Malaysia🇲🇾

Malaysia was a last minute book for me, but a country I don’t regret visiting. In fact, I wish I spent longer here because it is a very underrated country. After the Philippines, I spent just under three weeks in Malaysia, going to four different places.

Kuala Lumpur

🏨KL Skyline Hostel and Rooftop Infinity Sky

First stop is the capital of Malaysia! I ended up staying here for five days as I was quite poorly after the Philippines, so decided to stay in one place to rest and recoup before moving on. For some, five days is way too long here, as a lot of people tend to not like Kuala Lumpur, but I actually loved it! I didn’t have to rush any of my exploring and made the most of it. I stayed in KL Skyline Hostel, which is a hostel but inside a hotel complex and it was insane! The dorms were really good, you had your own bed with curtains, good bathrooms and a rooftop infinity pool that you could use!

Batu Caves
One of the main sites is to visit the Batu Caves, which are multiple cave temples situated in a 400 million year old limestone hill. The caves are famous for its 272 colourful steps and massive forty-three metre tall golden Murugan statue. You can get public transport or a taxi to the caves, which can take twenty five minutes from the centre of Kuala Lumpur. Once you arrive, the cave is free to enter and you can spend as much time as you want walking around. Be careful with your things though, as there are loads of monkeys around and they are not friendly at all. They will snatch anything that’s loose, food, phone, sunglasses etc, so make sure you keep a tight grip on things or put them in your bag!

Petronas Towers - Light Show
Another must see is the Petronas Towers, which are 88-story, twin skyscrapers in the heart of the city. They are a major landmark and feature a skybridge, which connects both towers. Go as early as possible in the morning, to avoid the crowds! I went around 8am and walked around the grounds and park nearby.

You can also book a tour to go inside and up to the iconic skybridge as well as the Observation Deck on the 86th floor, which offer panoramic views of the city. You can book these tours online or in person, but if you are going during the weekend or at prime times, it would be best to book tickets in advance.

Lastly, every evening the KLCC Lake Symphony Light and Sound Show present a synchronised light and water show. The fountain is right outside the Suria KLCC entrance and runs at 7:30pm, 8:30pm and 9:30pm. If you want to see the Petronas Towers lit up at night, make sure to come watch the show as well, as its a beautiful performance.

KL Tower
I spent another day visiting KL Tower, which is a 421 meter tall telecommunications and tourist tower. It is between a forty minute to an hour walk from the hostel and I made the day of it, treating myself to breakfast and a coffee. I then booked tickets to go up KL Tower as well, where I could visit the Observation Deck and Sky Box. Here I could see the incredible panoramic views of the city as well as the Petronas Towers from afar.

Parks Bird Sanctuary
I spent another day walking through different parks to the Birds Sanctuary. Tickets are 40 RM and I spent a couple hours walking around the Sanctuary seeing all kinds of birds and wildlife.

Rooftop and Sunset Bar
Spend one evening at a rooftop bar to watch the sunset over the city. On my last evening in Kuala Lumpur, me and some girls went for drinks and watched the sunset at Vertigo Bar. We were lucky to see a gorgeous one!

Shopping Malls, Markets and Food Spots
Some spots that I went to were:

• Suria KLCC
  This shopping mall is directly at the bottom of the Petronas Towers, full of different shops, restaurants and boutiques, this place is perfect to spend a couple hours browsing at different shops.
• Central Market
  Central Market has loads of different local stalls, offering all kinds of souvenirs and essentials you might need, but at a cheaper price.
• Jalan Alor, Bukit Bintang & Petaling Street Food Markets
  All of these Street Food Markets are a must visit when in Kuala Lumpur. Lined with so many different food stalls, you are spoilt with choice of different cheap dishes.

Cameron Highlands

🏨Traveller Bunker Hostel

I got the bus to Cameron Highlands, which took around three hours and then spent two full days here. I hired a moped from the hostel and then did some solo exploring.

Cameron Highlands Flora Park
One of the main spots to visit is the Flora Park, which is an incredible place in Kea Farm. It costs 50 RM to enter and features a huge, array of instagrammable indoor and outdoor flower gardens, a Petunia Garden and the Stairway to Infinity. There is also a high-tea experience at their cafe and the views of the stunning, surrounding hillsides are an added bonus. A lovely place to spend the morning at!

BOH (Best of Highlands) Coffee Plantation
BOH Tea is Malaysia’s largest black tea producer, having multiple plantations in Cameron Highlands. You can spend the day at BOH learning about the tea process, taste the delicious, high-quality tea, see the beautiful panoramic views of the surrounding green hills, and visit their cafe for tea and cake.

Time Tunnel
I stopped at this local museum, full of random memorabilia featuring pre-war items, local history, old photographs and everyday household objects. I stopped here when it was pouring with rain and spent some time walking around the museum before grabbing some food from next door.

Sheep Sanctuary
Another friendly tourist attraction, which I decided to stop at when it was raining. The Sheep Sanctuary allows you to feed, pet and take photos with the sheep and alpacas, and is not that expensive to enter. The price of the ticket goes towards the free food you get to feed the animals!

Jim Thompson Tea Room
It was recommended to me to go to Jim’s Tea Room so I decided to treat myself and went for afternoon tea. I spent the afternoon eating delicious food, trying their famous herbal tea and cakes, which was the perfect way to end my time in Cameron Highlands.

George Town, Penang

🏨Rope Walk Guesthouse

Penang Hill Cable Car or Hike
Penang Hill is a 833 meter high tourist attraction, featuring incredible panoramic views of George Town and a rainforest canopy walk. You can get to the top by either taking the funicular railway or by hiking nearly four hours. My friend and I of course decided to hike and by halfway, we were absolutely knackered and regretting our choice! I don’t know why we decided to hike, but I think the views at the top were worth it and we spent an hour walking along the canopy and stopping at different viewpoints.

Penang Street Art
Penang is known for its vibrant collection of street art and interactive murals, which celebrate local culture, history and daily life. At your hostel, you will be given a map which pin points where all the different artwork are and you can spend the morning walking around the town taking it all in. There are also so many cute cafe spots, and boutique souvenir shops that you can stop in.

Penang National Park
Penang National Park is a must visit. It is a huge protected area, featuring lush rainforests, beautiful beaches and rare ecosystems. The main area for tourists is to hike to Turtle Beach or Monkey Beach, or take boat trips around the island to spot different wildlife. We only had one day here so we got up early, moped to the National Park, before hiking to Turtle Beach. Here it has a small turtle conservation centre, a rare meromictic lake and a beach completely made of white sand. This is the place where they lay eggs for green turtles with a sanctuary for hatchlings. When we got there, we were lucky enough to see some baby turtles!

Langkawi

🏨Bed Attitude Hostel Cenang

I flew from Penang to Langkawi because I didn’t have enough time to go by boat. I then spent three days in Langkawi, but you can definitely spend longer there chilling on the different, beautiful beaches. Normally, to get around you can hire mopeds, however, I met four other people in my hostel and we decided to split the cost of hiring a car for two days, rather than all getting a moped ourselves, so it worked out cheaper instead! We then did small road trips going to two main sights.

Langkawi Cable Car and Sky Bridge
One thing to do in Langkawi is to go on the Cable Car up to the Sky Bridge. This cable car is one of the world’s steepest cable car rides, leading up to a 125-meter long curved suspension bridge, 660-meters above sea level. Located at Mount Machinchang, once you are at the top, you can see some incredible panoramic views of the Andaman Sea, rainforests and surrounding islands.

Temurun and Telaga Tujuh Waterfall
The other thing to do is visit the multiple waterfalls around the island. Temurun Waterfall is the tallest waterfall in Langkawi, with cascades of 200-meters in a three-tiered structure. It is a very popular waterfall to visit, with its high vertical drop and natural pools to swim in.

Telaga Tujuh Waterfall is a stunning natural waterfall, featuring seven connected, cascading pools atop Mount Machinchang. It is known for its 91-meter plunge pool, offers freshwater swimming, and a natural rock water slide. You can either swim at the bottom pools or hike the scenic, but challenging path through the rainforest to the top. It is very close to the Cable Car, so you can combine ticking off both of these spots on the same day!

Overall, Malaysia was a really amazing country to finish my SEA trip. It was very unexpected, but I had the best few weeks travelling around the country and wish I had at least another week to visit Borneo and see the Orangutans. It just means I will have to go back soon!