ISLAND COASTING

We give you the low-down on the best islands on both sides of Peninsular Malaysia with each isle offering everything from crystal clear water beaches to UNESCO sites.

- Nawaf Rahman

Most countries are separated by physical boundaries – state lines, deserts, and bodies of water. However, the divides go far deeper than that, especially when it concerns culture, history, religion, and patterns of immigration. In the United States, for instance, the west leads a diverse lifestyle from that of the east coast due to later immigration and warmer weather. The same can be said for many European and Asian countries where people from different regions have different accents and sometimes even physical appearances.

Likewise, in Peninsular Malaysia, there’s a marked dissimilarity between the east and west coast, and this is obvious in how the islands have developed and what they offer travellers.

WEST COAST

Peninsular Malaysia’s west coast is densely populated and more progressive. The population is integrated and weather patterns like the monsoons don’t have as many impacts on tourism there than they do at the opposite side. It faces the Strait of Malacca, which is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. This also means the water doesn’t have that amazing azure transparency in comparison. Though what it does have are super luxe resorts, interesting history and culture, and the kind of buzz for being more modern and urbanised.

LANGKAWI

Here for: Resorts, UNESCO Geopark, duty-free