Malaysia is a small country located in South-East Asia with a land area of 330,000sq km. It is a federal constitutional monarchy consisting of 13 states and 3 federal territories. Kuala Lumpur, an enclave within the state of Selangor is the capital city. Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government.
It is separated into two regions by the South China Sea; West Malaysia or Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak) on the island of Borneo.
Peninsular Malaysia is attached to the mainland Asia via Thailand in the north and it is connected to Singapore in the south with a narrow man-made causeway. East Malaysia takes up about a third of the northern island of Borneo and is bordered by Indonesia and Brunei.
Malaysia is located near the equator, and it is hot and humid throughout the year with an average rainfall of 98 in (250 cm) a year and average temperature of 80°F (27°C).
Malaysia boasts about 4700 km of coastal line with about 2000 km in Peninsular Malaysia and about 2700 in East Malaysia.
It is also home to the oldest tropical rainforest in the world. Approximately 60% of the Malaysian land is covered by forest.
Malaysia's strategic location along the Straits of Malacca and South China Sea has contributed much to its history and economy. It is the center stage for interaction of a wide array of nations in the past. Malaysia's history is riddled with traders from India, Indonesia, and China and foreign colonial powers such as the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British. The interactions and influences of these various nations can be seen in the different races, religion, traditions, culture and food that make up the Malaysian population along with the indigenous local population.
In 2010 the population of Malaysia was around 28 million, consisting of many ethnic groups. The Bumiputeras make up about 67%, whereas 24% is of Chinese descent and those of Indian descent and others make up the rest.
Malaysia successfully diversified its economy from dependence on agrarian, raw material exports into an emerging multi-sector economy based on manufacturing, services and tourism. In the 70's Malaysia used to be the world's largest producer and exporter of tin, rubber and palm oil. Today it is one of the world's largest electronic products exporter of computers, computer parts, refrigerators and air-conditioners. It is also the ninth most visited country in the world, with about 24 million tourists visiting it in 2010.
With the government's vision of achieving developed country status by 2020, Malaysia has seen tremendous transformation in the last couple of decades. And this presents the visitors with some of the most extreme contrasts. You can go up the world famous Petronas Twin Towers sky-bridge, the tallest twin towers in the world as you look down on small villages with wooden houses built on stilts. You can also catch the KL Tower with its revolving restaurant, the Kuala Lumpur City Center and 5-star hotels and less than an hour away in Port Klang you can have the best sea-food caught by the local fishermen and served fresh by restaurants built along the river.
Malaysia is also a shopper's paradise. Huge shopping malls are located around the country selling anything from world famous designer watches, clothes and accessories to locally made hand crafts and oil paintings. Notable malls are Suria KLCC, Berjaya Times Square, Bukit Bintang and the theme-park-like Sunway Pyramid. The malls are jam packed at day times as the locals try to escape the hot and humid temperature by shopping or window shopping in the air conditioned malls.
You can also visit many famous theme parks such as the Sunway Lagoon, the Lost World of Tambun and the recently opened Legoland. I-City in Shah Alam in the state of Selangor is famous for the Digital Lights. There is also natural hot springs that double as resorts such as the Sungai Klah Hot Spring in Perak.
Banjaran Titiwangsa in Peninsular Malaysia runs from Kedah in the north to Johor in the south. Many hills located in this mountain range had been developed for agriculture, entertainment and for purely to escape the hot and humid weather that Malaysia experiences throughout the year. Cool throughout the year these hill resorts serve as a refuge from the hot temperate weather. Cameron Highlands is famous for vegetable farming, Genting Highlands is known as City of Entertainment and is the home to Malaysia's only licensed casino centre. Fraser Hill and Bukit Larut [formerly known as Maxwell Hill] are two resorts that cater to people specifically wishing to escape from the hot and humid temperatures.
Malaysia in its natural beauty offers some of the most unique flora and fauna to the world. The human like Orangutan (Man of the Jungle) can be found in their natural habitat in Sabah and Sarawak. The world's largest flower with the smell of a corpse or rotting flesh, Rafflesia is also found here. Sabah also hosts the tallest mountain in South East Asia, the Mount Kinabalu.
Malaysia boasts some of the most beautiful and pristine beaches in the world such as Pulau Tioman, Pulau Redang, Pulau Pangkor, Pulau Perhentian and the world famous scuba diving island that was featured in the Survivor series Pulau Sipadan. These are just a few of the many beautiful islands with crystal clear water that dot the Malaysian coasts. Pulau Langkawi offers a visitor the opportunity to view the natural landscape with its Sky Bridge, a 125m long and 700m above sea level.
Malaysia's pluralistic, multi-racial and multi-cultural population of Malays, Chinese, Indians and the indigenous population in Sabah and Sarawak makes it rich in traditions and cultures as well as a food lovers' paradise.
Though they maintain their own traditions, customs and religions, they share a common bond with other Malaysians that makes Malaysia truly Asia. Malaysians celebrate the Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, Hari Raya Puasa, Deepavali, Christmas, Hari Wesak and Hari Gawai. Thaipusam which is a religious festival celebrated by the Hindus in the country. It is celebrated in a grand scale in Batu Caves in Selayang. Hundreds of thousands of devotees will walk up the 272 steps to the limestone caves that is said to be 400 million years old.
It is not difficult to find Malay, Chinese, Indian traditional food as well as the blend of all three served at most restaurants and road side hawkers 24 hours a day. One can also find western restaurants serving spaghetti, pizza and sandwiches alongside the local banana-leaf restaurants serving chicken curry, fish head curry, rice noodles and "nasi lemak". And if you're longing for some good old fast food there's always McDonalds, Burger King and KFC in most urban areas.
It wouldn't be Malaysia if we do not talk about the local fruits, especially the king of fruits, the durian! The hard and spiked shelled fruit with its strong pungent aroma is a must-try for any visitor. However you'll be excused if you decide you do not wish to give it a try. Star fruits, rambutans, mangoes, pineapples and guavas grow in abundance in farmlands and in people's back yards. It would be nearly impossible to walk by a neighborhood and not see these fruit trees in the gardens.
Tourists can also experience the life of a local family by participating in the HomeStay program. The HomeStay program was created to allow tourists to stay with a local host family and experiencing the family's daily life. The tourist gets to work in the field, eat with the host family and doing all the chore that the host family does in its daily life.
Malaysia is indeed a wonderful country to visit. Its natural and man-made beauty with its multiracial population is eco-tourists' as well as a gastronome's paradise. With so much to offer, it is no wonder Malaysia is one of the most visited countries in the world.
