Known as the 'Living Museum', the Cultural Village was set up to preserve and showcase Sarawak's cultural heritage. Located at Pantai Damai, Santubong, just 32km from the state capital, Kuching, it is the perfect place to get introduced to local culture and lifestyle. Sprawled across 17 acres, there are about 150 people living in the village, demonstrating traditional daily activities from Sarawak's diverse tribes like the processing of sago and the making of handicrafts. They wear traditional costumes and also put on dances for visitors. The village residents provide information on their various traditional cultures and lifestyles. You can see replicas of buildings that represent every major ethnic group in Sarawak; longhouses of the Iban, Bidayuh and Orang Ulu, a Melanau tall-house and a Chinese farm house among others. The village also has a theatre, where you can enjoy multicultural dance performances. Besides this, there is a restaurant and handicraft shop. You can even get married at the Sarawak Cultural Village, in traditional Iban, Malay, Bidayuh or Orang Ulu style. The Iban longhouse has separate rooms placed side by side, all of which open to a long communal hall, used for leisurely activities like wood carving and basket weaving.
The sprinkling of jade green
islands that make up Pulau
Payar lie just 30km south-
east
of Langkawi. From here, it is
a 1-hour boat ride out to the
best marine park on
Malaysia's
West Coast, making it an
ideal
choice for a day outing.
This well-preserved,
uninhabited marine park
extends over a number of
islands, with Pulau Payar
being the largest. Your base
out here is the floating
platform moored off Pulau
Payar. But the real
attraction
of this platform lies below
sea level.
Step into the underwater
observation chamber to view
the marine life surrounding a
reef. Want to get even closer
to the swirl of fishes that
make these corals their home?
Grab a mask, a snorkel and
fins and join the spectacle!
If you’re into scuba diving,
the best diving is along the
reef system that skirts the
south, east and west of Pulau
Payar. Please check with your
dive operator what the
visibility is while you’re
there, as conditions vary.
There is no accommodation in
Pulau Payar as it is a marine
park, but Langkawi, with all
its fine resorts and
restaurants, is just a speedy
boat-ride away.
The Cameron Highlands (Malay: ''Tanah Tinggi Cameron'') is one of Malaysia’s most extensive hill stations. The size of Singapore, it occupies an area of 712 square kilometres (275 sq mi). To the north, its boundary touches that of Kelantan; to the west, it shares part of its border with Perak.
Situated at the northwestern tip of Pahang, the “Camerons” is approximately 90 kilometres (56 mi) from Ipoh or about 200 kilometres (120 mi) from Kuala Lumpur. It is the smallest constituency in Pahang.
Discovered by Sir William Cameron in 1885, the outpost consists of three districts, namely Ringlet (5,165 hectares), Tanah Rata (2,081 hectares) and Ulu Telom (63,981 hectares). Its eight sub-districts are Ringlet, Tanah Rata (the administrative centre), Brinchang, the Bertam Valley, Kea Farm, Tringkap, Kuala Terla and Kampung Raja. All are nestled at elevations ranging from 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) to 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) above sea level.
The mean annual temperature of the retreat is about 18 °C (64 °F).
During the day, the temperature seldom rises over 25 °C (77 °F); at
night, it rarely drops to as low as 9 °C (48 °F) only at the higher
reaches.[2]
The resort has a diverse population of more than 38,000 people. It comprises Bumiputeras (Malay (7,321); others (5,668)), Chinese (13,099), Indians (6,988), non-Malaysian citizens (5,193), and other nationalities (202).[3]
Most of the residents here are entrepreneurs, service industry
employees, farm workers, retirees or government servants. The languages
spoken are Malay, Mandarin, Tamil and English. Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Christianity and Sikhism are the main religions of the haven.
Developed in the 1930s, the tableland is one of the oldest tourist spots in Malaysia. Apart from its tea estates, the plateau is also noted for its cool weather, orchards, nurseries, farmlands, waterfalls, rivers, lakes, wildlife, mossy forest, golf course, hotels, places of worship, bungalows, Land Rovers, museum and its aborigines (Orang Asli).
The Cameron Highlands can be accessed by road via Tapah, Simpang Pulai, Gua Musang or Sungai Koyan. Tapah and Simpang Pulai are the two approaches from Perak. Gua Musang and Sungai Koyan are the entryways from Kelantan and Pahang, respectively.
Kellie's Castle (sometimes also called Kellie's Folly) is located near Batu Gajah, and is about 20 minutes' drive from Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia. The unfinished, ruined mansion, was built by a Scottish planter named William Kellie Smith. According to differing accounts, it was either a gift for his wife or a home for his son.
History
William Kellie Smith (1870 - 1926) [1]
was born in 1870 in Kellas, Moray Firth, Scotland. In 1890, at the age
of 20, he arrived in Malaya as a Civil Engineer. He joined Charles Alma
Baker's survey firm, who had won concessions from the state government
to clear 9000 hectares of forests in Batu Gajah, Perak. With the
substantial profits made from his business venture with Baker, Smith
bought 1000 acres of jungle land in the district of Kinta and started
planting rubber trees and dabbled in the tin mining industry.
In time, he named his estate Kinta Kellas after his home farm "Easter
Kellas" and went on to own the Kinta Kellas Tin Dredging Company as
well.With his fortune made, he returned home to marry his Scottish
sweetheart, Agnes, and brought her over to Malaya in 1903. They had a
daughter named Helen the next year.
In 1909 Smith built his first mansion, "Kellas House" and in 1915
with the birth of his son and heir Anthony he started planning for a
huge castle with Scottish, Moorish and Indian architecture. He brought
in 70 craftsmen from Madras India. All the bricks and marble were
imported from India, too. Included in the plan for the 6 storey tower
was Malaya's first elevator, an indoor tennis court and a rooftop
courtyard for entertaining.
Pangkor Island (locally Pulau Pangkor) is a resort island off the coast of Perak, Malaysia. It has a population of approximately 25,000. Nearby islands include Pangkor Laut Island, Talang Island,[1] Giam Island (Pulau Giam) and Mentagor Island (Pulau Mentagor). Major industries of the island are tourism and fishing.
Historically, Pangkor was a refuge for local fishermen, merchants and pirates. In the 17th century, the Dutch built a fort in an effort to control the Perak tin trade known as the Dutch Fort. In 1874, it was the location of a historical treaty between the British government and a contender for the Perak throne (The Pangkor Treaty), which began the British colonial domination of the Malay Peninsula. The old British name for the Pangkor Island group was the Dindings.[3]
In 2003, Marina Island
(a man-made island) was developed by the Marina Island Group of
companies and began operation in 2010, with private investment of
RM250million by 2013.[citation needed]
The integrated mixed development resort island consists of waterfront
residential properties, a new jetty called Marina Island Jetty, a
private commercial marina called Pangkor Marina Malaysia, service
apartments, hotels and shop offices.
2004-2014 was a period of high growth and development for the island and the surrounding district.[4]
In 2006, a biotechnology centre, a joint venture of Global Hi-Q
Malaysia S/B and Hi-Q Bio-Tech International (Taiwan) Ltd began
operations with initial investments of RM100million (USD30m). Their
operations include fish farming and aquaculture, and the first harvest
was expected in 2009.
Redang Island, locally known as Pulau Redang or just "Redang" is one of the largest islands off the east coast of Malaysia. It is one of nine islands, which form a marine park, and which offer snorkeling and diving opportunities. Access is from Merang or Kuala Terengganu on boats operated by the resorts. Redang Airport is a small airport with services operated by Berjaya Air from Singapore (Changi Airport) and Kuala Lumpur (Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport).
The island is also an important conservation site for sea turtles.
Previously, the indiscriminate economic exploitation of turtle eggs had
caused fewer turtles returning to nest on the island. This has led the
Terengganu state government to set up the Koperasi Setiajaya Pulau Redang
in 1989, a cooperative aiming to develop and manage socio-economic
programmes that could improve the livelihood of Pulau Redang locals
without endangering its natural resources.[citation needed]
The Pulau Redang archipelago
comprises Pulau Redang, Pulau Lima, Pulau Paku Besar, Pulau Paku Kecil,
Pulau Kerengga Kecil, Pulau Kerengga Besar, Pulau Ekor Tebu, Pulau Ling
and Pulau Pinang. Pulau Redang is the biggest of all the islands in the
Marine Park,
measuring about 7 km long and 6 km wide. Its highest peak is Bukit
Besar at 359 metres above sea level.
The boundary of the Pulau Redang
Marine Park is established by a line linking all points 2 nautical miles
(3.7 km) from the shores of Pulau Redang, Pulau Lima, Pulau Ekor Tebu
and Pulau Pinang. The other nearby islands of Pulau Perhentian Besar, Pulau Perhentian Kecil, Pulau Lang Tengah, Pulau Kapas
and Pulau Susu Dara are also gazetted and protected as Marine Parks.
Today, only the bigger islands like Redang, Lang Tengah, Perhentian and
Kapas have resort facilities for visitors. The management of Marine
Parks primarily involves protection of the sensitive marine and
terrestrial ecosystems by controlling the impact from human activities.
These include waste & pollution management and conservation of coral reefs and terrestrial habitats.
The 2000 film, Summer Holiday was filmed on the Laguna Redang resort, and a replica of the tea house now serves as the resort's gift shop.
Sipadan is the only oceanic island in Malaysia, rising 600 metres (2,000 ft) from the seabed. It is located in the Celebes Sea off the east coast of Sabah, East Malaysia (which is on the island of Borneo). It was formed by living corals growing on top of an extinct volcanic cone that took thousands of years to develop. Sipadan is located at the heart of the Indo-Pacific basin,
the centre of one of the richest marine habitats in the world. More
than 3,000 species of fish and hundreds of coral species have been
classified in this ecosystem.
Sipadan Island was at the top of Rodale's Scuba Diving Magazine Gold
List for 'The Top Dive Destination in the World'. In fact it shared its
top spot with 2 other destinations known for the diversity of their
marine life - the Galapagos Islands and Truk in Micronesia.
Frequently seen in the waters around Sipadan: green and hawksbill turtles[1] (which mate and nest there), enormous schools of barracuda in tornado-like formations as well as large schools of big-eye trevally, and bumphead parrotfish. Pelagic species such as manta rays, eagle rays, scalloped hammerhead sharks and whale sharks also visit Sipadan.
A turtle tomb lies underneath the column of the island, formed by an underwater limestone cave
with a labyrinth of tunnels and chambers that contain many skeletal
remains of turtles that become lost and drown before finding the
surface.[2]
