Day 1 – Singapore to Melaka

Pick up from hotel for commencement of coach tour to Peninsular Malaysia. Cross the causeway from Singapore into Malaysia.  See the Sultan Abu Bakar mosque in Johor Bahru        Enroute stop at a pottery making factory.  Upon arrival in Melaka,explore the city.  Visit a Baba Nyonya heritage museum , Cheng Hoon Teng Temple , Dutch Stadhuys , Porta de Santiago and the ruins of St Paul's Hill. 

Day 2 – Melaka to Kuala Lumpur

From Malacca, the tour heads on for the young vibrant metropolitan city of Kuala Lumpur. In slightly over 130 years, the city grew from wet and muddy mining grounds to a city of high rise buildings. What makes the city unique is that old colonial buildings still stand proudly in the Chinatown area while modern monoliths tower overhead in its surroundings.

In the evening, visit Chinatown at Petaling Street. Peddlers cries out for customers to buy their goods, ranging from local delicacies to Cds, VCDs, to T-shirts and souvenirs, etc. [Bargaining skills required] Dinner will be at a local restaurant serving Malay cuisine accompanied by a cultural show.

Day 3 – Kuala Lumpur

As Kuala Lumpur developed on the backbone of the tin industry, so is the house hold name of Royal Selangor. See how crude tin ores are transformed into pewter.

Set within a sugar loaf limestone hill, Batu Caves is a Hindu prayer complex with its shrine housed inside a cave. Every year during Thaipusam, Hindu devotees would accompany a silver chariot from the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Chinatown to Batu Caves, on foot. In the last festival, almost a million devotees had participated in the celebrations.

In the early afternoon, the tour brings us to Kuala Selangor. En route, visit a small cottage industry that makes oil lamps from clay. After dinner, board a boat for a short night cruise at Kampung Kuantan.This tour is best seen in total darkness. Fireflies (Pteroptyx tener) gather around ‘berembang’ trees and emit synchronised flashes of light.

Day 4 – Kuala Lumpur to Cameron Highlands

Head on north, to the small town of Tapah at the base of the mountain range where Cameron Highlands is situated. Here you’ll find a few families whose their livelihood depended on weaving bamboo baskets used for vegetable packing. Then, a short stop at the Lata Iskandar cascades and at Orang Asli huts along the winding drive up to Cameron Highlands, nestled on a plateau in the Titiwangsa Range. The plateau is marked by the rolling hill slopes of tea bushes. You may catch some labourers picking tea leaves along the way. A visit to a tea factory will give you a good idea of how tea is processed. Other places of interest include Rose Valley and the local market.

Day 5 – Cameron Highlands to Penang

Descend the highlands for the city of Ipoh. Stop at Sam Poh Tong, a Chinese temple enclosed in a limestone cave. Understand the many mythical symbolism as you enter the temple. It opens to a courtyard surrounded by limestone walls. Here, we find tortoises thriving in the ‘longevity pond’. In Kuala Kangsar, a brief stop at the gilded domed Ubudiah Mosque and Iskandariah Palace. The first rubber tree is also found here. Cross Penang Bridge to Penang Island.

Day 6 – Penang

Georgetown is proud of its old colonial buildings. Fort Cornwallis and the Esplanade are only two of the many nooks and corners that still bear old Victorian and Edwardian names. The Khoo Kongsi Clan House was one of the venues used for the film Anna & the King. The house features elaborately engraved masonry and woodcarvings. Kek Lok Si is where the Pagoda of Ten Thousand Buddhas is located.

Day 7 – Penang to Kota Bahru

Leave the Island City towards the East Coast. The drive takes you through Malays houses, rice fields and deep mountain forests. Stop over at the massive man-made Lake Temenggor at Banding for lunch. Kelantan, where Kota Bahru is located, is the last frontier of old Malay culture. Check out what the state cultural centre, Gelanggang Seni, has in store in the evening.

Day 8 – Kelantan to Terengganu

See the rich and delightful blend of Malaysia made items in Kota Bahru.  Visit the central market with its endless stalls mostly owned by women.  See activities ranging from the weaving of Songket cloth then to silverware mastery to kite making. Travel along the east coast southwards to Kuala Terrenganu.

Day 9 – Kuala Terrenganu to Cherating

Terengganu, home to brightly painted fishermen boats, is also the home of many snacks which Malaysians enjoy. Crackers, made of fish kneaded in sago and stick rice cooked in bamboo, are among the many delicacies found in this state. At Cherating, monkeys pluck coconuts for farmers while some ladies weaves Pandanus leaves into mats.

Day 10 – Cherating to Singapore

Down south, we find the town of Pekan - home to the royal family of the state of Pahang. This drive to Singapore is more tranquil. The landscape consists mainly of rubber plantations, occasionally interrupted by residential areas. The tour ends at the Johor Bahru causeway.

Images courtesy of the Singapore Tourism Board