* Sedim River Grade III-IV Kedah, Malaysia

* Sungai Selangor Grade I-III Selangor, Malaysia

* Kiulu River Grade II Sabah, Malaysia
* Padas River Grade III-IV Sabah, Malaysia

* Sungai Itek (Kampar river) Grade I-III Perak, Malaysia
* Sungkai river Grade I-II Perak, Malaysia
* Singoh river Grade V Perak, Malaysia

* Endau river Johor, Malaysia

* Nenggiri river Grade I-III Kelantan, Malaysia

Source: WikiTravel

Running a close second in the popularity contest is scuba diving. The waters around the island are usually crystal clear – although visibility can drop dramatically after a storm – and home to a host of sea creatures including turtles and reeftip sharks. While Redang caters to divers of all levels and is a popular place to complete a diving course, some of the sites further out can have fairly strong currents. More or less every resort on the island has its own dive shop, but it may be worth looking beyond the house shop as quality varies considerably.

Other available sports options include beach volleyball and sea kayaks, but jet skis and water skis are mercifully absent (banned to protect the coral). Fishing within the marine park is not permitted, but fishing boats can be hired for excursions beyond the 2-mile park limits.

Underwater cameras also available for rental at RM30 per day with pictures burnt in CD at the end of the day. Walk in to Redang Pelangi to enquire for more.

Source: WikiTravel

The Perhentians offer excellent diving and draw divers from far and wide. In addition to coral and fish, the Perhentians are home to sea turtles and many species of shark — none of them dangerous unless provoked though. Visibility is often in the 20 meter range (although it will temporarily go down after storms, as well as during the end-of-year monsoon seasons) and no wet suit is required, although you may wish to use a dive skin for protection from coral and the occasional jellyfish. Popular dive sites include the Pinnacle (aka Tokong Laut, “Temple of the Sea”), a pinnacle jutting out from the sea bed, and the Sugar Wreck, an easily accessible 3500-ton sugar hauler. The (more expensive) single-day trip to Redang Island, where the water visibility is considerably better, offers diving a notch above the local options, well worth every dime – but be prepared for a rough ride in a small speedboat.

Snorkeling

All resorts and a few restaurants rent out snorkeling gear (typically RM10 a day for mask, snorkel and fins) and arrange snorkeling tours around the islands. Popular snorkeling spots on Besar include Teluk Pauh (to the left of the beach in front of the PI Resort), Shark Point and Tanjung Basi. The best place to see sharks (black tip) is in front of an extremely small “beach”, only accessible by boat, between Shark Point and the Teluk Dalam large beach, or the rocks off the Coral View and PI Resort. They are usually seen cruising the bottom of the reef but be careful in low tide, otherwise you could end up swimming right along side them (mostly babies though). For turtles, best place is the middle of the beach in front of Perhentian Island Resort, where the sandy bottom is covered with algae.

Jungle trekking

The islands are crisscrossed by small paths connecting one beach to another, but be prepared to sweat and swat off bugs if you tackle any of these. There is a good chance to see big monitor lizards and large spiders between Long Beach and Coral Bay, and if you are walking off the main trails, you are likely to spot some wild monkeys if you are lucky. There is a wide trail (30 mins) between Watercolours Paradise and Arwana on Besar, you can see large termite trails, monitor lizards, big fruit bats and sometimes monkeys.

Source: WikiTravel

History

Southeast Asian history is very diverse and often tumultous, and has to an important extent been shaped by European colonialism. The very term Southeast Asia was invented by American Naval strategists around 1940. Southeast Asia was prior to WWII referred to with reference to the colonial powers; farther India for Burma and Thailand, with reference to the main British colony of India, although Thailand was never formally colonized; Indochina referred to the French colonies of Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos and Indonesia and parts of maritime Southeast Asia was referred to as the Dutch East Indies. In addition, what is now Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore were also British colonies. The Philippines on the other hand was colonized by Spain for 333 years and by the United States for 44 years. East Timor was colonized by Portugal for 273 years, then occupied by Indonesia for 27 years before becoming the first nation to gain independence in the 21st century.

Pre-historic Southeast Asia was largely underpopulated. A process of immigration from India across the Bay of Bengal is referred to as the process of Indianization. Exactly how and when it happened is contested; however, the population of the mainland region largely happened through immigration from India. The Sanskrit script still used as the basis for modern Thai, Burmese and Khmer has its roots from this process. One the other hand, population of the archipelegos of East Timor, Indonesia and the Philippines, as well as Malaysia on the mainland is thought to have come about though immigration from Taiwan.

For at least two thousand years (and to this day), Southeast Asia has been a conduit for trade between India and China, but large-scale Chinese immigration only began with the advent of the colonial era. In Singapore, the Chinese form a majority of the population, but there are substantial Chinese minorities, assimilated to varying degrees, across all countries in the region.

In recent years, Southeast Asia is acknowledged as having a relatively high rate of economic growth, with Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines often being called the “New Asian Tigers”, and Vietnam also recording double digit growth rates in recent years.

Climate

Southeast Asia is tropical: the weather hovers around the 30°C mark throughout the year, humidity is high and it rains often.

The equatorial parts of Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines, have only two seasons, wet and dry, with the dry season somewhat hotter (up to 35°C) and the wet season somewhat cooler (down to 25°C). The wet season usually occurs in winter, and the hot season in summer, although there are significant local variations.

However, in Indochina (north/central Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam), the seasons can be broken down into hot, wet and dry, with the relatively cool dry season from November to February or so being the most popular with tourists. The scorching hot season that follows can see temperatures climb above 40°C in April, cooling down as the rains start around July. However, even in the “wet” season, the typical pattern is sunny mornings with a short (but torrential) shower in the afternoon, not all-day drizzle, so this alone should not discourage you from travel.

In Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore and parts of Indonesia (notably Sumatra and Borneo) and the Philippines (notably Palawan), haze from forest fires (usually set intentionally to clear land) is a frequent phenomenon in the dry season from May to October. Haze comes and goes rapidly with the wind, but Singapore’s National Environment Agency has useful online maps [1] of the current situation in the entire region.

Source: WikiTravel

The Mersing Marine Park is located in the South China Sea and consists of 13 islands including;

Pulau Harimau, Palau Mensirip, Pulau Goal, Pulau Besar, Pulau Tengah, Pulau Hujong, Pulau Rawa, Pulau Tinggi, Pulau Mentinggi, Pulau Sibu, Pulau Sibu Hujung, Pulau Pemanggil and Pulau Aur.

Scuba Doo PADI Dive Center – Located at the Cabanas Resort, it offers excellent snorkeling trips to the small islands near Sibu. For the divers there is a great selection of courses and dive sites to choose from. Cabanas PADI Dive Centre is the nearest Padi dive centre to Singapore and because the island is unspoilt by over tourism – so are the coral reefs.

Source: WikiTravel

Snorkeling is a good option, but don’t expect banks of colorful fishes and wonderful sea creatures. Scuba diving here is out of the question, although some of the resorts do arrange trips out to Johor’s northern islands.

One thing you can definitely try is surfing. If wind is good, the waves are quite OK, and especially the lack of jellyfish and sharks makes it an attractive location. During December, January and first half of February (monsoon season), the waves are almost constantly high, but do expect the water to be a little cold. There is a company that rents surf boards for 20 RM/h and provides surf lessons for 100 RM. The same company rents jetskis.

Excursions to see the fireflies (api-api) in the Sungei Lebam river are very popular. While theoretically possible to arrange yourself, this would require bumping about dirt roads to find the dock and then cruising around a pitch-black jungle river, so it’s much easier to join one of the hotel excursions. The best time to go is after rain on a new moon.

Source: WikiTravel

Tourists flock here for the delightful beaches, superb resorts and refreshing nature-based activities. The best beaches include Pantai Cenang, Burau Bay, Pantai Kok, Pantai Pasir Tengkorak and Pantai Datai.

Source: WikiTravel

Batu Ferringhi – Located on the north coast, with white sandy beaches, luxurious hotels & restaurants. A favorite spot for both locals & tourists.

Bayan Lepas – Penang’s main electronic manufacturing area and location of its international airport.

Balik Pulau – Literally “Back of The Island” in Malay; a small agricultural centre surrounded by Malay villages, fruit plantations, and padi fields.

Source: WikiTravel

Source: WikiTravel

Source: WikiTravel