Mrs. Claypool

I took a look at the online form. They want your name, birthdate, phone and email, passport information, dates of arrival and departure, and where you’ll be staying while in Malaysia. The usual arrival card stuff. I didn’t go any further with the process, since I am already in Malaysia. But as far as I could tell, there is nothing to upload and it doesn’t look like there are any fees to be paid. it is called the Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC) and it appears to apply to all foreign travelers entering the country.

Not a “visa” in the formal sense of the word. I am attaching the email that I received from the US Embassy in KL. I had arrived in KL on December 3, not being aware of the change, and nobody said anything about it when I went through Immigration. However, a friend of mine who arrived on the same day and was also not aware of the change, was asked for it on entry. But fortunately they helped him to fill it out online and let him pass through. So it’s a real thing all right. Event:Message for U.S. Citizens: Changes to Arrival Procedures for Travelers Entering Malaysia Effective December 1, 2023, all foreign travelers entering Malaysia are required to complete the Malaysia Digital Arrival Card at https://imigresen-online.imi.gov.my/mdac/main. This is an online pre-arrival form thatmust be submittedwithin three days prior to arrival in Malaysia. U.S. citizens with permanent residence statusin Malaysia are exempt from this requirement.

I went on a private tour from Port Stanley to the penguin colony a few years ago and it was the longest, roughest, most painful ride that I’ve ever been on. And I wasn’t coping with back problems!

Where the various sites were close to each other, we walked from one to another. When the distance was not walkable, we took a cab or public transport. So it was not “all” walking, but quite a bit. However, we stopped to recharge our batteries at various cafes whenever we needed a break. We are in our mid-70’s and it was quite do-able. But wear comfortable shoes.

We stayed at the AJWA Sultanahmet last week and we had a marvelous time. Beautiful rooms, a great restaurant with a rooftop view and the staff were incredibly kind and accommodating.

We booked a private car to pick us up and transport us between the airport and the port and it worked very well. However, our guide arranged it for us, so I can’t tell you how to contact them directly. But if you log onto TriipAdvisor, they list quite a few private car companies that will take you between the airport and the cruise port. of course, booking a private pickup will cost more than hailing a taxi, but I think that the peace of mind is worth it.

We took a two-day tour of Athens with Onoufrios Dovletis. I can highly recommend him. He is a licensed guide who can accompany you onto the sites. Onoufrios is extremely knowledgeable about the history, culture and literature of his country. He is able to clearly communicate all that he knows in a compelling and informative manner. His website address is athens-tour-guide.net

We took a one-day tour of Ephesus and Kusadasi with Levent Solmaz. We can highly recommend him. He was responsive and helpful to all of our pre-tour emails. He was punctual and prompt during the tours. Levent is extremely knowledgeable about the history, culture and literature of his country. He is able to clearly communicate all that he knows in a compelling and informative manner. Above all, he was kind, interesting and supportive at all times. A good man and an excellent tour guide!

We took a two-day tour of Athens with Onoufrios Dovletis. We can highly recommend him. He was responsive and helpful to all of our pre-tour emails. He was punctual and prompt during the tours. Onoufrios was extremely knowledgeable about the history, culture and literature of his country. He was able to clearly communicate all that he knows in a compelling and informative manner. Above all, he was kind, interesting and supportive at all times. A good man and an excellent tour guide!

We took a one-day tour of Ephesus and Kusadasi with Levent Solmaz. We can highly recommend him. He was responsive and helpful to all of our pre-tour emails. He was punctual and prompt during the tours. Levent is extremely knowledgeable about the history, culture and literature of his country. He is able to clearly communicate all that he knows in a compelling and informative manner. Above all, he was kind, interesting and supportive at all times. A good man and an excellent tour guide!

It was all across the board. Anything fringe, beady, disco-y will do. Afros, granny glasses, bell bottoms. And plenty of people just wore their regular dinner outfits (like myself) and admired those in costume.

We were at the Acropolis last week, also with timed tickets for an entrance between 9 and 10 a.m. We arrived at 8:30 am and were told to wait at the side until 8:45 am. There was only one other couple in front of us with the same time slot. At 8:45 am all four of us got our tickets scanned and marched straight in.

We used George’s for our airport pickup. The service was excellent. The price is a bit more than a random taxi, but the stress-free experience is well worth it.

We are going to KK in December. I will ask around.

The cruise ships drop anchor offshore. After that, you tender in and dock right next to the old town at the Parameswara Jetty. From there, you can walk to the places that I listed, as well as other sites of interest which are all in the compact historic town center within a few minutes walk. Emily

I have always had a good experience with AirAsia.

Melaka is a fascinating city, because of its history as the birthplace of the Peranakan culture in Southeast Asia. In summary, starting in the 15th century and continuing until the 19th, waves of Chinese settlers moved down into the Malaya Peninsula. As they were mostly men, they married the local Malay women and over the centuries, created a completely unique culture which was a mix of both ethnicities— called Peranakan or Straits Chinese, or Baba-Nyonya. Malacca, Penang and Singapore are the best places to go for a good look at their unique style of art, architecture and cuisine. I have been to Malacca and I would suggest: Jonker Street for eating and shopping, the bright red Dutch Christchurch, and (my favorite) the Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum. This is a very interesting home in a conglomerate of styles (including European) which shows how the typically wealthy Straits Chinese families used to live. And finally, BruceMuzz’s suggestion of antique shopping is right on point. In “the old days” familiarity bred contempt, so to speak, and the art and artifacts from this period were not highly valued. But according to a scholarly friend of mine, there is now a lot of interest in these items and prices are going up and up! Emily

This is a job for your travel agent.

Crystal Bach has been named the Victoria and the Mahler is now the Elizabeth. We sailed down the Rhine and the Danube on the Mahler before “old” Crystal went under and it was an exemplary trip, everything done to perfection. The food was the best I’ve ever tasted— on land or sea. If Uniworld can maintain this standard, we would not hesitate to sail on these ships again! Emily

When travelling in Muslim countries, I always wear a light silk scarf around my neck. If I look around and see that other women have their hair covered, I can pull it up and do the same. If that turns out not to be necessary, I can still flatter myself that I look like a stylish traveller 😊

We have been to KK a number of times by cruise ship and we have never had to tender. It was an easy walk along the dock from ship to street. Unfortunately, I can’t speak to your question about taxis and tours available at the port. We were always met by friends, so I wasn’t looking out for them. It’s a nice city with pleasant people and an interesting area, although not so crammed with sights and activities that it would be easy to DIY for a first-timer. So a ship’s tour would probably be your best bet, as others have said. There’s good eating to be had on shore! Emily

My mistake. I was trying to book the National Archaeological Museum from the site mentioned.

Yesterday I tried to book online tickets for the Acropolis Museum on November 5. The response that I received was “e-ticketing is not available for this specific selection”. My guide said that it’s probably because the ticket season prices change on November 1st. He said just to wait a bit and try again later.

We’ll be on the same voyage. The only time that I remember being uncomfortably cold on the Encore was in the main theatre during the shows. We sat on the side of the auditorium and we felt continuous blasts of cold air. Yes, bring a wrap!

We attended the 70’s party on our last Uniworld cruise. The people who dressed to the theme seemed to be having the most fun — bell bottoms, paisley patterns, granny glasses, fringed vests. It seemed to morph into the late ‘60’s, as well. several people told me that they had ordered their costumes from Amazon or other online sites and they all looked great.