Malaysia is like two countries in one, cleaved in half by the South
China Sea. The multicultural peninsula flaunts Malay, Chinese and Indian
influences, while
Borneo
hosts a wild jungle of orang-utans, granite peaks and remote tribes.
Throughout these two regions is an impressive variety of microcosms
ranging from the space-age high-rises of
Kuala Lumpur to the smiling longhouse villages of
Sarawak.
Peninsular Malaysia is the long finger of land extending south from
Asia as if pointing towards Indonesia and Australia. Much of the
peninsula is covered by dense jungle, particularly its mountainous,
thinly populated northern half. On the western side of the peninsula
there is a long, fertile plain running down to the sea, while on the
eastern side the mountains descend more steeply and the coast is fringed
with sandy beaches. The other part of the country, comprising more than
50% of its area, is Malaysian Borneo – the northern part of the island
of Borneo (the larger, southern part is the Indonesian state of
Kalimantan). Malaysian Borneo is divided into the states of Sarawak and
Sabah, with
Brunei a small enclave between them. Both states are covered by dense jungle, with many large river systems, particularly in
Sarawak.
Mt Kinabalu (4101m) in
Sabah is Malaysia’s highest mountain.
And then there’s the food. Malaysia (particularly along the
peninsular west coast) has one of the best assortments of cuisines in
the world. Start with Chinese-Malay ‘Nonya’ fare, move on to Indian
curries, Chinese buffets, Malay food stalls and even impressive Western
food. Yet despite all the pockets of ethnicities, religions, landscapes
and the sometimes-great distances between them, the beauty of Malaysia
lies in the fusion of it all, into a country that is one of the safest,
most stable and manageable in Southeast Asia.
