A capital of glass towers, then an island of rice fields and quiet beaches.
Malaysia was two very different halves: the glass and noise of Kuala Lumpur, and then Langkawi, a duty-free island off the north-west coast where I stayed in a villa among rice paddies.
It was also where I watched how Southeast Asia moves. Scooters are everywhere, for rent on almost every street, and the whole island runs on them. I didn’t know yet how much that would matter later.
Stories
The Petronas Towers are 452 metres tall and were the tallest buildings in the world until 2004. At night the fountain show in the park below draws a crowd from every country you can think…
Stop 2 · 30 Nov – early DecLangkawi is an archipelago of 99 islands. I stayed in a garden villa set among rice fields, close to beaches that were almost empty in the mornings. The island runs on rented scooters…
Stayed at Kawah Padi Garden VillaWhat it taught me
A rice-field villa and a rented scooter were all the island needed. Less planning, more noticing.