Malaysia travel guide
Travel guides for Malaysia — what to see, what to eat, and how to get through immigration. Written and photographed on the ground.
- Morning at the Traditional Market Next to Johor KIP Mall, Mangoes 2kg for RM10
On the outskirts of Johor Bahru, Malaysia, on the way up toward Kulai, there's KIPMall. You walk in expecting an air-conditioned shopping center like a typical mall, but instead yo…
Johor · KIPMall - Kuala Lumpur Monkiara Seng Kee Chicken Rice (成記雞飯) — Weekend Lunch Incomplete Without Oil Rice
Whenever I have business near Monkiara Solaris on the weekend, my feet almost automatically head to this place. Chicken rice signs hang on every street corner in Kuala Lumpur, but…
Kuala Lumpur · Seng Kee Chicken Rice - A Morning at Kota Tinggi's Traditional Market — Mountains of Green Mango and RM3.50 Waffles
Kota Tinggi, Johor State, Malaysia. A town you reach driving east from Johor Bahru—one that appears in travel guides only for its waterfall. But this time, instead of the waterfall…
Kota Tinggi - Kuala Lumpur Petronas Twin Towers, From the Banyan Tree by Day to the KLCC Fountain at Night — A Full Day's Record
During my stay in Kuala Lumpur, I spent an entire day entirely within one block of KLCC (Kuala Lumpur City Centre). The Petronas Twin Towers are Malaysia's most iconic building, ma…
Kuala Lumpur · Petronas Twin Towers - Kuala Lumpur's Jalan Alor: Four Hours Sitting by a Red Tablecloth
Turn just one alley from Bukit Bintang and suddenly an entire street becomes a restaurant. It's Jalan Alor, the backpacker street in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I've visited this stree…
Kuala Lumpur · Kuala Lumpur Baptist Church - Melaka 'Mahkota Ais Kacang / Cendol' — One Bowl of Cendol in a Shop Without Air-Conditioning, That Was the Right Call
Driving toward the old town of Melaka, Malaysia, I hit a red light, and right next to me, on a corner shophouse, hung a red banner. RESTORAN MAHKOTA AIS KACANG / CENDOL, SINCE 1995…
Melaka - Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur — The 272 Steps Are Narrower Than Expected, and the Cave Is Grander Than Imagined
Head north from Kuala Lumpur toward Gombak in Malaysia, and you'll find a massive chunk of limestone standing alone, with a Hindu temple carved into its hollow interior. This is Ba…
Kuala Lumpur · Selayang Municipal Council - Village Park Restaurant at 7 AM — A Record of Beating the Nasi Lemak Queue at Damansara Utama
Not in Kuala Lumpur's downtown. More precisely, it's an alley in Petaling Jaya, Selangor state, west of KL—Damansara Utama (commonly called SS21). Village Park Restaurant, a name t…
Kuala Lumpur · Village Park Restaurant - Counting Twenty Dogs on a Lakeside Path at Dusk in Desa ParkCity, Kuala Lumpur
Head northwest out of downtown Kuala Lumpur and you'll come to a neighborhood called Desa ParkCity. It's not in the KL city center but a planned residential township tucked near Ke…
Kuala Lumpur · Desa Parkcity - Kuala Lumpur's Restoran 1919 — Three of Us Spent 60,000 Won in a Single-Story Yellow Building That Survived Beneath the Condominium Forest
Every time I come to KL, I get confused calculating meal prices. Restaurants along the Bukit Bintang tourist route charge 40–50 ringgit per dish as standard, but step just one bloc…
Kuala Lumpur · 1919 Restaurant - Rode a Roller Coaster Above the Clouds at 1,800m — Genting Highlands SkyWorld, 7am Departure Record
Drive up a mountain road for just over an hour from Kuala Lumpur, and there's an entire city sitting on top of a ridge. Genting Highlands in Pahang State, Malaysia. The outdoor the…
Genting Highlands · Genting SkyWorlds - A Half-Day on the Tan Kim Seng Bridge Over the Melaka River — I Walked Through the 'Little Venice' of a UNESCO Heritage City
Malaysia's Melaka old town is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Listed together with Penang's Georgetown as 'Historic Cities of the Strait of Malacca,' walking through it…
Melaka · Jambatan Tan Kim Seng