Unique Places in Malaysia

hi Rick,
We travelled to Malaysia in July. we took a train from KL to Ipoh and stayed a couple of days in Ipoh. We hired a taxi driver to take us on a tour from Ipoh to Cameron Highlands. It was well worth the trip, but more of a day trip unless you are really into tea, flowers and honey,! We then travelled from Ipoh to Penang. about a 2 hour drive. I was really glad we chose the Ipoh track. It's not touristy at all but a very beautiful town full of culture.
Cheers Mel.

Temenggor Lake is the second largest lake in Malaysia and located in the north of the country close to the thai border.
It's a little over 1500 meters above sealevel, so it's a mountain lake with fairly cold temperatues for malaysian standards.
I went there when i was cycling around Malaysia and had few expectations about the place, but i was very pleasantly suprised and certainly want to return to the place for further exploration in the future.
You have a couple of hotels up there, including a very nice eco resort andit seems like the perfect place to go if you want to escape the heat and the bustle from Kuala Lumpur for the weekend.

During a bicycle trip around the malaysian peninsule i was very suprised to come by dozens of old second world war bunkers on the road between Kota Tinggi and Mersing in soth Malaysia.
There are a few dozen of them situated along the road if you take that drive and you can't miss them.
I found out that there was something called the "Kota Tinggi line" during the second world war and there was quite a bit of fighting there involing mainly malaysian, Australian and japanese soldiers.
I would not consider these old bunkers a big sight, but they are an interesting curiosity i think and if you take the drive then it's easy to stop by there.

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Kuantan is a town located on the east coast of the malaysian peninsula around 3 hours drive by car from Kuala Lumpur.
When i first came there i had never heard of the place but i was very suprised in a positive way by the town and thought it was a very pleasant place and a place i could sure see myself living in aswell.
There are some very nice beaches in kuantan aswell as a really nice river front with fishing boats that are still active as Kuantan is a big fishing harbour from where Malaysia gets a lot of their dried fish.
I spend an afternoon cycling around Kuantan and found it to be a bicycle friendly town with many good trails and routes.
Will sure return to this town for some more exploring.

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Kuala Kangsar is the royal town of Perak and the seat of the sultan of Perak.
It's a very pleasant town that suprised me positively as i had not heard that much about the place before i visited.
But the town is full of pleasant parks and has several historical buildings and a lively little towncenter with good places to eat.
Kuala Kangsar is also the place where the malaysian rubber industry started when Henry Nicholas Ridley planted the first rubber tree in Malaysia in Kuala Kangsar after smuggeling the tree out of Brazil.
And since that Malaysia has been the main rubber producer in the world and that all started in Kuala Kangsar.

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For most people visiting Malaysia, usually they miss this awesome mountain top theme park- Resorts World Genting Highlands- Even on a tight Schedule, you can visit this awesome Genting Highlands just for a day even just half of the day because it's just 51 km from KL
It is situated on a mountain peak. It is sometimes known to be called the “Las Vegas” of Malaysia.

You can get there by bus, book inside the KL Sentral Train Station operated by Go Genting Express Bus. It’s an hour ride at the foot of the mountain. Usually costs at RM5 one way. Then transfer in a skyway cable car (11minute) to arrive in the summit and also costs RM5 one way. Getting there by bus is the cheapest than by an express taxi costing RM60-70.
You can also have other options like buying the Go Genting Golden Package.

The climate here usually drops below 14 degrees, so I would really recommend to bring a jacket with you.
Leave before 7pm, if you wish to return to KL by bus. Bus operation ends at 8pm. unfortunately, my friend and I arrived at the foot of the mountain around 9pm, no bus can be seen, so we have no choice but to take a taxi. Luckily we rode with some new found friends (Locals). We paid the driver RM25 each making it a total of RM100.

I am saying this is off the beaten path because you must drive across the Penang bridge to the mainland of Penang to reach it. Situated at Seberang Jaya on the mainland of Penang.
It has specially designed aviaries which houses some 200 species of birds from all over the world. The park is landscaped with beautifully designed gardens, plants and also a small man-made island. It covers an area of 2 hectare and is about 5 minutes drive from the Penang Bridge. We could have spent much more time there than we did but the taxi driver was waiting for us.

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I hate to tell to many people about this great little island off the shore of Kota Kinabalu.
It is a 30 min ferry ride and you will think you are in another world. As soon as you see the over the water bungalows you will fall in love with the place. The water is so clear that you don't have to get wet to see the fish. You walk around from place to place on the boardwalk built on stilts. There is a nice pool if you want to go swimming scan the sea urchins. A marine ecology research center is there for you to enjoy. You can go out in the canoes, swing in a hammock, sit at the bar, watch the monkeys, or do nothing at all..This was for sure a favorite place for me.