1 comments about Lonely Planet World Food Malaysia and Singapore (Lonely Planet World Food Guides).

1. As a native of Singapore, i bought this book in hopes to duplicate some recipes of the local hawker center.
   The book does not disappoint with detailed recipes for local Singapore Hainaneses Chicken rice and Laksa among a whole list of others. Unfortunately, they are spread throughout the book and you basically have to thumb through cover to cover and make your own index for reference.
   The book also goes further to give tips for tourists and explanations of culture and practise that i found interesting.
   
   All in all i was pleased with this purchase and have already started using the recipes in my home.

No comments about Singapore Explorer: The Complete Residents' Guide ( Living & Working for Expats).

No comments about Culture Shock! Singapore: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette (Culture Shock! Guides).

No comments about The Rough Guide to Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei 5 (Rough Guide Travel Guides).

No comments about Time Out Singapore (Time Out Guides).

5 comments about Frommer's Singapore & Malaysia (Frommer's Complete).

1. I just purchased this book in anticipation of a trip to Malaysia....so my review is written without having yet been on the trip.

   However, this book lacks some basic information on Malaysia that I expect in a travel guide in order to plan a trip, for example, more fleshed out information on safety, health, exercise (and more) that is usually found in Frommer's guides and is found in the section on Singapore.

   The *ONE* map of Kuala Lumpur is inadequate to even find the things mentioned in the accompanying text.

   And when trying to figure out what to do with a few extra days from Kuala Lumpur, there is no information on how to get to the sites suggested, nor how long it takes! No web sites or email addresses listed for the outfitters mentioned - perhaps they don't exist, but I doubt it.

   There were other inadequacies I noted in the section on Malaysia as well, but these suffice as examples of why I find this book of poor quality compared to most Frommer's books.

   For the first time ever, I have to say I am very disappointed in a Frommer's guide.




2. Although the title of this book would make one think that both the CITY-STATE of Singapore & the COUNTRY of Malaysia would receive coverage equal to their size, think again. Two-thirds of the book is devoted to tiny Singapore and the rest to huge (in comparison) Malaysia. I guess it's not so surprising when you learn that the author lives in Singapore and is married to a Singaporian! Frommer should be ashamed of their title. It should more accurately be "Singapore with a Section on Malaysia"!



3. As most other reviewers have noted, this book's title is completely misleading. It is a mediocre travel guide to Singapore with a small subsection on Malaysia. To put this into perspective, Kuala Lumpur's metro area has a population of 6.9 million yet gets 15 pages of coverage in this book. Singapore, with a population of 4.5 million, gets 167 pages. Most of the Malaysian island sections only have hotel reviews which cover large all-encompassing resort hotels.
   
   I got the feeling from reading this book that it is targeted to tourists whose primary priority is finding a large hotel room just like back home. No walks are included. Many unhelpful comments are included like "The [train] lines don't seem to connect in any logical way" (KL Rail) without suggesting solutions. We ended up barely touching the book and cribbing from another traveler's Lonely Planet guide, which was more helpful overall.
   
   Luckily, we did have The Rough Guide to Singapore which was much more useful for the Singapore leg of our trip and had better maps and suggested agendas. Eating recommendations were hit or miss, of the places we tried in Singapore many were nothing special or seemed to be catering to timid palates.



4. 
   I was very disappointed in this book. Frommer's guidebooks are usually pretty dependable, but this one is the exception. Planning to go to Malaysia, I purchased the book and it has only a brief (about 100 pages) on the entire country of Malaysia. Have to buy another book. The Singapore section seems ok for someone going there.
   
   Frommer was very deceptive. If it were an automobile, they would have to issue a recall!



5. Other reviews have mentioned that Malaysia (especially Borneo) is given short shrift. I agree. The Singapore section is helpful, however. In planning our trip we relied on Lonely Planet more for peninsular Malaysia and Borneo.

1 comments about Singapore - Culture Smart!: a quick guide to customs and etiquette (Culture Smart!).

1. I gave this four stars instead of five since the section on business custom does not describe how business women should dress and behave in Singapore. There's the passing remark that women should only initiate handshakes when one is introduced to a (presumably male) colleague; otherwise, there is nothing about how to dress or behave when working in Singapore. Can we wear pants? or must we wear skirts?
   The chapter about dining etiquette and entertaining was fascinating. I'll keep this around for my upcoming trip but only wish that it was a bit more helpful on the distaff side.

1 comments about Singapore (City Guide).

1. We are planning a short trip to Singapore and I found this book to be very good at pointing out things that were a must-do and what was a waste of time. Also had very good lists of things such as indeginous foods (and what was in them), language barriers (very amusing section), things to watch out for etc. Also had a great overview on food, where to eat and what was not worth it. It was good at listing things that were a one-day trip must do and a 3-4 day trip must do.
   
   I definately liked this book over some of the other travel books I have read. It has a very personal touch (some amusing anicdotes) and a good perspective on things.

2 comments about Malaysia and Singapore (Eyewitness Travel Guides).

1. This is an excellent product in many ways. Good text, gorgeous pictures, informative re shopping, food and cultural matters - the beautiful photos of same help a great deal. This is less useful as a primary guide book like the Lonely Planet, which has more nuts and bolts information re places to eat, stay etc., than as anexcellent adjuct. They are really good together to give a complete picture. I lived in Singapore some time ago, and have traveled extesively in Maylasia, and the iformation in the book looks to be acurate as far as I can tell.



2. If you are looking for where to stay, where to eat, what is cool, get a Lonely Planet guide. This is a typical DK Eyewitness guide - packed with detailed historical and cultural information, superb illustrations, an easy-to-follow maps. The information is well-written and is presented in a easy-to-read-and-grasp manner.
   
   I usually get both the Lonely Planet (or similar) and DK.

5 comments about Lonely Planet Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei.

1. Only gave a very brief overview,not enough information for someone who has not travelled to that part of the world.



2. 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.



3. 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.



4. Purchased this book to get basic information about the Island of Langkawi. Provided great restaurant list and information about getting around the island. Highly recommend this book if traveling to Malaysia.



5. I am impressed to have received a new copy of this lonely planet so quickly and exactly in the condition i expected.