Useful Information

In June 2016, Lonely Planet named Ipoh as the 6th best place to visit in Asia. Ipoh is not just a cozy old town, but also a great place to visit and experience the life of the local people. And in 2017, Lonely Planet listed the entire state of Perak as the 9th of 10 Top Regions in the World to visit.

Useful Contacts

The emergency contact in Malaysia is 999. It connects to other emergency services like police, ambulance and fire services. It is advisable to keep the embassy of the travelers home country’ phone number. The embassy could provide legal help and take care of its citizens' welfare if something unfavorable happened during the travel.

Electricity

The power socket in Malaysia is of type G which is the same as British power socket. It has three pins and the standard voltage is 240 V while the standard frequency is 50 Hz.

Adapters are cheap and easy to find. If one stays in the hotel, they can request for the adapter from the reception. If the travelers come from countries that has standard similar voltage between 220 - 240V such as the UK, Europe, Australia and most of the Asian and African country, it is safe to use their own electrical appliances.

However, for travelers from US, Canada and most South America. The standard voltage for their electrical appliances is within the range of 100 V - 127 V. If they want to use their electrical appliances, they must use voltage converter.

Language

Malaysia’s official language is Malay Language and the second language is English Language. Due to its multi ethnic population, Mandarin Language and Tamil Language are also widely used in Perak.

The travelers shouldn’t be scared to communicate and talk to the locals. Most of them understand English very well. Malaysia is placed second in Asia behind the Singapore and twelfth in the world for its English literacy rate.

Weather

Malaysia is located at the middle of the equator line. Hence, the weather in Perak is hot and humid with constant rain throughout the year. There's no need for thick clothes. However, travelers have to prepare a raincoat or an umbrella in case of rain.

Tipping

It is not obligated to tip in Malaysia. The customers are charged 10% out of their bills for the services. However, there’s nothing harmful about showing a little bit of gestures to those who serve us.

No Smoking Areas

Almost all accommodations abide by the rules of prohibiting smoking in their premises. Starting 2019, all the eatery places indoor or outdoor will be no smoking areas. The same rules apply for public transportation and highway areas.

Currency

Perak uses Ringgit Malaysia in their daily transaction. The currency is pegged to US dollar. Malaysians in general won’t trade with other currencies even with US Dollar or Great Britain Pound for fear of receiving fake money. However, some merchants might accept SG Dollar.

Perak is quite advance with the cashless transaction. So, the travelers don’t have to worry if they don’t have the cash handy. Chances are almost restaurants and shop have cashless service machine. However, if one goes at the market or stall areas, please be mindful to bring cash in small notes. Most of the street vendors don’t have bigger notes.

Tourist Information

There are several places the travelers can go find information about Perak. For example,the places like Tourism Perak Management Berhad, Lembaga Penggalakan Pelancongan Malaysia Pejabat Negeri Perak and Ipoh Tourists Information Centre. These places provide information about Perak, guide map and advice on attractions and places to go.

The information can also be gathered online. There are lots of website services, whether government affiliate agencies or from service provider regarding the Information on Perak can be found.