9 Great Reasons To Visit MALAYSIA! ✈

Hello globetrotters, country hoppers and wanderlusters!

When we think of travelling to Southeast Asia there are plenty of countries that come rushing to mind. The Philippines with it's paradise islands, Thailand and it's notorious full moon parties, Indonesia with the beautiful, volcano-filled landscape and even the Singaporean futuristic metropolis!

But there's one country that will rarely make any traveller's 'must-see' list... MALAYSIA!

I've been to Malaysia over 10 times and each visit to this underrated country makes me love it even more! It's without a doubt one of my favourite countries in the region, more so than the likes of Thailand and Laos!

So here's 9 reasons why you NEED to add Malaysia to any Asia or Round The World travel itinerary!

1: KUALA LUMPUR!

Okay, to kick start this list, why not start at the beginning! If you're flying into Malaysia, the chances are you're going to be flying into KUL airport!

I've heard a lot of mixed opinions about the capital city and sadly it does seems to have a bad reputation and I can understand why! The first time I visited KL back in 2015, the entire city seemed to be a construction site which can sometimes make it less attractive to visitors! However, after spending a little bit of time here you start to find many littles things that make this city great!

And with any progressing city, you're bound to have construction going on! New York didn't become the booming metropolis it is, it had to be built up!

Another issue I've heard from other traveller's is that "There's nothing to do." The reason I think people feel this way is that they don't stay long enough or they don't look hard enough! KL usually tends to be a stop over city, visited briefly by people waiting for ongoing flights or before heading south to Malacca or north to Penang!

Trust me, if you hang around long enough, you'll find places to love! There's plenty of parks, cafes, restaurants, markets, bars and shops to keep you entertained! Get a group of friends together and explore what the city has to offer!

Hop on the train and visit BATU CAVES!

The most noticeable feature at the Batu caves is the 140ft golden statue of the Hindu deity of Murugan! It's the biggest in the world!

On the way up to the caves themselves you'll be greeted by numerous inquisitive and cheeky monkeys!! Here's me with my new friend!

2: BEACHES!

What do you think are the most famous beach destinations in Asia? Koh Phi Phi in Thailand? Bali? Koh Rhong in Cambodia? Da Nang in Vietnam?

Well I've been to them all and Malaysian beaches are just as great as them all, if not better!

This is Monkey Beach in the Penang National Park, a 1 hour walk through the forest will get you here and the chances are you'll be there only one there!

I've been here 3 times and I've never seen anyone here apart from the locals who offer boat rides!

Or you can head to the East Coast of Malaysia and visit the Perhentian Islands! Small tropical islands great for relaxing and scuba diving! There's 2 islands to choose from, Pulau Perhentian Besar or Pulau Perhentian Kecil - both are amazing!

Palm trees hugged the shoreline as my small boat approached the island! No landing jetty, the boat just sails up onto the beach and you hop out!

This is the view from my tree house accommodation on Perhentian Kecil!

3: HIKING!

If you're also a fan of nature walks and hiking then you will love Malaysia! I mentioned previously about the Penang National Park, this is one good place to come for hiking. There are multiple trails that lead you through the park and allow you to see a variety of things such as beaches, forestation, a lighthouse and all sorts of wildlife!

Another great place to hike in nature is the Cameron Highlands! The highlands are located in Central Malaysia and can get very cold because of the surrounding hills. This area is famous for it's tea plantations!

You can spend your days touring between the plantations, trying the tea and enjoying the views !

It's common to hire a tour driver for the day! Pu was our tour guide and he was hilarious and super entertaining! Eco Cameron is a great company to use if you're interested in keeping the environment healthy!

Another very famous place for hiking is in Terengganu! I never visited this place but I have plenty of friends who have and they've all said that it's amazing!

4: THE PEOPLE!

I feel like I say this about most countries but one of the greatest thing about Malaysia is the people! It's an incredibly culturally diverse country with citizens coming from Malay, Chinese, Indian and Eurasian cultures to name just a few!

The day I arrived in the country I met a bunch of students in a hostel in Kuala Lumpur who later invited me to visit them at their university in Penang. We ended up having a huge party in their student accommodation which was crazy!

As for the rest of Malaysia, I was always greeted with warm welcomes and never felt unwanted! If you are lost or need help, you'll probably have multiple people who are willing to help you out!

I don't ever take many photos of locals because I just feel weird pointing my camera in a stranger's face! But this guy was really interesting. He was taking care of some wild monkeys and walking his horse up and down the beach..

One of the best people I met in Malaysia was a guy name Patrick who owns Sunshine Bedz hostel in Kuala Lumpur. Every week when new guests arrive he takes them out and get drunk with them and he's hilarious.

5: CULTURE!

Whether it's the religious culture, the food culture or even the art culture, there's so much to immerse yourself in when you are exploring!

Malay, Chinese, Indian, Eurasian and many other ethnic groups have lived together in harmony for generations, influencing each other and creating the great Malaysian culture we have today!

Just walking around you will see temples after temples each from different religions, mixed in with all the modern buildings. It's great to see history next to contemporary for a comparison of how design and creativity has changed!

6: KEK LOK SI TEMPLE!

Okay so speaking of temples...

Kek Lok Si is my personal favourite temple on the planet (so far) and it has stuck out in my mind since my first visit in 2015. Since then I have visited it 3 times and each time it still blows my mind!

The sheer size of this thing is mind boggling and it's crazy to think that it took only 15 years to build! Construction started way back in 1890 and was completed and open to the public in 1905. The architectural design is a combination of Chinese, Thai and Burmese and is the biggest Buddhist temple in Malaysia!

Driving up to the temple entrance shows off just how high up it goes, it's not until you get inside and walk around that you can feel just how big it is! Gardens follow gardens, dotted with flower beds, fountains and intricately designed buildings and buddhist statues!

Every angle is beautiful and everywhere you walk you can find new and exciting places to walk and take photos of.

As you walk further around you start to see the views that come with being the tallest Buddhist temple in Malaysia...

The temple was built purposely to face the ocean and over looks the impressive cityscape of Penang!

7: PENANG!

Kek Lok Si temple isn't the only amazing thing that's located in Penang, in fact, the entire island is incredible and full of things to do and see!

This seemingly small island state in Northwest Malaysia is home to over 1.5 million people coming from multiple cultures and religions! The state capital, George Town, is famous worldwide for it's food and was even awarded the Top food Destination in the world in 2014 by Lonely Planet. Some local delicacies were even mentioned in the Huffington Post as 'Must Try' street food!

Places of interest in Penang range from Temples, Mosques and other religious buildings, beaches, national parks, world famous street art, flourishing gardens and landscapes, unique architecture and and thriving food culture.

Penang National Park

Taman Negara Pulau Pinang or Penang National Park can be found in the Northwest side of the island and is a MUST SEE when you're in Penang!

The area covers around 25km and has multiple choices of routes for all ages and abilities! There's a map at the entrance that highlights all of the attractions on every route, varying from lighthouses, beaches, animals and more!

If you choose the route that leads you around the north side of the park, you get to enjoy an onslaught of beautiful beaches, oceanic views and plenty of wildlife!

I saw 4 Monitor's (I think they were Varanus salvator, the Asian Water Monitor), they were huge! One ran right across the pathway and into the ocean and started swimming next to the shoreline!

You can also see monkeys the entire way around, swinging from trees, jumping across right above your head!

Even if you miss the monkeys above your head, you'll be able to meet and greet them on Monkey Beach! (But I'll talk more about this later!)

Above is my attempt and photographing the Monitor! It blends in with the bushes but you can see just how big it is! Amazing.

This is how happy I was to be back here! (I need to get a sun tan!)

Street Art!

I feel like every blog article ever written about Malaysia will include the street art of Penang... but there's a valid reason for that. THE STREET ART IS AMAZING.

There's a map that you can find that encourages you to find all of the 'hidden' art pieces around the town, I think there's about 14 'official' ones and then there's plenty more dotted all over the place! Grab a map and find them all!

Not only do you get to see the incredible murals that make Penang unique, it's also a great way to see the town! The artsy treasure hunt will lead you all around George Town allowing you to get a feel for the area and find some hidden gems!

Here's a few of my favourite murals!

A lot of them are also interactive! Put yourself in the frame and become apart of the art!

The sun can get pretty damn hot here, especially in summer time so walking can become a chore! Thankfully there are some local heroes to help you out!

You can hire locals who will drive you around all the hot spots in the town in these funky little tricycles for a minimal fee! They're usually pretty chatty and helpful so make sure you ask a lot of questions to learn great tips and secrets!

Fort Cornwallis

This 18th century fort is the largest standing fort in Malaysia and despite never being active in battle, has a huge and rich history that is unique to Malaysia!

I'm not saying that Fort Cornwallis is the most thrilling place to visit by any means, but for a cheap 20RM (less than $5) you can learn a bit about Penang's history and have a nice walk around in the fresh air and hot sun!

The Penang Interactive Museum!

If you have an hour to kill, I'd definitely recommend coming here to get some funny photos with your friends or even by yourself! The museum plays mainly on the infamous street art around the island and allows you to get fully involved in huge 3D paintings and optical illusions that come to life!

8: MONKEYS!

Monkeys are one of my favourite animals in the world and Malaysia is one of the most monkey-tastic place I've been! In some areas they are free to roam around, doing their monkey things like eating food, shrieking at each other and just looking cute!

This little guy was injured so locals were nursing him back to health!

I mentioned earlier that Penang National park is a great place to see wild monkeys! They literally hang around the trees above you while you walk around and then when you reach the beach, they all come to check you out!

They have no fear of humans and groups of them will come and sit on the tables with you, even coming right up to the waterline on the beach! You can feed them peanuts if you want, I don't think it's highly recommended, some people will argue that they will eventually become 'dependent' on humans for food. But honestly, I can't see an entire national park's worth of monkeys will become dependant on humans because people occasionally feed them 10 peanuts...

Just remember to respect them and don't antagonise them! They are very territorial and fiesty creatures, avoid looking the males in the eyes for too long, don't try and get too close to a baby monkey or you'll probably have the mothers growling at you and inevitably tryin to gauge your eyes out! (Monkey safety tip)

If you're lucky enough you can get a cheeky selfie with one of them, if they'll sit still for long enough!

The Batu Caves are also a great place to see many monkeys at once! As I mentioned earlier, just walking up the stairs to the caves I saw at least 30 of them! All inquisitive and trying to get a closer look at me. It's always amazing to take a step back and watch how they interact with humans and other monkeys. You may be surprised to see similarities between them and us!

9: FOOD!

Now we all know that one of the greatest things about travelling the world is having the chance to try new foods! Again, thanks to the mixture of culture in Malaysia, the food culture is thriving and I could not be happier!

Everything from the street food right up to high end restaurants, it's all delicious!

I couldn't keep away from these street vendors, they're just too good and super easy and cheap!

You just choose which sticks you want, put them into the boiling water at the front, then when you're finished take them to the owner and he'l add up the price (based on the colour of the sticks). So easy!

In any town or city, it's so easy to find cheap and yummy food! Just walk around and look for food courts, small restaurants or street vendors. They're always helpful and will always try to over feed you! But is that really a bad thing??

My favourite food in Malaysia will always be Indian! I cannot describe how great Tandori chicken sets can be here!

One time I was in Myanmar and I developed horrendous food poisoning. I genuinely travelled all the way to Malaysia because I was craving Tandori chicken. You might think that's crazy but that's just how good it is!

I'm getting hungry just looking through my food photos...

If you have ever been to Penang you will definitely recognise this place! Kapitan is a great place to eat Indian food and is relatively cheap! It's also open 24 hours! (But so are many other restaurants in this area!)

If you want to eat Chinese food in Penang I recommend Xi Meng Ding restaurant in China Town.

Maybe you're after something Mediterranean? There's a small shop located on Jalan Berangan in Kuala Lumpur that sells the BEST Shawarma I've ever eaten! I had it my first time in Malaysia and since then, any time I'm in KL I will always go to this place! They fill it full of meat, salad, jalapenos, french fries and their incredible garlic sauce. It'll change your life!

You can also find delicious food in the small town of Melacca (Sometimes spelled Malacca). On the weekend the town comes alive with street markets and you can buy as much food as you want!

I really hope this article has shown you something new about Malaysia and has given you some encouragement or inspiration to visit this beautiful country! It really is one of my favourites and I recommend every traveller to come here and experience it.

Have I missed out something that you would have included? Let me know in the comments!

Have you been to Malaysia? If so, what's your favourite place? If not, has this article given you some inspiration to go here? Don't forget to resteem this post so your followers can read it too!

If you like my adventures, please follow me on my instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travel_gasm/

and subscribe to my YouTube channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0dPahL8CprTgtS8XB-z2FA?view_as=subscriber

(Help me get to 100 Subscribers so I can receive my Custom URL!)

I hope my articles and adventures can inspire at least one person to travel more.

Love, Joe.

x