Malaysia

Cosmopolitan capital Kuala Lumpur, scenic tropical islands and the jungles of Borneo combine to give Malaysia a great sense of variety, akin to multiple countries in one, populated by a blend of Malays, Chinese, Indians and indigenous groups.

Malaysia is a country of two halves. On one side of the South China Sea lies the Malay Peninsula, where most of the population lives. Here, the skyscrapers of Kuala Lumpur provide a striking contrast to the tea plantations of the cool Cameron Highlands, or the quiet beaches of the east coast and Perhentian Islands, on which leatherback turtles come to lay their eggs well away from the crowds. Some of the world’s best resorts can be found on the islands of Langkawi and Penang, while mercantile Malacca has many a reminder of its former trading heyday.

The other half of the country is on the northern part of the island of Borneo, where the states of Sabah and Sarawak are home to mighty Mount Kinabalu, not to mention some of the world’s oldest rainforest, greatest dive sites and rarest animals, including our red-haired cousins, the orangutans.