Between the pavement cracks of corporate, cosmopolitan Kuala Lumpur, the jungle slithers and slides. The capital that boasts the tallest building in the world, the Petronas Tower, was, just over a century ago, a shanty town of prospectors' huts on a muddy riverbank.
Humid evenings in the city should be spent in the night markets of Chinatown and Little India, sampling spicy coconut prawn curries, Singaporean fried noodles and the ubiquitous Malaysian satay.
Divided the South China Sea, the 13 Malay states make up a patchwork of landscapes, most of which are still covered in native forest. To the north rise the Cameron Highlands, the colonial hill station where Tudor-style cottages sit against a backdrop of beautifully groomed tea plantations. Northeast is Taman Negara National Park, 2,500 sq miles of pristine jungle, which is still home to the orang asli, Malaysia's aboriginals.
Sabah and Sarawak, on the island of Borneo, are less developed and offer some adventurous jungle trekking, caving and scuba diving. And the effort it takes to get to Perhentian Kecil, the 'little' Perhentian island off the northeast coast of the peninsula is redeemed by isolated desert-island coves, your own log cabin, and sensational corals and tropical fish. Bring a mask and snorkel.
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