|
|
|
Hotels in Malaysia - Choose Your Destination
below |
|
|
| |
Geography
 Malaysia
is located in Southeast Asia and covers an area
of 329,750 sq km. It is the only country that
occupies territory on both the mainland and insular
regions of Southeast Asia. The region of Malaysia
on the mainland is commonly referred to as either
Peninsular Malaysia or West Malaysia. It occupies
the southern half of the Malay Peninsula and accounts
for 40% of the country's land mass.
It is bordered by Thailand on the north and Singapore
on the south, the Strait of Malacca on the west
and the South China Sea on the east. The insular
region is commonly referred to as East Malaysia.
It occupies the northwestern part of the island
of Borneo. (Kalimantan (Indonesian) Borneo occupies
the southeast portion of Borneo.) Approximately
400 miles (650 km) of the South China Sea separates
East Malaysia from Peninsular Malaysia.
Peninsular Malaysia is largely mountainous with
half of the total area more than 500 feet (150
meters) above sea level. There are several mountain
ranges that run north-south with elevations rising
to more than 7,000 feet (2,000 m). Heavily populated
coastal lowlands (fertile plain) run along the
west side and narrow, swampy, and densely forested
lowlands run along the east side. The Pahang River
is the principal river flowing through Peninsular
Malaysia
In East Malaysia the coastal plains rise to a
hill and valley region and then rise to a mountainous
core with elevations between 4,000 and 7,000 feet
(1,200 and 2,000 m). The highest point in the
country, Mount Kinabalu (13,455 feet [4,101 m]),
is located in the extreme northeast portion of
this mountainous core.
The two principal rivers in East Malaysia are
the Rajang and the Kinabatangan. The Rajang is
located in the state of Sarawak and the Kinabatangan
is located in Sabah.
Approximately two-thirds of Malaysia is forest
with the majority of it being tropical rainforest.
Vegetation includes bamboo, camphor, ebony, sandalwood,
teak, and mangrove forests among the over 8,000
species of flowing plants which include 2000 tree
species, 800 different kinds of orchids and 200
types of palm trees. Wildlife in Malaysia includes
elephant, tiger, leopard, wild ox, sun (honey)
bear, wild pig, orangutan, gibbon, and some rhinoceros.
East Malaysia is known for having one of the largest
and most varied bird populations in the world
Climate
 Malaysia
is hot and humid year round with a temperature
20? - 30? C, (68? - 86? F), and a humidity level
of 90%. Since the temperature fluctuates little
throughout the year, travel in Malaysia is a pleasure
year round.
The rain forests and other tropical vegetation
thrive in the hot and humid climate and are fed
by the wet seasons. There are two distinct wet
seasons for this country. The West Coast of Malaysia
will experience slightly more rain through the
months of September to December. The East Coast
of Malaysia and the states of Sabah and Sarawak
experience significantly more rain through the
months of October to February. When the rain comes,
it typically falls in short hard bursts briefly
interrupting the strong sunshine.
Religion
52% Muslim, 17% Buddhist, 12% Taoist, 8% Christian,
8% Hindu, 2% Tribal
People
50% Malay, 33% Chinese, 9% Indian, Sikh, also
indigenous tribes such as Orang Asli and Iban
Language
Bahasa Malaysia (official language), English (language
of instruction in tertiary education), Chinese
dialects (Hokkein, Hakka, Cantonese), Tamil, Malayalam,
Hindi, indigenous dialects
Time: GMT/UTC plus eight hours
Malaysia is 8 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean time
(GMT) and 16 hours ahead of United States Pacific
Standard Time.
Electricity: 220-240V, 50 Hz
Weights & Measures: Metric
Tourism: 6.5 million visitors in 1993 (320,000
visited East Malaysia)
Bank Hours: In most States Mon-Fri: 9:30am-4.00pm
Sat: 9:30am-11:30am Sun: Closed
Kelantan and Terengganu:
Sat-Wed: 9:30am-4.00pm
Thur : 9:30am-11.30am
Fri : Closed
Currency
MYR = Malaysian Ringgit
1 DMark = 1.740814 MYR
1 FFranc = 0.519050 MYR
1 U.K. ? = 5.608822 MYR
1 US $ = 3.799500 MYR
1 Yen = 0.0337463 MYR |
|
