Take The Path Less Ordinary

We know beginners to Malaysia usually pop aspirins before attempting to decipher maps provided by the internet or guidebooks. Don’t blame them. These maps are usually linked with too many names and irrelevant routes, all done in the name of being “detailed”. We believe in simplicity and here is how you can cut through the clutter with the following diagrams.

Peninsula pitstops

Below is a simplified map and locations of all key cities, towns, hamlets and jetties that form the road and public transport services network in peninsula Malaysia. At any one of these nodes, there’s a transit hub where one can hop on taxis/buses to towns or jetties within 200-500km radius.

There are places one can whiz pass 100km in one hour and there are rural areas that eat up a whole day just to cover 10km. Be prepared for these two extremes when travelling around the country.

For example, it only takes 2 hours’ travelling time to cover KL-Ipoh route (210km) but one will need 3-4 hours for KL-Kuantan (250km) journey because it involves passing through Karak’s steep road and compounded by the traffic crawl on east KL’s densely populated Selayang and Batu Caves suburb.

Another good example: KL-Taman Negara journey (which we think most would be interested in). From the map, it looks nearer than KL-Ipoh route but here’s the drill. The journey begins with multiple up down terrains from KL pass Karak to Jerantut, roughly 2.5hrs bus ride. From thereon, Kuala Tembeling jetty is accessible via a narrow road peppered with chickens, cows or goats, making fast driving impossible. By van or bus, the Kuala Tembeling - Kuala Tahan ride takes another 3hrs. If it rains, it gets worse. In all, that’s roughly 5-6hrs of travelling. So, if you’ve booked a 3d/2n package, departing from KL, expect the 1st and 3rd day to be spent mostly on roads or river repeating “Are we there yet?”

Never travel on a tight schedule in Malaysia. Work with geography and go with the flow.

Highland blockage

On the map, the peninsular looks pretty small. And yet, as early as 16th century, overland travels had given colonial Portuguese, Dutch and English a lot to fuss about. It is still the most asked questions by travellers today.

The thing most guide books and touristy maps missed out is the Titiwangsa Mountainous Range that forms the backbone of peninsula Malaysia. On the up side, this mass of highland effectively fences east and west coast monsoon season from spilling over. Hence, through out the year, the coasts take turn to enjoy sunny and rainy days. However, on the downside, it made roads and rail tracks building a tedious task. Once the traveller understands peninsula Malaysia’s topography and how roads and rail tracks are built to compensate it, combing the country becomes easy.

The map below will gives one a good overview of trunk roads and rail lines built around Titiwangsa. Bear in mind, roads that are paved across highland require more travelling time compared to those on flatlands.

The Titiwangsa range stretches from southern Thailand to Jelebu in Negeri Sembilan state. The highest peak is Mount Tahan (2187m) that sits on northern Taman Negara. Other notable peaks are Mount Korbu (2183m) in east Ipoh and Mount Ledang near Endau Rompin Reserve.

At time of writing, there are only 3 roads that cut across the range, namely East West Highway (Ipoh-Grik-Jeli), Karak highway (KL-Karak-Temerloh) and the latest addition Ipoh-Cameron Highland-Gua Musang Highway which was completed in 2005. In 2009, the Gua Musang-Kuala Berang stretch will be completed to link west to the east coast.

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Helping you wing Malaysia like a pro

We know many hate wordy posts. This site is designed to give beginners an easily digestible overview of our country Malaysia. Hence, we have loaded up on diagrams and photos to help you absorb as much information in a jiffy. Click around. You’ll find the sidebar a treasure trove of insider accounts.