Malaysia

Cities, towns, and villages

• Kuala Lumpur — the national capital and a federal territory of Malaysia, the cultural, financial, tourism, political and economic centre of Malaysia. Has a cityscape filled with gleaming skyscrapers and colonial architecture. The capital of Malaysia is widely recognized for numerous landmarks, including Petronas Twin Towers (twin skyscrapers with a sky bridge and observation deck), the Petaling Street flea market, and Batu Caves, which is over 400 million years old.
  The city's main hub is called the Golden Triangle, which comprises Bukit Bintang, KLCC, and Chinatown. Grand shopping places host a wide range of upmarket labels from all over the world. Foodies have plenty of good reasons to love Kuala Lumpur. The city’s thousands of hawker stalls, cafes, and restaurants serve every type of delicacy imaginable. Beyond Kuala Lumpur’s glass, steel, and concrete, you’ll find plenty of green spaces and natural attractions for a respite. Just a short drive from the city, you can explore lush forested hills with hiking trails leading to waterfalls.

• George Town — is the capital city of the island and state of Penang, on the west coast of peninsular Malaysia. It is the second largest city in Malaysia and was listed by UNESCO in 2008 as a 'World Heritage Site', together with fellow former Straits Settlement, Malacca. It has a history dating back to the beginnings of British colonialism in South-East Asia in the 18th. century, with its multi-cultural appeal reflected in its architecture, festivities and food.
  Touted as the food capital of Malaysia, George Town offers an amazing array of street food, blending Malay, Chinese, Indian, Thai and European influences.
  Note that with its combination of Chinese and Muslims, Georgetown takes its religious resting days seriously. Most of the town stops working for the latter half of Saturday, and all of Sunday. Many shops and restaurants are closed during these times and the streets are extremely sleepy and quiet, with little tourist friendly activity going on. Muslim prayer calls can be heard at the required prayer times, and it is not uncommon to see the Chinese locals burning incense for ancestor worship on the sidewalks. The variety of cultures on display within the heritage area, such as Muslim, Chinese, Indian and European, is unique to Georgetown.
  The city has a relaxed pace of life, as restaurants, small shops, and mall shops don't fully open until around noon. If you're waking up early, be sure to look for Chinese Dim Sum stalls as they are only available in the morning.

• Ipoh — capital of Perak, historic city with British influences. Nestled within steep limestone hills on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, Ipoh has the proud heritage of a former tin mining boom town. While the current state capital of Perak had bigger heydays during the early 20th century, it is now better known amongst Malaysians for its excellent restaurants, hawkers, and famous local dishes. Old residents are returning to their beloved hometown, eager to remake Ipoh into the "City of Millionaires" yet again. The country's third largest city, is also a gateway to the Cameron Highlands and Pangkor Island.

• Johor Bahru — (Jawi: جوهر بهرو, Chinese: 新山) (also informally called JB) is a city and the state capital of Johor in Malaysia and the main gateway to Singapore. It is the second largest city of the country and the financial centre of the state of Johor. Johor Bahru is probably more well known as an industrial city rather than a tourist-friendly town. Many of the world's top electronics manufacturers have at least one plant in Johor Bahru, and after the tough times after the 1997 economic crisis the town is stirring to life again.

• Kuantan - capital of Pahang, and finance and business center for the east coast of West Malaysia, is the largest city on the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. There are a number of places in and around Kuantan that are worth visiting.

• Kota Kinabalu — capital of Sabah and the primary cultural, finance an business center in Sabah, and gateway to UNESCO World Heritage Site Kinabalu Park, this Malaysian city is a growing resort destination due to its proximity to tropical islands, lush rainforests and Mount Kinabalu. Generally referred to as KK, it is located on the west coast of Sabah within the West Coast Division. KK is the largest city in the state in Sabah and is the main gateway into the island of Borneo.
  KK lies by the coast overlooking South China Sea on a narrow flatland and occasional hills bordered by Crocker Range which hosts Mount Kinabalu. The urban sprawl is concentrated along the coast towards the north and south of the city.

• Kuching — is the capital and the primary cultural, finance an business center in Sarawak, is small enough to walk around but interesting enough to keep you there for several days, and a good base for exploring Sarawak. It's safe and relatively clean, the people of Kuching take pride in being the cleanest city in Malaysia and their diverse cultures, so be prepared for a totally different experience from that of West Malaysia.

• Malacca (Melaka) — is the capital of the state of Malacca, on the west coast of peninsular Malaysia. Visiting Malacca is a unique experience with a rich historical and cultural background from previous Portuguese, Dutch and British rule, was the capital of a powerful Malay kingdom before the colonial era,. The city centre was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in July 2008, along with Georgetown, Penang.

• Miri — is a city in Sarawak. is the main tourist gateway to various national parks, the main gateway to Brunei and UNESCO World Heritage Site Gunung Mulu National Park. which makes it a favourite ecotourism destination and can be arguably called the "Resort City".
  It is the second largest city in the state. It is on its northern coast near the border with Brunei. Known by its nickname "Oil Town", Miri is the birthplace of the Malaysian petroleum industry, as the city was founded in 1910 when the first oil well was drilled by Royal Dutch Shell. Petroleum has continued to drive the city's economy and development ever since.
  Miri boasts a diversified population, which consists of Chinese, Malay, Kedayan, Iban, Bidayuh, Melanau, Kelabit, Lun Bawang, Punjabis and many other ethnic groups. International students from a foreign university campus based here and expatriates from international corporations add much spice to Miri as well.
  The people are quite helpful when it comes to direction or any help needed. A visitor's information centre located near the public bus stand is available for any further enquiries.

• Langkawi (Jawi: لانكاوي), officially known as "Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah" is an archipelago of 99 islands (an extra 5 temporary islands are revealed at low tide) in the Andaman Sea, 30km off the mainland coast of northwestern Malaysia. It is a popular destination due to its natural white sand beaches, lush jungle foliage and craggy mountain peaks and duty-free status, where alcohol is affordable.

• Sipadan (Pulau Sipadan) — lies off the east coast of Malaysian Borneo. The island is known above all for some of the best scuba diving anywhere in the world.
  Together with the nearby island of Ligitan, Sipadan was long the subject of a territorial dispute between Malaysia and Indonesia. In 2002, the International Court of Justice awarded both islands to Malaysia.

• Penang (Pulau Pinang) — is an island-state off the northwestern coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It comprises two halves - Penang Island, where the capital city of George Town is located, and a strip of mainland Peninsula named Seberang Perai (formerly Province Wellesley).
  Penang's beaches are nice, though a little lacklustre when compared to those in some other Malaysian states, but this is more than compensated for by the island's rich multicultural history dating back to the beginnings of British colonisation in the 18th. century, and is full of Malay, Chinese, Indian and European influences. Penang is also well known domestically and in Singapore for being the "food paradise" of Malaysia.

• Perhentian Islands (Pulau Perhentian) — are a small group of beautiful, coral-fringed islands off  approximately 10 nautical miles (19 km) off the north-eastern coast of West Malaysia in the state of Terengganu, approximately 40 miles (64 km) south of the Thai border. The name Perhentian means "stopping point" in Malay. This is because the islands became a staging point used by traders traveling from Malaysia to Bangkok.

• Redang (Pulau Redang) — formerly known as the "Pearl of the Orient", now bustling island with excellent cuisine which has retained more colonial heritage than anywhere else in the country.
  Redang Island is famous for its crystal clear waters, white sandy beaches, and the tropical fish that inhabit the numerous reefs, many within 15 m (50 feet) of the shore.
  In contrast to the neighboring Perhentian Islands backpacker hangout, Redang has a more upmarket image, as almost all accommodation on the island is resort-based. However, on the south end this beach usually has more choppy water and the beaches will have more debris than the beaches around the bend to the north. The snorkeling is also found to the north of Pasir Panjang.

• Tioman (Pulau Tioman) — is in Pahang ("East Coast") within the Mersing Marine Park, which contains fewer commercial islands such as Sibu Island. The primary gateway Mersing is in Johor ("South").
  Tioman's beaches were depicted in the 1958 movie South Pacific as "Bali Hai". In the 1970s, Time magazine selected Tioman as one of the world’s most beautiful islands. The densely forested island is still sparsely inhabited. Also it is surrounded by numerous white coral reefs, making it a haven for scuba divers from around the region.
  Monitor Lizards roaming the village in Salang).
  You will find enormous monitor lizards across the island and in the kampongs you will often see them sifting through the rubbish piles looking for food. There is also an abundance of domestic cats.