Malaysia
Malaysia is the gateway to the massive wildlife reserves of Borneo and some of Asia’s best islands.
This section will share our guides to finding low-impact wildlife experiences in the Kuantan region and the logistics of self-planning a trip to Borneo. We will also detail the best budget and ethical snorkelling spots we found around the Perhentian Islands. For now, please enjoy our initial posts on this diverse country.
-
City Living in KL
On our journey to Indonesia, we decided to make a quick pit stop in KL, mostly because of the convenience and price of the flights – direct flights from Hat Yai were cheap and then onward to Medan also very cheap. I have been to Malaysia before, and for me, it was one of the…
-
Partying in the Perhentians
I slept so well that night in the little hut on stilts that I woke up late, but still decided to get a bus over to Kuala Besut to grab a boat to the Perhentians. Awi offered to take me to the bus station in KT and on the way took me via his house…
-
Kayaking in Kuala Terengganu
My plan after Kuantan (mainly because of the weather) was to get a bus all the way to Kuala Besut to grab a boat to the Perhentian Islands. Unfortunately, I missed the bus in the morning that would allow me to do that. As an alternative, I decided to simply get a bit closer to…
-
Raining in Kuantan
I arrived in Kuantan late at night and the weather was already starting to get bad. I checked into Kuantan Backpackers where, once again on my trip, I had the dorm to myself! In the morning, the rain cleared a little so I headed to the town. But the rain had made it super humid,…
-
Side Track to Singapore
From Melaka I took a small detour out of Malaysia and into Singapore. I was quite excited about visiting Singapore City, especially to see all the amazing buildings like the Marina Bay Sands building and the iconic skyline. I got up early to catch the bus which drives you through the border where you get…
-
Making friends in Melaka
The previous night out lead once again to a late morning, but I eventually made it to the impressive bus station in KL to catch a bus South to Melaka. On the bus I got chatting to a Chinese/Malaysian girl named Viny. She studied in KL and was on the way home to see her…
-
Party time in KL
I flew back to KL from Kuching and checked into Sunshine Bedz, which was a cheap backpacker hostel very close to the centre. By this point in the trip my preconceptions of backpacker accommodation was beginning to fade. It’s true that there were a lot of young travellers who come away to booze and party……
-
On the nature trail in Kuching (Borneo)
From the Cameron Highlands I headed down to Kuala Lumpur to catch a flight the next day to the Malaysian city of Kuching in Sarawak on the island of Borneo. I bough my ticket here on a bit of a whim after checking the AirAsia website – the flight was about £20 return! In KL…
-
Feeling the cold in Cameron Highlands
From Ipoh, John and I headed from the local bus station out towards the Cameron Highlands. The road there wound through the mountains and jungle and was one of the most incredible roads yet. The higher we climbed into the interior of peninsular Malaysia, the worse the weather got… foggy and misty looking out over…
-
Living like a local in Ipoh
From Georgetown I decided to take a bus to the city of Ipoh, not a place in Malaysia that is well-renowned for tourism, but it was only a short journey away and the bus was cheap! The bus dropped me at a bus-station that was quite a way out of town, but I didn’t feel…
-
First taste of Malaysia
I left Koh Phangan not because I wanted to (I could have stayed forever….), but because I had to… My thai visa had expired. I caught a very early morning boat/bus combo to take me all the way to Georgetown on the island of Penang in Malaysia. Only after paying a fine for overstaying my…
