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Things you must know before visiting Malaysia
There really are some things that are REALLY handy to know about a country and culture before you get there. Things you must know before visiting Malaysia wil get you started.
Malaysia is a dreamy place to travel for anyone who loves food, adventure and nature. Things are pretty cheap and the people are super friendly. This blog is your starting point to help you plan and get to grips with this AMAZING country. Instant Insights are mostly about the culture and people and Fast Facts are essential practical information to help you with your planning. Information plan independent backpacking Malaysia tour
If you are planning a trip to Malaysia make sure you also check out our FULL TRAVEL GUIDE>>> and our TOP 10 things to do in Malaysia>>>
Instant Insight
Insights and hints to help you get to grips with the awesome uniqueness of Malaysia. Information plan independent backpacking Malaysia tour
Things you must know before visiting Malaysia
Malaysia is diverse
Malaysia is home to many ethnic groups each with their own beautiful cultures. Broadly speaking there are Chinese, Indians and Malays. Make sure you take time to get to know people from these different cultures and make sure to try their food!
Things you must know before visiting Malaysia
The food is JUST incredible!
Malaysia really does have some of the best food that I have found anywhere in the world. The variety, quality and uniqueness of Malaysian food is unrivalled. Make sure you try as much food as you can, and if your itinerary allows, take a visit to Penang. For more inspiration see GETTING FAT IN PENANG>>>
Things you must know before visiting Malaysia
You are so welcome!
Malaysians love to welcome foreigners to their country. You really are most welcome in Malaysia. This amazing family took us, spent time with us and gave us dinner after picking us up hitch hiking across the country.
Malaysia is multilingual
Most Malaysians speak 2 or more languages. They even mix up languages in a single sentence. The National language is Bahansa Malaysian. The common language is English. Almost everyone in Malaysia speaks English- and most people speak English very well.
Information plan independent backpacking Malaysia tour
Food options depend on the time
There are morning foods, lunch foods and dinner foods. There are other outlets that seem to be open 24-7. In general Nasi Kandar (Indian Muslim food) tends to be available all hours including late into the night. Roti (Indian bread) is a morning food. Nasi champur (Malay mixed rice) is a lunchtime food. Many places have Hakwers open in the evenings which serve all manner of tasty food.
Information plan independent backpacking Malaysia tour
Shake and take with your right hand
Many malaysian toilets are squat and drop. They also lack toilet paper. This means that people have to wash their bums after going to the loo… Nice. Malaysia is a right handed culture for everything except bum washing. Therefore if you shake anyone’s hand, take anything or give anything you should do it using your right hand. Not only is this more hygenic, it is also a sign of respect in the Malaysian culture.
Information plan independent backpacking Malaysia tour
Yes no or maybe…
Many of the Indians use the side to side head wobble as a sign of acceptance and trust. However, it can be confusing if you haven’t seen the head wobble before. It may look somewhere between shaking their head to say “No” and nodding their head to say “Yes”.
Information plan independent backpacking Malaysia tour
Watch out for the stinky fruit
If you get a waft of a thick pungent malevolent odour you are probably close to the famous King of the Fruits! The Durian. This is something EVERYONE must try at least once in their lifetime. The yellow creamy flesh has a strong taste which is truly unique and like nothing else you have ever eaten. After around 5 times of force feeding myself durian I began to like it. Now I can’t get enough of this bizarre stinky fruit.
Information plan independent backpacking Malaysia tour
Always a parade or festival
Public holidays, ceremonies and celebrations seem to be a daily occurrence in Malaysia. All of the various cultures have their own festivals and Malaysia recognises them as public holidays. This makes Malaysia amazingly fun to travel. If you get stuck in a parade enjoy it and soak up the atmosphere.
Information plan independent backpacking Malaysia tour
Cutlery is optional
Most food outlets do provide cutlery, often a spoon and fork. Some places may give chopsticks. Occasionally there will not be any cutlery at all. Malays traditionally eat with their right hand. The food is typically broken into pieces with the right hand and then scooped up and eaten. It can look pretty messy, but it is a pretty efficient way of eating.
Lots of places are free or nice and cheap!
National parks, waterfalls, hills and other sites of interest are normally very cheap or free.
Cheap accommodation can be tricky to find
It’s definitely there, it’s just tricky to find in some places and often booked up in popular places. Even if you don’t book you can use Agoda to check out the areas you are most likely to find it in. We’ve made a list of the most likely places you will visit with a link to accomadtion, sometimes it is nice to just get somewhere booked and know its done….
Book your bed in Kuala Lumpur HERE (See the Petrona Twin Towers )
Book your bed in Penang HERE (See the George Town and Turtle Beach)
Book your bed in Langkawi HERE (Swim, snorkel and explore the Island)
Book your bed in The Perhentian Islands HERE (To learn to dive and snorkel)
Book your bed in Taman Negara HERE (See the worlds oldest rainforest)
Book your bed in The Cameron Highlands HERE (See Tea plantations and the strawberry farm)
Book your bed in Kinabalu HERE (To climb Mount Kinabalu)
Fast Facts
Staying Safe: Up to date information on travel safety can be found on the UK FCO website. Go to the FCO pages on Malaysia >>> Before you travel don’t forget to get advice from a doctor on health issues and vaccinations.
Staying Connected: Call, 3G and 4G SIM cards are widely available and are reliable. Wifi is widespread and pretty fast. There are some internet cafes around but they are becoming more rare.
Staying Charged: Malaysia uses the British-style three pin rectangular plugs (type G) 240V 50Hz A.C.
Staying Clean: If you are travelling to rural villages you need to carry toilet paper with you it is mostly squat and drop toilets. Rural accommodation can be a scoop and pour system but most guesthouses have warm showers.
Staying Healthy: Local tap water is not potable, but bottled is widespread and cheap. If your stomach is reasonably Asia proof you can eat pretty much anything, just apply common sense. Food is generally healthy and fruit is widely available.
Staying Classy: The Bahasa-Malay people have a strong Muslim culture and dress conservatively. The mix of ethnicities mean that people are generally fine with foreigners and non-malays dressing for the hot, humid climate. It’s fine to wear shorts and vest tops in the bigger cities and hiking in the countryside.
If you feel happier with a full guide, Rough Guide are pretty good. I always think you don’t want more than a ‘rough guide’ as it is about making it your own adventure! They have a pretty cheap kindle copy as well as the actual book.
2 Responses
Jools
I love the fact you instruct us to ‘eat as much food as you can’ your passion for culture and food shine. And thanks for heads up on the ‘drop and squat’. LOVE these pages.
Globemad Emma
haha!!! Yeah, thats an important heads up in Malaysia 😉 So happy you’re loving the pages to, we’re loving you reading them 😉