Lonely Planet Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei

I spent the better part of the afternoon reading this book as I'm planning on a trip to Singapore and Malaysia this week. The Lonely Planet can usually (although not always) be counted on to provide for solid information on travel destinations and this one does just that. It's pretty well written and everything is nicely laid out. I particularly enjoyed the historical overview at the beginning and the section on the national psyche. Malaysia and Singapore (I didn't read about Brunei) sound like thoroughly enjoyable and interesting places. I especially appreciated the description of KL as being something of a nightmare for pedestrians. That's the type of honesty that travelers need, and it's also what helped make the Lonely Planet famous in the first place.

This book is great. It has accurate information and makes trip planning a breeze. I have traveled all over Asia, and I use lonely planet books to plan all my trips.

Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei are the most developed countries in Southeast Asia, and tourism is a long-established business in the first two. English is widely spoken and travel is easy. More than anywhere in the region, you could even get by without a guidebook - local tourist offices are pretty good for info. That said, if you do want a guide, this is probably the most reliable one for practical details. The 10th edition, published in January 2007, actually seems to have been more thoroughly updated than some previous ones, with some new attractions and accomodation options added - unlike in certain other LP guides, where only prices are changed from edition to edition. Of course practical details may change even by the time the book is published (remember it was researched in early 2006), but in general these 3 countries are pretty stable and inflation is low. Sure, the odd errorous/outdated info did slip in, but is far outweighed by all the useful stuff. My only complaint about this book might be that it still pretty much concentrates on established, popular tourist attractions and major cities/towns. Don't expect to find many tips on locating hidden gems or exploring remote corners of the country, particularly Borneo. For that kind of info, I found the Rough Guide to these countries better than LP, though RG's practical info is often more dated. Decide what's more important to you! If you are going to these countries for the first time, and only have a few weeks on hand to spend there, you will probably find the information provided by this guide both sufficient and largely accurate.

Went to Penang with this last month. Typical quality LP job in describing the country and how to get around. What made this one a cut above is that it actually had useful restaurant recommendations, as opposed to the typical LP approach (i.e.: Here's the address of a place that serves food; hope you don't get hepatitis). Hotel recommendations were spot-on as well. As always with LP, my one regret is they aren't opinionated enough about which sights are worth your time and which ones aren't.

"The Lonely Planet" customarily puts out a very competent well written guide to a country or countries -- and this one is no exception. One problem, however, is that Malaysia and Singapore are hardly "lonely" in the sense of being out of the way, remote places. The Kuala Lumpur skyline may be the most impressive in the world. Malaysia claims that the Petronas Towers are the tallest buildings in the world. Singapore is simply the best run city in the world. This is by way of warning that I wouldn't put too much stock in the "Lonely Planet's" recommendations on hotels and restaurants in tourist-heavy places like KL and Singapore. For example, I went to three restaurants "Lonely Planet" recommended in KL. One was closed; one was awful; one was a notorious tourist trap. My hotel, the Corus, wasn't mentioned in "Lonely Planet" but was a bargain at $49 per night (booked on the internet) just down the street from the Petronas Towers. (Should it be mentioned in the next edition of "Lonely Planet", the price will go up.) The guidebook also waxes lyrical about the delights of Singapore Airport. I thought it was crowded and unremarkable. Now, KL's airport is really special... All this to emphasize that you shouldn't depend on the "Lonely Planet" for hotel and restaurant recommendations in big cities. The strength of the guidebook is the detail it gives you about the countries -- their historical and cultural background, the practical emphasis on how to get from one place to another, descriptions of the small out of the way places you might miss otherwise, the sidebars that tell interesting tales. "Lonely Planet" has become perhaps the best known of all travel guidebook series. They're at their best when they are in fact about "lonely" places. Smallchief