Malaysians and expatriates began streaming out of the capital Kuala Lumpur today to escape the choking haze by taking a long weekend in cleaner locations, newspapers and travel agents said.

Families with young children were especially concerned about the effects of the haze which began closing in 10 days ago, especially after the government declared a state of emergency in two coastal towns Thursday.

Worried Europeans who had planned to return home for the northern summer once schools go on vacation in two weeks were hurriedly changing their plans, said Stephanie To from Samfo Travel.

"Many people booked special fares earlier but now they don't mind paying the 50 percent penalty. They just want to leave KL as soon as they can," she told AFP .

Krisztina Szonda from Hungary said she was flying back to Budapest for fear of the health effects on her newborn daughter.

"I haven't been able to leave the house for 10 days, it's just not healthy, especially for a little child," she said. "We started to plan two days ago and we booked the earliest flight we could."

Newspaper columnists also reported that people were heading out of town to area less hit by the haze, which has blanketed the capital Kuala Lumpur and surrounding districts, known collectively as the Klang Valley.

Singapore to the south, and Chiang Mai in northern Thailand were popular destinations, along with Malaysia's northern Penang island.