (800-825-1680)

* East Quest Inc. (800-638-3449)

* General Tours (800-221-2216)

* Gobundle.com (866-462-8635)

* GTS Globotours (800-988-4833)

* ITC Tours & Travel (800-257-4981)

* Malaysia Travel (888-359-8655)

* Orient Flexi-Pax Tours (800-545-5540)