THE HIDDEN

Sipadan is a very small island not far from the town of Semporna on the East coast of Sabah. Sipadan is an oceanic island and was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct undersea volcano which rises 600m from the seabed. The boat ride from Semporna takes around an hour. Like many tropical islands, it is thicky forested and surrounded by sandy beaches. The geographic position of Sipadan puts it in the center of the richest marine habitat in the world and the heart of the Indo-Pacific basin. More that 3000 species of fish and hundreds of coral species have been classified in this richest of ecosystems. Sipadan is well known for its unusually large numbers of green and hawksbill turtles which gather there to mate and nest and its is not unusual for a diver to see more then 20 turtles on each dive. Another unique feature to divers visiting Sipadan is the turtle tomb, an underwater limestone cave a labyrinth of tunnels and chambers that contain many skeletal remains of turtles...

Introducing Taman Negara View Larger Map Covering 4343 sq km and at twice the size of Luxembourg, Peninsular Malaysia’s greatest national park sprawls in a huge, verdant swathe across the states of Pahang, Kelantan and Terengganu. Everything about Taman Negara is big: the trees are dwarfing, the forest impenetrably huge, the timescale dauntingly massive (the jungle is 130 million years old) and ants and fellow creepy crawlies are simply outsize. Most visitors penetrate Taman Negara in Pahang. It is billed, perhaps wrongly, as a wildlife park. Certainly this magnificent, lush region is a haven for endangered species such as the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), tigers, leopards and rhinos, but numbers are low and sightings are rare. It’s unlikely that you will see anything more exotic than snakes (dog-toothed cat snakes, reticulated pythons, temple pit vipers and red-headed kraits all live here), lizards, monkeys, small deer, and perhaps tapir. Birdlife is prolific, however, and you wil...

Night market (Pasar Malam): The Happening Spot for Tourist Familes Now, you'll most likely hear about this place from your friendly hotel conceirge after you ask for a recommendation for a nice place to eat. He'll probably tell you about this famous place, near the beach where you can sample some of Penang's best delights. Of course, what he won't tell you is that locals shun this place since the food here is pricey and touristy. And, the locals are right. But still, that doesn't stop the tourists ( especially the families ) from flocking here. Despite the higher than average price, the so-so quality of the food and the suckey parking, people still come here by the droves. If you have to know, hubby and I were here too, without Penang pal's knowledge of course! The only thing that we liked about this place was the BBQ fish ( there is one joint in this place ) and the fantastic green mango rojak with the crisp croutons of yew char kway ( fried dough sticks). Pena...

It would be an impossible task to describe every one of Malaysia's thousands of beautiful beaches. Ranging from the powdery stretches of sand that characterize the eastern coastline of Peninsular Malaysia to the black sand beach of Pantai Pasir Hitam and the smooth pebble beach of Pantai Batu Kerikil, Malaysia's shores offer more idyllic locales than one could explore in many lifetimes. In addition to the plenitude of beaches along the the peninsula and the coast of Eastern Malaysia, the country also possesses over a hundred tropical islands. Many of these are so beautiful as to have entered into legend centuries ago, like the islands of Langkawi remain desert isles, marked , or Pulau Tioman. Others only by the imprint of the South China Sea on their sands. Despite such abundance and variety, Malaysia's beaches are noticeably different from those in other parts of the world. They are often less differentiated from the shoreline than those of the Caribbean, for example, tend...

Laketown, at the Bukit Merah Interchange along the North-South Highway. All that you need for a refreshing stay can be found at the resort - the Bukit Merah Laketown Inn, Bukit Merah Laketown Marina Village, and Bukit Merah Laketown Waterpark. Surrounded by lush tropical greenery and natural lake, the resort makes a suitable getaway for the whole family. The Bukit Merah Laketown Marina Village is a tourist festival shopping village where you can find a wide variety of shops offering items such as crafts, swim wear and suntan lotions. Its restaurant Cafe Le Lac offers local and international cuisine's while its bakery offers a variety of pastries and cakes. Its four function rooms are available for seminars, exhibitions and events such as wedding dinners or annual get-togethers. For family entertainment, visitors can head towards kids amusement rides and also interactive fountain. The Bukit Merah Laketown Waterpark comprises 8 water attractions, among them a Giant Wave Pool with sim...