Shopping as a contact sport takes its toll. Head to New York, Paris, the frenzy of London or Milan and pretty soon the batteries are dead and the bunny is stranded. Information overload takes over and you're left gazing at the Mona Lisa feeling like a bus ran you down outside the Louvre.
Which is why the advent of the "shop and flop" holiday has seen such huge growth in recent years. And nowhere is it a better bet than Malaysia, a convenient direct flight from South Africa on Malaysia Airlines. The capital, Kuala Lumpur, has a glut of mega malls and a bustling Chinatown market all within walking distance of each other, and three hours up the west coast is the evocatively named Straits of Malacca and the island of Pangkor Laut.
It's said that Kuala Lumpur offers the best of both Singapore and Bangkok without the downsides of either. That's true - Singapore's overly anal cleanliness spoils its magnificent shopping experience (too clinical) and Bangkok's innate mystery is tarnished by its seedier underbelly. KL, as it's affectionately known, sits between these poles, manageable, understandable, yet patently Asian.
The capital's shopping ground zero is a long street named Bukit Bintang, which winds past seven mega malls, including the recently opened Pavilion with its 450 flagship stores. It's big, really big, monstrous in fact, but if you want to be seen, stock up on seasonal Prada before the New York store opens and demand 20 first-class restaurants for your lunch choice, this is the place.
Bintang reeled a little from the Pavilion's opening - many of the other malls are frantically upgrading as a result - but consequently great bargains are to be had in Times Square, Lot 10 and the other malls.
The other favourite shopping bash in Kuala Lumpur is close to Bikut Bintang, the Suria KLCC mall under the 452m, 88-storey Petronas Towers. Again, acres of shops attract thousands of people, many of whom also head into the huge aquarium and Science World nearby.
Once the hectic consumerist urge is sated, the Straits call. Three hours down the highway is the tropical coast and the island of Pangkor Laut. The entire island is a resort, meaning, no disturbance. Just a tropical rain forest in the middle, protected Emerald Bay on the west coast and a ring of gorgeous "stilts-out-of-the-water" villas in the lee of the main bay. Awesomely beautiful doesn't even begin to describe it.
There's very little to do other than breathe the heavy tropical warmth, go to the oversized spa, lie on the beaches and eat, eat, eat in one of the six restaurants. Honeymooners lock themselves up over the water and water babies ski in the calm waters. Those villas are fabulous - each with its own sundeck and expansive air-conditioned bedrooms. By the time your stay is over the bunny is recharged and it's a tough call not to stop off in KL on the way back and start all over again. What a pleasure!
