If you're not aware of it, this website has a lot of information:

https://www.gunungbagging.com

They're a bit overly obsessed with guides, but I have no personal experience peak bagging in Malaysia, so can't really comment on how necessary guides, permits, and the like are in the country. In neighboring Indonesia, it's usually easy enough to climb mountains independently, though there are exceptions.

Malaysia's highest mountain is well known for being a rip-off, with a complicated permit and guide system, and commercial practices that have made it artificially expensive for foreign tourists. If that doesn't put you off, well, enjoy!

Hi, since Sri Lanka is a rather small island, you can get all you desire within two weeks easily. You can enjoy nature and wildlife and also visit great ancient cultural and historical places as well as enjoy the beautiful beaches. For two weeks, I suggest to follow this itinerary: Colombo to Sigiriya, then visit the ancient kingdom of Polonnaruwa, after that Kandy with the tooth relic temple and maybe the beautiful botanical garden to relax. Do some hiking at Adams Peak and visit the tea plantations around Nuwara Eliya. Take the train to Ella and do some safari at Yala National Park if you like. At the end you can relax at Mirissa beach, where you can enjoy water sports and whale watching or go to Benthota beach. You can use public buses and trains for transport easily or hire a private taxi if you wish.

You okay down there in Australia, the news gets more tragic everyday?

The area burnt is massive, and on top of a long drought, very large numbers of livestock (and wildlife) are gone.

While the area is massive and widespread, the number of people directly affected is more modest - in the tens of thousands rather than hundreds of thousands. It would be like the coastal towns from say San Francisco to south of Portland Oregon being burnt or nearly so. About 1200 homes lost to date.

The economic impact will be enormous - the main activities are tourism, farming, dairying, lumber. All in dire straits right now - and at least two months of peak fire season in front of us.

If you really want to know what one can do in Switzerland with a car outside the beaten path, you may have a look at this older post:

SWITZERLAND BY CAR

It's perfectly possible to visit tons of gems in Switzerland by car, without boarding any train (between June and October, when all mountain roads are open).

But if you want to visit Switzerland by car, don’t choose just the places that can NOT be reached by car (like Muerren, Gimmelwald, Wengen, Schynige Platte, Schilthorn, First, Kleine Scheidegg, Maennlichen, Rigi, Pilatus, Bettmeralp, Zermatt, Braunwald, etc). Otherwise you will have to pay for both: car rental, fuel AND mountain railways.

There are tons of beautiful places in the Swiss Alps which can be reached by car. Some suggestions:

Drive from Martigny to Col de la Gueulaz on Lake Emosson (2000m/6600ft). You are then just in front of the Northern side of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain chain of Western Europe. The glaciers of Trient, Tour, Argentiere as well as the peaks of Aiguille d'Argentiere (3900m/13000fr), Aiguille Verte (4120m/13500ft), Grandes Jorasse (4210m/13800ft), Mont Blanc (4810m/15800ft) ar jus a few miles away.

Drive from Martigny to Grand St Bernard Pass (2470m/8100ft) and hike in 1 hr to La Chenalette (2800m/9200ft). From there, you have a stupendous view to the Southern side of Mont Blanc (A Neuve Glacier, Dolent Glacier, Pre de Bar Glacier, Triolet Glacier as well as a lot of 3800 to 4800m / 13000 to 15800ft high peaks). In the South, but farther away, you see the glaciers and peaks of the Gran Paradiso chain.
A easy, but very scenic 6hrs circular hike goes from Col du Gd St-Bernard via Col des Chevaux - Lake Petit Le - Col de Bastillon to the 3 blue mountain lakes of Fenetre and then over the Col de Fenetre de Ferret back to Col du Gd St-Bernard.

Drive from Sion to Col du Sanetsch (2250m/7400ft) and hike in about 2 hrs to Refuge/Restaurant La Quille du Diable on Tsanfleuron Glacier (2900m/9500ft). You are there on the top of a perpendicular cliff and can look down to Lake Derborence, just 1500m/5000ft below your feet. Stupendous view to Mont Blanc chain, Grand Combin, Mont Collon and tons of other peaks.

Drive from Sierre to Grimentz and then up to the end of the road on Lake Moiry (2250m/7400ft) and hike then in aobut 1 hr to Moiry hut (Swiss Alpine club) and Moiry Glacier.

Drive from Brig to Ried-Moerel, go by gondola to Riederalp (5 CHF/one way), hike in 1/2 hr to Riederfurka (2070m/6800ft), visit the visitor's centre/museum of the Jungfrau-Aletsch Nature reserve, walk through the Aletsch Forest and have a look at the Aletsch Glacier (longest glacier of Europe) just below and in front of you.

Drive to Breuil-Cervinia (Italian neighbourhood, 2000m/6500ft) and go by cableway to Plateau Rosa (28 EUR/35 USD roundtrip). Plateau Rosa (3500m/11500ft) is close to Matterhorn Paradise/Kleinmatterhorn (1 mile away, same panorama). The roundtrip ticket from Taesch Parking to Matterhorn Paradise would cost about 107 CHF/112 USD

Drive to Grimsel Pass (2200m/7200ft) and hike in about 1 1/2 hr to Sidelhorn (2800m/9200ft). Panoramic views to Unteraar Glacier, Oberaar Glacier, 6 mountain lakes around Grimsel Pass, Finsteraarhorn (4300m/14100ft) and dozens of other peaks. You may also hike from Grimsel Pass to Lake Oberaar (1 hr) and along this lake to Oberaar Glacier (another hr).
Drive then from Grimsel Pass to Furka Belvedere and visit the Ice cave in the Rhone Glacier.
Another road in the same area goes to Nufenenpass/Griessee. The hike from the end of the road to Lake Griessee - Gries Pass - Gries Glacier takes about 1 1/2 hrs.

Drive from Davos or St. Moritz to Stelvio Pass (2800m/9200ft). Hike to the glaciers (1 hr or so) or enjoy the view to them from Piz da las Trais Linguas (3 languages peak; 2850m/9400ft).

etc. etc.

But if you prefer to ride with Glacier Express, Bernina Express, Golden Pass Panoramic, etc. and if you want to visit Gornergrat and Jungfraujoch, you better look after rail passes.

You may have a look at
http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/home.html
http://www.swisstravelsystem.ch/en/
http://fahrplan.sbb.ch/bin/query.exe/en

They completely redone the Main Plaza with shale rock and cut down the trees that thousands of swifts used to occupy at sunsets.

Well, they'll kill the birds if they continue to destroy habitat like that. I do wonder if they were swifts, who tend to roost at night in caves (and chimneys). I didn't find any swifts or swallows (golondrinas) posted online for the pueblo, and only white collared swifts for the cave of swallows itself. Vencejo is the common Spanish name for swift.

The reason they cut down large figus trees in some plazas in SLP state is the thousands of black birds with long beaks - fairly large birds - get a habit of flocking together in the trees at sunset in the plazas. Because there are sometimes several thousand in a flock the noise and the tons of shit they drop becomes intolerable. It was done so the peolpe could sit on the benches not covered in bird shit and enjoy the plaza or jardin again. Some tourists seem to think a place is worse off when very minor changes upset their sensibilities of what Mexico should look like [ Old Mexico ] but they are only simple and like simple and looking to be outside of what Mexico is and will be. Modernized. Too bad if it is a negatove for them. Gets borring reading complaints from 70 year old wannabe backpackers living in a World thinking it should exist just for them and not the people who live there. Such a shame. Then there are the trolls who have never been anywhere bitching about OXXO which I like for reasons in my above post. LOL

The place is beautiful and so peaceful. It doesn't feel over touristed or exploited like bagan. Probably one of the best places for photography after Mandalay.

Do I need to have a plan and book things like ferries and budget accommodations in advance?

I think your research should tell you that July-August are hugely busy in any places that you would like to visit. And I think being flexible and not pre-booking is a game for mugs in the European peak season ... as above ... you wind up spending a lot of time and money trying to secure accommodation.

Why is flexibility important? I've never understood it.

I would probably add a day in the Hiroshima area, so that you have 2 full days there. Its quite off the way, and I would either have two full days there, or not go there at all.

With 2 full days there, I would spend at least one night on Miyajima. You mention that your girlfriend likes nature, and Miyajima is for me much more wonderful (also in terms of nature) than Hiroshima. The sights in Hiroshima are very important, but I would rather stay on Miyajima and visit Hiroshima than the opposite. Miyajima gets many many many day visitors, and in the early morning and in the evening (when all of the day visitors are gone) it is so much more peaceful and relaxed. Also, there is much more to the island than "only" the Tori in the sea. Its a very good place to splurge and stay in a Ryokan and enjoy Kaiseki food meals for example. Its also a great place for hiking.