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Malaysia
Let's explore one of the world's most fascinating countries — packed with surprises, stories, and pen pal potential.
The Basics
3 Things That Will Blow Your Mind
Genuinely. You'll want to tell someone immediately.
Malaysia's rainforest is older than the Amazon
Taman Negara, Malaysia's ancient national park, is approximately 130 million years old. The Amazon rainforest is around 55 million years old. Malaysia's forest existed before many of the dinosaurs went extinct and it contains species found nowhere else on Earth that scientists are still discovering and naming.
Malaysia is actually two completely separate pieces of land with a sea between them
Peninsular Malaysia is attached to mainland Asia and shares a border with Thailand. Malaysian Borneo is on the island of Borneo, hundreds of kilometres away across the South China Sea. They are one country and one government but a Malaysian child in Kuala Lumpur and a Malaysian child in Borneo live in landscapes and ecosystems that feel like different worlds.
The Petronas Towers were the tallest buildings on Earth for six years
When the twin towers in Kuala Lumpur were completed in 1998 they were the tallest structures in the world at 452 metres, beating the previous record holder in Chicago. They held the record until 2004 and are connected by a sky bridge on the 41st and 42nd floors that you can walk across to move between the two towers.
Famous For
Food
Malaysian food is what happens when Malay, Chinese, Indian, and dozens of indigenous food traditions spend centuries cooking alongside each other. Nasi lemak, char kway teow, roti canai, laksa, and satay all exist in the same food market and the result is one of the most varied and loved food cultures in Asia.
Ancient Rainforest and Wildlife
Malaysian Borneo is home to orangutans, proboscis monkeys with enormous noses, pygmy elephants that are genuinely tiny by elephant standards, and clouded leopards. The forest they live in is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet and has been growing undisturbed for longer than almost any other forest on Earth.
Petronas Towers
The iconic twin skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur are connected by a sky bridge at the 41st floor and lit up every night against the city skyline. They were built as a statement that Malaysia was a country building its future and they remain one of the most recognisable buildings in Asia.
Cultural Diversity
Malay, Chinese, Indian, and dozens of indigenous communities have lived alongside each other for centuries in Malaysia, each with their own language, religion, festivals, and food traditions. Eid, Chinese New Year, Deepavali, and Christmas are all public holidays and most Malaysians celebrate at least some of each.
Did You Know?
Malaysia is home to the Rafflesia arnoldii, the largest individual flower on Earth, which can grow to over one metre across and has no leaves, stems, or roots because it lives entirely as a parasite hidden inside another plant. It blooms for only a few days at a time and smells powerfully of rotting meat to attract the flies that pollinate it. It is one of the strangest and most spectacular things in the natural world and it is found in Malaysia's ancient forests.
Pen Pal Connection
A child in Malaysia might write to you about eating at a hawker market where you can have Malay, Chinese, and Indian food all from different stalls at the same table, a trip into a rainforest that is older than most of the animals that ever lived, the Petronas Towers lit against the night sky, speaking Malay at school and Cantonese at home and Tamil with one set of grandparents, or the completely genuine heat that is different from anywhere else.