MALAYSIA

Malaysia is another speedily developing country. Split in two, mainland Malasia is much less wilderness, though there are still tropical rain forests in the interior (take your malaria tablets if going there). Malaysia is a fabulous mix of cultures - Thai, Indian, Chinese to name but a few! Borneo and Penisular Malaysia also have a different feeling and cutltures. You'll have to go through customs even on domestic flights between them.

Visas:

Free on arrival for most nationalities. Check out just incase http://www.kln.gov.my/english/Fr-visainfo1.html

Money:

Ringgit

Places to go:

Kuala Lumpur (KL)

Most flights will take you into KL. Beautiful city, quite spread out but easy to get round. If you just have a short stopover, there are several different sizes of lockers at the airport you can leave your luggage in for at least a few days.

to stay:

Swiss Inn about $30US a night. Right in Chinatown with plenty of restaurants and a market outside. Easy to get to from the airport, just take the train to the main station and then a cab to the hotel. Or train one stop to Pasar Ceni and about a 10 min walk through the China town market streets. http://www.swissgarden.com/hotel/sikl/default.asp

Hotel China Town Inn - close to the Swiss Garden, around teh same price. Really friendly staff, internet in the lobby, tvs in the rooms. Standard rooms have no window so pay the extra few dollars/pounds for a deluxe. It is worth taking a room on the back with a fabulous view of the KL Tower (Menara KL)http://www.chinatowninn.com

Rainforest B&B - great location. Close to a night market, a large mall and convenient to all public transportation.

to see

Batu Caves - Hindu shrine inside caves to the north - take a bus there. They are full of cheeky monkeys who steal the shoes of worshippers. Accessible by loads of steps which those on pilgrimages climb with hooks through their skin attached to weights!(January - February)

Sultan Abdul Samad Building (Supreme Court) - stunning building. A mix of Victorian and Moorish architecture.

Petronas Towers - fantastic twin towers joined at the hip by the Skybridge at the 41st floor. If you want to go up the towers, go early in the morning to get your ticket. You must get tickets in advance on the same day for a specific time slot. There is a limited number available each day.

Putra Jaya - political capital with palaces and mosques and loads more besides. Mysteriously missing from the latests guide books but still some details online, e.g http://www.virtualmalaysia.com . On the same train line as KLIA (the airport).

Botanical Gardens - full of huge butterflies and strange species of creatures just walking around!

Pulau Langkawi (Langkawi Island)

Island off the west coast level with south Thailand. Beautiful scenery and peaceful beaches. Get there by ferry from Pulau Penang or the mainland

to stay:

Just off the ferry there is a tourist information kiosk which can book hotels, taxis and private island tours. The staff are very friendly and helpful.

to see:

Hire a taxi driver to take you round the places of your choice for a day for a ridiculously cheap price.

Night Markets - spring up usually at weekends. Great places for local food, gifts and culture.

Langkawi Cable Car - scary, high, fantastic views!!

Telaga Tujuh (Seven Waterfalls) - relax in the middle of the forest by swimming in this beautiful waterfall pool.

Pulau Tioman (Tioman Island)

Off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Tioman feels very secluded and unspoiled (except for the coral).

getting there:

Accessible by small speed boat style ferry (about 1 and a half hours from Singapore) - very bumpy but so worth it. Or fly from Singapore (only 35-minutes). Check out Berjaya Air for cheap flights - http://www.berjaya-air.com/

to stay:

Don't stay in Berjaya instead head up the coast to Salang where facilities consist of a prefab hut with cold shower and basic toilet but the sea, shore, food and people are fantastic. "I still day dream of those milkshakes!".

Salang Sayang Resort - (Zaid's Place?) on Salang beach. One of the few beaches on the island with a small amount of night life. They have the best beach and restaurant on Salang as well as super friendly staff. http://www.salangsayangtioman.com/

Pulau Penang (Penang Island)

Island off the west coast below Langkawi. Accessible via ferry from Langkawi or the mainland.

to see:

Georgetown (Penang) - the capital city has a European feel with loads of colonial architecture.

Penang Hill - take the death defying canopy walk through ridiculously high tree tops.

Batu Ferringhi - beach area with nightlife. Hugh night-time market and loads of restaurants.

Melaka

Only a few hours south of KL, Melaka is a nice costal city. The bus station is new and outside of downtown, NOT in the downtown location listed in the Lonely Planet.

to stay:

Eastern Heritage Guesthouse - Cheap rooms in a 1918 Chinese house.

Perhentian Islands

Up north, have the best beaches in Malaysia. Get a flight from Singapore to Redang (part of Perhentian Islands) through Berjaya Air (see above).

Or you can fly from KL to Khota Bharu where you can get the boat to the Perhentian Islands. The flights leave about 4 times a day and cost around ï¿¥5000. The boat ride to the islands is around one hour. Look on the Air Asia or Malaysian Airlines website for flight times.

Johor Bahru

If combining your trip with a visit to Singapore, save money on accomodation by staying here instead. Southern most city of Malaysia, just hop on a bus to Singapore, go through immigration twice then get on the train in Singapore to get around quickly and easily. It can sometimes be busy crossing the border (rush hour) but is gets you lots of cool stamps in your passport (check your visa restrictions first).

Terrenganu

It's only recently that this area has become anything more than a collection of sleepy little fishing villages. It's situated in North East Malaysia and has some of the best untouched beaches in the world. It is probably the most islamic state in Malaysia and also one with the highest percentage of Malays so it is culturally different from other parts of Malaysia with more immigrants and has preserved more of the traditional malay food. The islands of the coast are stunning and not filled with tourists like on the west side (for example Langkawi).

Pulau Redang is highly recommended, but it's quite easy to island hop between the other islands with local people. But beware if you go out to the islands it's difficult to get boats back and there is a severe shortage of budget accomodation!

Lake Kenyir is quite a nice lake and waterfalls which i think are a fabulous place to go and camp for a few nights but Sekayu Waterfalls are very popular with the locals so it could be busy in the winter holiday period.

The next state north is Kelantan and has got amazing forests where it is possible to see cloud leopards but beware that this state borders the Muslim state in Thailand which has had many troubles recently.

Sabah and Sarawak (Borneo)

The more wild parts of Malaysia, off the main penninsula. Sabah's more of a wildlife destination than Sarawak. If you're more interested in native Iban culture and drinking yourself blind with arak in a riverside longhouse, consider Sarawak instead. Sarawak's also got caves at Gunung Mulu, a variety of trekking trails (including the evocatively named Headhunters Trail), a great beachside national park at Bako (where you can see proboscis monkeys), and a thriving cultural center in Kuching.

to do:

"During my two weeks in Sabah I saw more wild animal species than I imagined I would ever see in my entire life."

Uncle Tan's Jungle Camp offers rustic but first-rate tours of the Sungai Kinabatangan. Even if you just stay in the campsite, animals will come your way: otters, bearded pigs, macaques, pythons, and an assortment of creepy-crawlies. If you've got (quite) a few extra bucks to spend, consider staying at the Rainforest Lodge in Danum Valley.

Sipidan Island (Sabah)

Has everything a diver would ever want: coral galore, thousands of huge turtles, sharks, barracuda, herds of huge bumphead parrotfish, rays, lionfish, the list goes on. You can see hammerheads in certain seasons. Sipidan was Jacques Cousteau's favorite scuba location in the world, most likely because of the make-up of the island. It was formed by a mud volcano thousands of years ago. It slowly rose up out of the ocean, coral formed, and life flourished. Around the entire perimeter of the island there is a sudden drop off on all sides that goes down 200 meters! So basically, you dive along the walls and it feels like you could fall for forever into the deep blue sea.

In Sabah, you can also climb Mount Kinabalu, which is supposedly the tallest mountain in SE Asia (excluding Myanmar) at around 4100 meters. You can also go trekking in the rainforest, see orangutans, proboscis monkeys, elephants, birds and animals in colors you didn't even know existed.

Turtle Island - go and watch turtles lay their eggs. There is an orangutan sanctuary but this is worth skipping if you go into the Kinabatangan River delta for wildlife viewing.

Kuching:

to stay:

Farview - A huge white heritage house behind the Sarawak museum. The dorm is clean and the rooms are nice. The best budget option in Kuching.

to see:

Go to the Sunday market, which starts on Saturday.

There are lots of travel companies along the riverside which can organize trips to Semongoh Orangutan Centre, longhouses, etc.

There is not much public transportation.

Damai:

Close enough to Kuching for a daytrip to see the Sarawak Cultural Village. The mountain (Santuongbong) is much much steeper than it looks and will take a while to climb.

to stay:

Nanga Damai - Wonderful. Ask to stay in the garden cottage. It is beautiful, with a view of the ocean and beside a small stream. The owners are really kind and hospitable.

TOP TIPS:

• Certainly a few years ago, Malaysia didn't understand that tourists will flock in August and so you may find major tourist sites closed for annual renovations. However all the main shops have annual August (and maybe December) sales in a government move to bring in the tourists.
• Monsoon season is November - March and some beach resorts close down.