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The history of Malaysia is dominated by a succession of Portuguese, Dutch and
British colonists. which means that the country's major sights tend to be rather low-key and quaintly European. Instead, the real interest comes from contemporary Malaysia's remarkably heterogeneous population, half of whom are Malays(whose culture originated in Indonesian Sumatra), a third ethnic Chinese, a tenth Indians (from the subcontinent) and seven percent indienous tribal people. This dynamic mix gives great energy to the stuff of everyday life in Malaysia, with huge variety in everything from food to festivals, places of worship to dress.
An ideal destination for firs-time overlanders, Peninsular Malaysia has
good transport connections with neighbouring Thailand, Singapore and Sumatra, and a well-developed tourist infrastructure. English is widely spoken, local transport is efficient, and the standard of living is among the highest in
Southeast Asia. The peninsula's coast is graced with some of the most idyllic
white-sand beaches in the region and plenty of rewarding offshore reefs; inland, chunks of jungle are accessible to hikers via well-maintained national-park trails and animal hides.
Six hundred kilometres east across the South China Sea from the peninsula, the
East Malaysian states of Sarawakand Sabah offer a more adventurous - and
more expensive - experience. They share the huge, thickly forested island of
Borneo with Indonesia's Kalimantan province and the tiny sultanate of Brunei,
and are only accessible from Peninsular Malaysia by plane. Once there, travel into the interior is mainly by river, particularly if you want to visit the longhouses - traditional communal homes - of the tribal peoples, which usually stand in a remote jungle ciearing beside the riverbank. Staying in a longhouse is a highlight of trips to East Malaysia, as are jungle hikes. Most travellers to Sabah attempt a climb the fearsomely high Gunung Kinabalu.
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