This article is written by Shivya Nath. Shivya is an India-based writer who loves to seek out offbeat travel destinations that few have been to and fewer have written about.

For the almost half a dozen years that I lived in Southeast Asia, Malaysia was one of those next door neighbors that provided respite with its pristine blue waters, forest-covered expanses and inviting mountain peaks, all under the same roof, and more importantly, all under the same visa.

I came to love it as a country that has everything a traveler could want, sans vegetarian food perhaps. Here is a collection of three unique experiences spanning beaches, mountains and forests, that you probably can’t find anywhere in the region other than Malaysia:

1. MOUNT KINABALU: Climbing the world’s 20th highest mountain.

An outdoor treat for adventure lovers, Mount Kinabalu in Borneo is an amateur climb with gorgeous landscapes,  that peaks in a breathtaking sunrise. The first half of the climb takes you through high-cut steps, with the surroundings gradually transforming from tall trees to small shrubs, and typically takes 5-6 hours.

The more grueling second half starts at 2 am in the morning, when you set out on bare, sometimes vertical rocks, a torch fixed on your forehead to light the way, and ropes clutched in both your hands. You only know you’re heading up, oblivious of the straight fall below, because there’s no way turn your torch around.

At sunrise, you reach the Low Peak, 4, 095 meters, and feel like you own the world. You never forget the first rays of the sun that promise to keep you warm.

And if you’re a beginner at climbing, you never forget the adventure that is descending the vertical slopes, either. An overnight stay at Laban Rata to break the climb is compulsory, as is hiring a guide.

2. TAMAN NEGARA: Exploring the world’s oldest tropical rainforest.

If you’re game to get your hands (and feet) dirty, the jungles of Taman Negara National Park will charm you with their ancient canopies and unique biodiversity. You can seat yourself in a quiet corner of the jungle and fascinate yourself with hours of birdwatching. Or you can set out deep into the wilderness, where no one can promise what (who) you might find.

The limestone caves of Taman Negara aren’t for the faint-hearted. You could be a dodging a giant insect or caressing a bat on the roof of the cave, with only the dark protecting you. The Orang Asli tribes that live in the jungles of Taman Negara may not be easy to interact with directly, for more reason than the lack of a common language, but their nomadic settlements might inspire your wanderlust.

3. Pulau Perhentian: Snorkeling with sharks.

The more popularly known Malaysian beaches of Pulau Tioman & Pulau Redang might have waters almost as azure and underwater life almost as beautiful as Pulau Perhentian, but neither of the two offer you the chance to snorkel alongside black-tip sharks or smoke shisha on the beach on a night lit only by the moon and the stars, with the waters receding into low tide.

Your boatman will tell you that the sharks are not man-eaters, not until they’ve tasted human blood. You’ll believe him, cross your fingers that no human blood seeped into their territory while the boatmen were gone, put on your snorkeling mask, and begin your chase. You’ll feel your hair stand in the water when you catch your first glimpse, and be glad you survived to tell the tale.

Shivya Nath

29 Oct 2011

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This article is written by Mukul Sagar

We, a group of three families, decided to visit Malaysia that has something for everyone, beautiful beaches and theme parks, and is also a shopper’s paradise. The moment our flight landed in Langkawi, the fun began. It was drizzling and the weather was perfect. On our way to the hotel, we were surprised to see absolutely clean roads. We were instantly in love with the beautiful beach city.

Langkawi Island, Malaysia

Langkawi is an old place that literally means The Red Eagle. We visited the famous emporium and proceeded to the water world. It had hundreds of species of fish and birds. All the children had great time getting clicked with the penguins. Thereafter, we visited the Eagle Square. It is a lovely place with a huge red eagle facing the sea. We also enjoyed various water sports such as parasailing and jet skiing.

The next day, we went to the bird sanctuary. It was a wonderful experience to see such a variety of birds. We even got clicked with birds perching on our shoulders. Thereafter, we went to the crocodile farm. It was a very unique concept and we were amazed at the bravery of the keepers who weren’t afraid to put their hands into a crocodile’s mouth, at the crocodile show. On our last day at Langkawi, we saw the famous skywalk, made even more famous in the movie, Don 2. It is a great place at a height of 752 metres above sea level. The trolley covered this distance quickly and it was simply awesome to be amidst the clouds and see the beautiful beaches and the sea from this height.

Sunway lagoon, Kuala Lumpur

In Kuala Lumpur, we visited the Sunway lagoon, famous for various themes parks and rides. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at the big water park, especially the rollercoaster ride. We also visited the famous Petronas twin towers and went up to the midway structure. The experience is humbling, to say the least. At such a great height, everything below looks small and we marvelled at the giant structure built by man. In the evening, we shopped at big malls. China Town market is also a great place to shop as it is not very expensive and one can get good quality stuff.

Next day, we went to Genting Highlands theme park. The drive was great. It seemed that the clouds were rushing to meet us and we gently inhaled the fresh air of the mountains.At the theme park, the children took part in many activities and enjoyed the rides. We were slightly disappointed, as we could not do the outdoor rides due to inclement weather.

The Genting Highlands theme park

On the last day of our trip, we did some local sightseeing and visited the Chinese temple, the palace, city tower and other famous places. This was a beautiful trip and will remain etched in our mind for a long time.

Mukul Sagar

2 Dec 2010

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Average Rating: 4.8 out of 5 based on 164 user reviews.

This article is written by Meenakshi Bhalla, a Businesswoman  and a travel writer, based in Mumbai, India

Sepang International F1 Circuit, Malaysia

Putting aside the glamour that is associated with F1 being the richest sport in the world, Formula One exposes itself to be the embodiment of all things that define a competitive sport at the very limits of Man’s capabilities. Whether it’s the painstakingly disciplined level of fitness the 22 drivers have to maintain, or the commitment of 100’s of people who labour all year round to design, build and maintain a set of monstrously fast cars that represent the absolute cutting edge of technology – it all comes together to form a spectacular season of ultimate sport.

Force India at Sepang 2011

This was my 3rd Live race. And a tad disappointing too. The Sepang stadium was not fully packed, the weather gods threatened rain but nothing beyond a few drops of drizzle, and most importantly a race not like many F1 races I have seen before!
So many pit stops for tyre changes?!? Baffling!

Felipe Massa at a pitstop at the 2011 Sepang F1

There were lots of individual battles, some surprises but overall disappointment for me. Two happy moments I took away from Sundays race was Felipe’s brilliantly fought lead at T4, T5 finally giving way to Webber at T6. More often than not Felipe loses his rightful spot in the sun because Alonso is the favored child of Ferrari. More aggressive, more steely, more competitive!

And the other moment – the fierce battle between Alonso and Hamilton. Actually any head to head becomes delicious because of the much acclaimed public warring of the past, between these two. Credit to Lewis who kept his lead. Alonso was all over Lewis’s backside, finally Alonso’s front wing touched Lewis’s back tyres, knocking off the front fender from Alonso;s car which forced him to pit, thereby losing a could-be podium… 🙁

I was so so disappointed with Ferrari’s performance – no Prancing Horse once again on the podium 🙁 !! Since I can remember I have been a fan of the Ferrari, I thrilled and loved the races till 2009 when Ferrari dominated every circuit in the season, with a vice like grip, unshakeable was its dominance! But since 2009 ( Schumi’s retirement) the races have fast started losing its charm for me, I don’t see Ferrari cars making it often to the podium!

Ok – back to Sepang, yet another horrific moment is etched in the memory. When I saw Vitaly drive off the circuit into the gravel with the steering wheel full of buttons and controls that had come off in his hands!! Imagine his feelings coming to rest alongside a signage showing ‘150 meters’ to the next turn; bitter and ironical.

The good news (or bad?) from the Malaysian government communique is that, they are yet to decide whether to keep hosting the annual Grand Prix’s at Sepang beyond 2015. PM Najib said he was happy with Sunday’s bigger crowd than usual – more than 100, 000 – and sounded optimistic about the future. So we will know, in time I guess…

‘Overall’: what makes these races special – besides the fact that it is such a specialized sport ( don’t be mistaken – this isn’t a motor sport where cars simply go round and round in a circuit) – F1 makes the most of every competitive factor; from the characteristics of a track designed to challenge drivers’ and cars’ technical capacity and endurance, to the outwitting of rivals in race strategy or wheel-to-wheel in overtaking.

Also the fact that this sport is hugely (perhaps the only one) which is truly international, in every definition of the word “international”!! Drivers, work with engineers and technicians from varying cultural backgrounds. Life is dependent on language, trust and respect. And they all seem to thrive on it:) Now only if our daily world could learn from this – we as a globe would live more peacefully and harmoniously with each other.

The Buddh International F1 Circuit, Noida, India

Here is wishing Ferrari better luck in Shanghai, hope to see a spectacular Live race in Noida Delhi in Oct 2011 of the GP, this season!

Meenakshi Bhalla

2011

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Average Rating: 4.4 out of 5 based on 169 user reviews.

This article is written by Tania Roy Chowdhury

My heart was full of joy when my husband Tanmoy told me that our package tour had been finalised. We were 40 members and our vacation was planned from May 10 to 24.

During the pre-trip preparation, for passport verification etc the authority had taken fingerprints of my three-year old daughter Pori on the relevant papers.

My daughter was surprised with this and used a nail polish remover to remove the finger spot. Seeing her innocence we all had a good laugh.

Our tour programme was divided into three days at Thailand, four days at Malaysia, four days at Singapore and one day at Port Blair on the way back to India. I want to share some colourful memories of the holiday from my diary.

Pattaya Coastline

On May 10, from Delhi our journey began for Bangkok- Pattaya. From Bangkok airport a luxury coach took us to Pattaya.

At Pattaya, Non Chung village, dolphin lagoon and elephant mela were the main attractions and children enjoyed thoroughly. Decorated elephants played football, drew, took banana from the kids and made a bow.

The dolphin lagoon was also a funny circus for the kids.

We also visited Corolla Island, a tourist spot. We enjoyed the famous Thai body massage, which is done in a scientific manner.

The KL twin tower, Malaysia

In Malaysia, we visited the KL twin tower, which is 250 ft high. The KL city was like a dreamland. In the evening we went to the shopping mall and bought many gifts and mementos including a typical Malaysian umbrella.

In Singapore, Universal Studio under the sea was a remarkable spot.

The historic Cellular Jail, Port Blair

On our way back we arrived at Port Blair and saw the historic Cellular Jail.

We enjoyed a lot everywhere because we had good hotel accommodations and everything was well planned by our tour operator. We came back with memories to cherish.

Tania Roy Chowdhury

18 Oct 2010

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Average Rating: 4.7 out of 5 based on 165 user reviews.

This article is written by Mukesh Gupta

We are very fond of holidaying like any other Indian family. Last year in April, we planned a visit to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. It was our first overseas trip and we were very excited. As my son Nitesh was pursuing his MBA programme in Singapore, he gave me a lot of feedback on Singapore. We were received by our son in Singapore at the airport.

We had with us the complete itinerary with all air and hotel bookings. As the taxi headed towards our hotel on the Orchard Road, we were stunned to see the neat and clean roads. There was no littering anywhere. Traffic chaos was missing and I was told that one should blow the horn only in an emergency. Honking otherwise is considered a crime in the city.

After taking rest, we visited Orchard Road and were taken in by its beauty. We also went to Sentosa Island and enjoyed a night safari in a well known park. We enjoyed Indian food at a place called mini India. Another high point of the trip was visit to the Mustafa Mall. Singapore sets high standards of discipline.

Kuala Lumpur was our next destination. We had seen Petronas Towers in movies but watching it in reality was a dream come true.

We also visited the Genting Highlands, it has Asia’s longest ropeway and traveling by the cable car was an amazing experience.

Thereafter, we headed for Bangkok. At Pattaya beach we enjoyed water sports. It was a thrilling 10-day holiday filled with fun and adventure.

Mukesh Gupta

2 Aug 2011

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Average Rating: 4.6 out of 5 based on 198 user reviews.

The writer of this article Sandeep Gupta is a Delhi based professional writer who specializes in writing about luxury, budget travel, destination overview, travel tips

Medical tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world. Thousands of people are traveling to various medical tourism destinations for the cheap treatment. Here are the top 5 medical tourism destinations in world.

India – In last decade or so, India has become best bet as the medical tourism destination. India is providing high quality treatment at very low cost to the tourists. Indian doctors and hospitals are among the best in the world, yet affordable for the travelers. India specialized treatment in vascular surgery, cardio surgery, dental care, organ transplant surgery. India claims to provide world class treatment for at 70 per cent less cost comparing to United States and England.

Panama – Medical tourism in Panama saves around 50 per cent in treatment comparing to United States. Although the cost in higher comparing to India and other Asian countries. US tourists prefers Panama because of quick access and plenty of budget flights from major US cities. Of course the treatment in Panama is also world class as several doctors are trained in United States. Tourists should consider Panama for open-heart surgery, knee and hip transplants, bone marrow etc.

Brazil – Medical tourism in Brazil is made popular for cosmetic surgeries. Thousands of tourists especially women, travel to Brazil to enhance their physical appearance. Brazil has some highly qualified surgeons and the hospitals are equipped with all the latest technology. This is the reason why more than 500, 000 medical tourists visits Brazil every year.

Malaysia – Because of advance medical service, tourists coming for treatment has reached a million mark for Malaysia. The treatment in Malaysia is cheaper than most of the popular medical tourism destinations. Yet the quality of treatment is quite high. The cardiac bypass surgery that usually costs around $10, 000 in USA, costs only $6000 in Malaysia.

Costa Rica – Medical tourism in Costa Rica is very much affordable. In most cases you would not have to wait for the treatment in Costa Rica. Cosmetic and plastic surgery is the specialty of Costa Rica. A surgery for Tummy Tuck will only cost 30 per cent comparing to United States. This is the reason why North American tourists prefers Costa Rica.

Average Rating: 4.9 out of 5 based on 294 user reviews.