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Introducing Malaysia
Malaysia is really like two countries in one, cleaved in half by the South China Sea. The peninsula is a multicultural buffet of Malay, Chinese and Indian flavours while Borneo hosts a wild jungle smorgasbord of orang-utans, granite peaks and remote tribes. Within and throughout these two very different regions are an impressive variety of microcosms ranging from the space-age high-rises of Kuala Lumpur to the smiling longhouse villages of Sarawak and the calm, powdery beaches of the Perhentian Islands. And did we mention the food? Malaysia (particularly along the peninsular west coast) has one of the best assortments of delicious cuisines in the world.
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Start with Chinese–Malay 'Nonya' fare, move on to Indian banana leaf curries, Chinese buffets, spicy Malay food stalls and even some impressive Western food. Yet despite all the pockets of ethnicities, religions, landscapes and the sometimes-great distances between them, the beauty of Malaysia lies in the fusion of it all, into a country that is one of the safest, most stable and easiest to manage in Southeast Asia.
Last updated: Dec 31, 2009
Tips & articles
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Love factually: steamy love
8 February 2010
If you’re looking to turn up the heat, there’s no better place than Malaysian Borneo. This...
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Conquer your fear: 4 tips for solo women travelers
5 February 2010
Lonely Planet produced this article in conjunction with our partner, Self Magazine. Take our travel poll...
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Top spots for a medical adventure
4 December 2009
Want it modified, enhanced, drilled out, implanted or just plain alleviated? Whatever your bodily need,...
Malaysia
Our Top Picks For Malaysia
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1 Pulau Langkawi
Splash out on the luxury resorts of this gorgeous island group
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2 Penang
Relive the colonial days in Georgetown taking tiffin at the E&O
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3 Kota Bharu
Meet traditional kite and shadow puppet makers and feast at Malaysia's best night market
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4 Cameron Highlands
Visit tea plantations and take pleasant walks in the cool highlands
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5 Pulau Perhentian
Relax and revive on these two blissful white-sand fringed islands
Fast Facts about Malaysia
- Capital Kuala Lumpur
- International telephone code 60
- Languages Bahasa Melayu (official), Chinese (Hakka and Hokkien dialects), Tamil, English
- Currency Malaysian ringgit (RM)
- Phrases selamat pagi (good morning), terima kasi (thank you)
- Population 24,821,300
- Malaysian heroes: Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra. Father of Malaysian independence and first Prime Minister in 1957.
Our favourite Malaysia Blogs (beta)
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KL taxi driver - a la natural - a contented man
Blog: Timeless Travelling Monk - 6 February 2010
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Thaipusam or how I ended up as part of a ceremony celebrating the Hindu God of Death
Blog: Drifting Aimless - 30 January 2010
To my left I was trapped in behind the barrier, to my right an enormous throng of people carrying milk urns on their heads. Behind me, fast approaching a phalanx of gibbering screaming devotees dancing in trance. In my eagerness to get a good photo Id somehow found myself trapped inside the ceremonial procession. I [...]
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Memories
Blog: Drifting Aimless - 28 January 2010
I dine alone tonight, as usual, at a table on Pangkor Island, somewhere beyond the inky blackness lies the Straits of Melacca. I order a Tom Yam soup, a plate of Singapore noodles and a large bottle of Guinness stout. Im seven years old again, I sit with my father in the Stags Head pub off [...]
