Malaysia
Mulu Caves
The Mulu Caves are located in the Gunung Mulu National Park in Malaysian Borneo. The park encompasses incredible caves and karst formations in a mountainous equatorial rainforest setting. The Sarawak chamber found in one of the underground caves is the largest cave chamber in the world. It has been said that the chamber is so big that it could accommodate about 40 Boeing 747s, without overlapping their wings. The enormous colony of Wrinkle-lipped bats in the nearby Deer Cave exit almost every evening in search of food in a spectacular exodus.
Perhentian Islands
Located off the coast of northeastern Malaysia not far from the Thai border. The Perhentian Islands are the must-go place in Malaysia for budget travelers. They have some of the world’s most beautiful beaches and great diving with plenty of cheap accommodation. The two main islands are Perhentian Besar (“Big Perhentian”) and Perhentian Kecil (“Small Perhentian”). Both the islands have palm-fringed white sandy beaches and turquoise blue sea.
Langkawi
Malaysia’s best-known holiday destination, Langkawi is an archipelago of 99 islands in the Andaman Sea. The islands are a part of the state of Kedah, which is adjacent to the Thai border. By far the largest of the islands is the eponymous Pulau Langkawi with a population of about 65,000, the only other inhabited island being nearby Pulau Tuba. Fringed with long, white beaches and with an interior of jungle covered hills and craggy mountain peaks, it’s easy to see why this is Malaysia’s most heavily promoted tourist destination. The most popular beaches can be found on the west coast with a wide choice of restaurants and eateries and some of the best resorts in Langkawi.
Petronas Twin Towers
The Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur were the world’s tallest buildings before being surpassed in 2004 by Taipei 101. However, the towers are still the tallest twin buildings in the world. The 88-floor towers are constructed largely of reinforced concrete, with a steel and glass facade designed to resemble motifs found in Islamic art, a reflection of Malaysia’s Muslim religion. The Petronas Twin Towers feature a sky bridge between the two towers on the 41st and 42nd floors.
Singapore
Orchard Road
Orchard Road is the main shopping street of Singapore, regularly frequented by the locals as well as foreign tourists. Named after the fruit orchards that the road led to, Orchard Road is flanked by malls, numerous upmarket restaurants, coffee chains, cafés, nightclubs and hotels. It is also the site of the official residence of the President of Singapore, the Istana. The Christmas decorations along Orchard are famous and entirely over the top, with reindeers cavorting through palm trees and gingerbread houses topped with fake snow.
Resorts World Sentosa
Resorts World Sentosa is a Singaporean destination unto itself. Located on an island off Singapore’s south coast, the property features hotels, restaurants, a casino, theme parks – in short, something for everyone no matter how old they are. With this location, attractions obviously center around the sea: Marine Life Park, Dolphin Island, a water park and an aquarium. Other attractions include Universal Studios Singapore and nightly entertainment. The casino offers a variety of table games sand 2,400 slot machines; be forewarned, it does enforce a dress code. The resort offers more than 60 dining options for hungry guests.
Clarke Quay
Clarke Quay is another part of Singapore’s past that is still a happening place today. One of the key tourist attractions in Singapore, the quay, at the mouth of the Singapore River, was the city’s hub of commerce in the late 19th century. It still hustles and bustles today, but with a different kind of commerce: trendy restaurants, unique boutiques, pushcart vendors and more, all of which blend Asian and European influences. Once a market, always a market, except at night when Clarke Quay teems with chic nightspots.
Gardens by the Bay
Gardens by the Bay is a recent addition to Singapore’s tourist attractions, but is one that gardeners won’t want to miss visiting. Open less than a decade, Gardens by the Bay is built on reclaimed land in central Singapore. It consists of three gardens: Bay Central, a garden with a waterfront walk that will eventually connect the other two gardens; Bay East, which is opening in phases as sections are completed, and Bay South, the largest garden, which showcases tropical horticulture and includes tree-like structures up to 50 meters (160 feet) high that dominate the Gardens’ landscape.
Marina Bay Sands
If construction costs are a traveler’s bag, then they’ll delight in seeing the Marina Bay Sands, a resort that cost US$5.7 billion to build, making it the world’s most expensive building when it opened in 2010. The Marina Bay Sands is an integrated resort that has it all: a luxury hotel, restaurants, an endless collection of shops, a convention center that is one of the largest in Asia, theater, an ArtScience Museum and other entertainment centers. It also has an indoor skating rink made with synthetic ice.