Malaysia

You don't have to look too hard to find traces of old KL in Chinatown's shophouse-lined streets, which border the confluence of the Klang and Gombak rivers. This is where the city was born, reached its teenage years with the development of Chinatown and celebrated its late 20s with the establishment of the British colonial ensemble around Merdeka Square. The Malay fort that once topped the jungle-clad hill Bukit Nanas has long gone, replaced by one of the city's most recognisable landmarks, the Menara KL telecommunications tower.

You wouldn't know it from the sunburnt buildings, fishing boats on the bay and slow tropical pace, but Kudat used to be an important trading post and the capital of Borneo back in the late 19th century. Some of the streets have Chinese names, harking back to the British colonial administration's request to the Chinese to come and run its coconut plantations. Many of their descendants are still here today, along with a warm cast of Bajau, Rungus and Filipino.

Located besides the Celebes Sea, near to the Semporna Archipelago, Sabah's third city Tawau features some of the state's best seafood and is a more pleasant overnight alternative than Semporna. Bombed by the British colonialists in 1944 to force out the invading Japanese army, much of its historical architecture is gone, but beauty is not far away. Tawau is the gateway to the awesome Tawau Hills Park, the launch pad for spotting pygmy elephants on a private plantation. It's also the starting point for one of the most scenic long-distance drives in Sabah.

Cave temples, drowned forests, a town famous for bean sprouts – Perak's highlights are a motley group. This rugged swathe of Peninsular Malaysia is as rewarding for trekkers as gastronomes. Perak (literally 'silver', a nod to its tin-mining boom times) receives only a modest stream of international travellers, but to Malaysians, its attractions are totemic: white coffee, colonial-era architecture, limestone bluffs.

A visit to the world's most famous place to see orangutans in their natural habitat is all the more compelling thanks to the outdoor nursery for orangutan youngsters in the same complex, and the nearby Sun Bear Conservation Centre and Rainforest Discovery Centre. In addition, the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary is only a short drive away.

Lyxbungalows på pålar är ju inte direkt förknippat med budgetresande. Men det finns hopp även för den som har en skral reskassa. I Malaysia kan man nämligen checka in i en villa på vattnet för 97 dollar per natt, eller cirka 815 kronor.

Miri, Sarawak's second city, is a thriving town that is vibrant and modern. Thanks to the offshore oil, there are plenty of service industries and money sloshing around, so the eating is good, the broad avenues are brightly lit, and there’s plenty to do when it’s raining.

Sarawak makes access to Borneo’s natural wonders and cultural riches a breeze. From Kuching, the island’s most dynamic city, pristine rainforests – where you can spot orangutans, proboscis monkeys, crocodiles and the world’s largest flower, the rafflesia – can be visited on day trips, with time in the evening for a tasty meal and a drink by the waterfront. More adventurous travelers can take a ‘flying coffin’ riverboat up the 'Amazon of Borneo', the Batang Rejang, on their way east to hike from longhouse to longhouse in the cool environs of the Kelabit Highlands, or to the spectacular bat caves and extraordinary rock formations of Gunung Mulu National Park. For the best chance of seeing an orangutan in the wild, venture to the Batang Ai region.

På ön Penang utanför Malaysias västkust pågår bygget av världens längsta vattenrutschbana för fullt. Den kommer att bli hela 1 140 meter lång. Om du känner dig sugen på ett åk får du bege dig till Escape Theme Park när vattenrutschbanan öppnar i augusti.

For many visitors, a journey to Peninsular Malaysia's largest state begins and ends on the enchanted isle of Tioman. Between its exhilarating diving, brilliant beaches, vegetation-choked jungle treks and spirited villages, its tropical-island allure is impossible to resist.