Travel Diary - Malaysia & Thailand, Part 1

 Two girls, two backpacks, two countries: exactly one year ago, march 2015, my sister and me packed our bags to leave for a very special trip. Our desination? Maylasia and Thailand. It was my very first time traveling to beautiful Asia and it has been truely amazing and exciting.

Strolling through the pictures made me remember our great vacation and sharing our travel route, accommodations and tips with you.

Enjoy!

1. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

To start our trip, we stayed one night in Kuala Lumpur (Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur)

Highlight:  

Nobu Restaurant, next to the Patronas Towers: best Japanese food we ever had! 

Petronas Towers

Grand Hyatt KL

Outside Nobu Restaurant

Nobu Kuala Lumpur

2. Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

From KL we took the bus to Tanah Rata, the biggest town in the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia's largest hill station area.

Where we stayed: Father's Guest House - very simple but very nice hostel (you have to take off your shoes before entering - we loved that.)

Highlights: 

Huge tea plantations, the Mossy Forest, strawberry farms and hiking trails

Tea plantages Cameron Highlands

Mossy Forest

3. Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia

From Cameron Highlands we traveled to Georgetown, the capital city of Island Penang (Pulau Penang)

Highlight: 

Something that really impressed me: You find different religious buildings like Mosques, Churches, Chinese and Hindu Temples built closed to each other, often the distance is less than 100 feet. Communities from various religions and ethnic backgrounds are able to live together in harmony, with the freedom to carry out daily activities as well as practising their respective religions.

Kapitan Keling Mosque

Penang Hill (830 m) & Kek Lok Si Tempel

Kek Lok Si Tempel

Kek Lok Si Tempel

Kek Lok Si Tempel

Kek Lok Si Tempel

Nightmarket

 

4. Pulau Lankawi 

Next stop: Thailand

From Georgetown we took the first boat in the morning to Lankawi Island and a second boat to Koh Lipe, Thailand. (If you start early you can make the trip in one day.)  

Georgetown Jetty

On the boat: Georgetown - Pulau Lankawi

Lankawi Jetty

Passport control Koh Lipe, Thailand

4. Koh Lipe, Thailand

After a 1,5 hours boat ride we arrived at beautiful Koh Lipe, the most southern island of Thailand. Koh Lipe offers three beaches: Sunrise, Sunset and Pattaya Beach. The so called "Walking Street" with little bars, restaurants and shops connects Pattaya and Sunrise Beach. 

Sunrise Beach

Sunrise Beach