Malaysia is ace! Many travellers often skip it when they visit south-east Asia and I have no idea why. The people are incredible, locals speak good English, it’s modern and more developed than neighbouring countries, but still affordable and it has beautiful landscapes and animals. 

The country is split largely into two. In the west, you have the Malay Peninsula, which is attached to the mainland of Asia and where the capital city, Kuala Lumpur (AKA ‘KL’), is located. In the east, large parts of northern Borneo are also Malaysian. There are cities in Malaysian Borneo; however, it is less densely populated than the Malay Peninsula. 

Malaysian Borneo isn’t widely travelled by backpackers and there isn’t much of a backpacker community there. I met a few couples, but there isn’t much of a solo traveller community, so you may find yourself spending a lot of time alone here. That being said, it is incredible, the wildlife is really cool and you can head upriver into the jungle, which is also really sweet to do. I have visited here; however, some people have told me that Sumatra, Indonesia, has some similarities for nature lovers and may offer more, but as I haven’t yet visited Sumatra, I cannot yet comment on that. There are also some chilled non-touristy cities like Sandakan. 

I highly recommend the Malay Peninsula for travellers as it has loads to offer. All of Malaysia is very developed but still cheap, it’s clean and has a lot of cars on the road, unlike other south-east asian nations which have lots of locals on scooters. English is widespread and you have great countryside and cities here. The locals are easy to bond with and it’s really safe. Also, the Malay Peninsula has a good backpacker community as people tend to travel in a linear fashion (typically heading north from Kuala Lumpur), which means that you will see the same faces and build longer-term bonds with people, which is nice rather than having 2 days together and then going off in separate directions as can often be the case when travelling. 

I also found the traveller demographic in Malaysia was different to many other, more touristy parts south-east Asia. Parts of Thailand and Indonesia, for example, attract an early twenties crowd, more of the “I’m just here to take a photo for my Instagram”-types. In Malaysia though, I didn’t find that and the age demographic was more mixed, making one of the best social sides of travelling I’ve come across. Travellers were social, outdoorsy and happy to get stuck in. The drinking and nightlife were great in places like Penang, but people still did other things without it being their whole personality. 

I am not much of a foody, but I must say the food in Malaysia was amazing and similar (in my opinion) to Indonesian cuisine. They have lots of tasty rice dishes that are affordable and healthy. 

You have modern high-rise cities like Kuala Lumpur (‘KL’), historic cities with cool artwork like Georgetown, Penang, tea plantations and hiking like in the Cameron Highlands and islands such as Langkawi and Sipadan for island life and diving. It’s safe, fun, and easy to get on with the locals. I also loved hitchhiking through the mountains with the locals, which was one of my highlights there. It’s a safe and enjoyable place and with sufficient tourists for company without being overrun with them like in Bali, etc. 

The Language
Malaysia has oil money and is developed. Being a former British colony, many people speak English and I heard lots of English on radio adverts etc., so it seems widely used in day-to-day life. Even in remote areas of Borneo, people spoke good English as well as Bahasa Malaysia, Malaysia’s national language. Also, the languages of Malaysia and Indonesia are very, very similar, so you can easily go from one to the other. 

Be aware that the national capital, Kuala Lumpur, is often referred to as ‘KL‘. A city in Malaysian Borneo called Kota Kinabalu is often called ‘KK‘. 

Economy and Safety
Malaysia benefits from oil money, being affluent. As I mentioned before, you will notice a change between Malaysia and other south-east asian countries (with the exception of Singapore) in that Malaysia is more developed: infrastructure is better, most people drive cars rather than scooters, as is the case elsewhere in the region and education is obviously good there. It’s super safe, I hitchhiked there with ease, being picked up in typically less than 3 minutes in rural areas and I even met a very petite girl who had hitchhiked the whole country with no issues. The people are open, friendly and just generally lovely. That being said, hitchhike at your own risk and go in a group to reduce risk. 

The only area of slight risk is off the eastern coast of Malaysian Borneo where, historically, pirates have operated at times. There are some great diving spots there, but it does carry more risk, so check the situation if you plan on going there. It’s a very small part of the country and the pirates are not Malaysian, from what I understand. 

Travel Ease
The Malay Peninsula is well-populated and transport is incredibly easy with buses available and taxis being affordable. Borneo however, is less touristy and has vast distances to cover, so it can be a bit more difficult to cover, so you may find yourself struggling to rent scooters in places or spending money on slightly expensive taxis for long distances (expansive meaning in the context of south-east Asia). That being said, I still had no issues with getting from A to B. 

The Beaches
You do get beaches, but frankly, I spent more time in the countryside and cities here as I was beached-out by this point in my travels. They are nice, though, especially in places like Georgetown and some of the islands.