Malaysia

It's easy to see why the colonialist ruler Raja Brooke chose this spot for his capital. Hugging the curves of the languid Sungai Sarawak, Kuching was an ideal trading post between other Asian sea ports and Borneo's interior. It's still a gateway to both jungle and sea, and Kuching’s proximity to national parks makes it the ideal base for day trips to wild coastal and rainforest destinations.

Sabah occupies a relatively small chunk of the world’s third-largest island, Borneo, yet what a punch it packs: the treasure of turquoise-fringed desert islands with coral reefs swarming with marine biodiversity; trekkers' paradise Mt Kinabalu reaching 13435ft (4095m) into the clouds; and jungles pulsing with a menagerie of bug-eyed tarsiers, gibbons, pythons, clouded leopards and huge crocs. Around 55% of Sabah is forest, and protected areas such as the Maliau Basin and the Danum Valley Conservation Area are more accessible than ever.

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 travellers’ purposes, there are essentially two facets to Kedah: the tropical island of Langkawi and its surrounding islets, and the rural, little-visited mainland, known as Malaysia’s ‘rice bowl’.

Colonial architecture stands side by side with rickety kedai kopi (coffee shops) in chameleonic Ipoh. The capital of Perak is flanked by towering white cliffs, some with magnificent cave temples pocketed in the limestone. Sliced into old and new towns by the Kinta River, Ipoh charms with its street art and street food – rather like a languid version of George Town.

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.

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.

In busy Kota Kinabalu (KK) you’ll soon notice the breathtaking fiery sunsets, blossoming arts-and-music scene and a rich culinary spectrum spanning street food to high-end dining. Alongside swanky new malls and expensive condos, old KK happily endures, through markets brimming with sea creatures and fresh produce, and busy fishers shuttling about the waterfront. This may be a city on the move with the 21st century, but its old-world charm and history are very much alive.

Whenever you enjoy a sunset off KK, the view tends to be improved by the five jungly humps of Manukan, Gaya, Sapi, Mamutik and Sulug islands. These swaths of sand, plus the reefs and cerulean waters in between them, make up Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park, covering a total area of just over 49 sq km (two-thirds of which is water). Only a short boat ride from KK, the islands are individually quite pretty, but in an effort to accommodate the ever-increasing tourist flow (especially large numbers of Chinese), barbecue stalls and restaurants now crowd the beaches. On weekends the islands can get very crowded, but on weekdays you can easily find some serenity. Snorkelling and diving are the islands' big draws.

If you linger in Lahad Datu, and hook up with Bike & Tours, you can learn to cook the Borneo way, dive and snorkel the local reef and shipwreck without the Semporna/Mabul crowds, or go mountain biking up and down Mt Silam for scenic views of Darvel Bay. It's a far cry from the first glance of this little coastal town, which appears to have a lively produce market, dry-goods market, sun-scorched buildings and very little else. Travelers who breeze through en route to Tabin Wildlife Park and Danum Valley, arriving on early morning flights from KK and spirited away immediately, are missing out. Lahad Datu's location, roughly halfway between Semporna and Sungai Kinabatangan, makes it an ideal place to fly into from KK if you're looking to commune both with sea creatures and orangutans.