Largest island of Malaysias east coast. It’s located 32km off the coast and is some 20km long and 12km wide and the highest peak is Gunung Kajang with 1038m. In the 70ies TIME magazine selected Tioman as one the world’s most beautiful islands but lost some flair in recent years due to do development. The island has eight main villages, many beaches and is densely forested and is surrounded by numerous coral reefs, making it a scuba diving haven.

The Perhentian Islands (Pulau Perhentian in Bahasa Malaysia) lie approximately 10 nautical miles (19 km) offshore the coast of northeastern Malaysia in the state of Terengganu, approximately 40 miles (64 km) south of the Thai border. The two main islands are Perhentian Besar ("Big Perhentian") and Perhentian Kecil ("Small Perhentian"). Popular for it’s beaches, snorkeling and driving. Like a real postcard.

Article about the charms of the jungle train and the on-going deforestation around it.

Story about ancient Malay building principles, the ancient art of Malay geomancy, a parallel to Chinese feng shui and Indian vasthu sastra. 

Malaysia had it’s 12th general election on march 8, 2008 and it turned into a political tsunami with a strong opposition. This article sums in up nicely.

Feature Article on the Lonely Planet website about five KL must-eats to get you started: Roti in Brickfields, Noodles in Chow Kit, Malay food in Kampung Baru, Kuih (generic word for cakes and pastries) in Bangsar and Coffee at a Kopitiam (traditionally Chinese owned coffee shop) on Heritage Row

If you travel to learn about the world, there’s no better way to do this than by sharing accommodation in a hostel full of international wanderers. An article about hostelling in general and the situation in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia is becoming a major attraction for health care tourists due to it’s reasonable prices and state-of-the-art equipment.

Philip Bowring of the “International Herald Tribune” reflects about the country on it’s 50th (or 44th, read the article) anniversary, it’s rapid growth from rural to modern industrialized country. The peaceful situation but also the political and racial problems Malaysia is facing today.

A cicak story about 2 urban chinese guys deciding to head down to Bukit Binang (Kuala Lumpur) in the middle of the night to play their guitars. Unexpectedly they make friends with a group of guys from Sabah. A fresh story about a night in downtown KL and music as a common language.

Malaysia truly features a melting pot of cultures with multi-ethnic traditions and culinary diversity. In line with Visit Malaysia 2007, film director Michael Chick has produced a TV series that focuses on the country’s rich heritage, culture and nature.  Chick was inspired to produce the independent series after hearing complaints from tourists about how fake some Malaysian tourism advertisements looked.

BBC article by Jonathan Kent about a new climate in Malaysia after the stepping down of Mahathir Mohamad with funny and interesting observations of malaysian daily life.
Quote:
“They look impressed. “What about durian?” Durian is a fruit the taste of which has been described as like eating cheese off a dead body.
“Aiyoh,” I say “durian cannot,” and screw up my face.
At this point everyone will laugh. “