So I recently spent two week in Malaysia...
My route started in the capital Kuala Lumpur where I spent 3 nights, this included a day trip south to the city of Melaka and a short trip north of KL to the Batu Caves.
Then I caught a night train north to George Town in Penang and spent 2 nights there including one day in Penang National Park.
After that I took a night bus to the Pernhentian Islands over the on the opposite coast of the peninsula and spent 2 nights on Kecil (Small) Perhentian.
Next to Kota Bharu, the capital of the state of Kelantan not far from the coast and where I stayed for 1 night and visited the area around Tumpat near the border with Thailand.
Then I took a bus to Ipoh in the state of Perak and stayed there for 2 nights and finally during the afternoon in Malaysia I arrived back in KL to take a night flight back to Seoul.
Of course travelling at night gave me more time to see places in the day time.
I spent the whole time on the Malaysian Peninsula and didn't go over to the island of Borneo, that could can be a whole trip on its own.
Here's a nice big map with all the places above mentioned on it...
Why Malaysia?
I thought it'd more diverse than other SE Asian countries, a mixture of Indian, Chinese and Malay culture
Interesting colonial history
Great food
Some big cities as well as great nature.
A chance to experience a lot of Islamic culture
Managed to get cheaper flights through Air Asia
Although I'd like to visit Thailand I was put off by the potentially bad weather and that everyone seems to go there to stay on a crowded island.
Overall impressions of Malaysia?
Great food!
Malaysian people are very friendly
It felt like a more liberal Islamic country
You're never far from a monkey or lizard
Malaysia is where China meets India with the Malaysian squashed in between
Malaysians love football, be it their own leagues or the Premier League
They know a lot about Korean culture (music and dramas etc)
The west coast is more touristy, and more multi-cultural, the east coast felt more traditionally Malaysian
It's a country that is industrializing fast, construction projects everywhere in the cities
They are enthusiastic about tourism
Although there is no single knock-out site or wonder to see the country has a lot of unique culture
I would happily go back
Survival Malaysian...
Sepak Takraw...
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| A Speak Takraw ball made of Rattan. Sepak Takraw a cross between volleyball and football and is played but many south east Asian countries. It's not in the Olympics but is played at the Asian Games. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sepak_takraw |
