Batu Caves - Kuala Lumpur
Located just about 10km North of Kuala Lumpur, Batu Caves is easily one of Malaysia's most visited tourist attractions. 272 color-laden steps lead up to the series of cave networks that are estimated to be more than 400-million years old. Inside, you'll find 100-year-old temples shrouded under 100+ meter high cave ceilings with colorful ornate carvings and decorations lining the walls and interiors. In order to have the best experience and photos as possible at Batu, I strongly recommend you show up even before the 8am opening time to avoid crowds and getting too many people in your shots. This spot fills with people extremely quickly after opening, so even showing up at 9am or 10am could be the difference between amazing empty photos of the colorful steps, and photos filled with far too many people to be usable.
Tiny Blue House - Kuala Lumpur
Located within Kuala Lumpur, just on the outskirts of downtown, this tiny blue home was by far my favorite stop in KL. As time moved forward and modern design and architecture takes over the city of KL, this residential home maintains its elegant and classic design complimented by a bright splash of baby blue paint. If you choose to visit this location, please be respectful of your surroundings and how you are shooting, as it is a real home with people living inside it. This spot is probably best visited with the bike tour around the city hosted by Mike’s Bikes.
Chow Kit Market - Kuala Lumpur
Chow Kit is probably the most bustling and exciting market to visit in KL from my experiences (there’s likely many many others very similar). Inside, you’ll find everything from local produce to a variety of selections of meat, seafood, and all the curiosities in between that you may have never seen before. Many of the vendors in Chow Kit are extremely friendly and are used to photos, so expect some great candid moments from the locals if you visit!
Kanching Waterfall - Kuala Lumpur
Now technically this isn’t just a single waterfall, there’s multiple tiers to the waterfall that span hundreds of meters up into the thick and dense jungle. Many of the locals or guides will inform to you that to get to the top tiers it takes around 2 hours— this is not the case if you are in decent physical condition and exercise often enough. Total time to the top was around 20-30 minutes and unlike the bottom tiers that were crowded and full of people swimming, the top ones were relatively empty. To add to the joy that is uncrowded spots, these upper waterfalls had a few natural infinity pools to cool off in that also make for fantastic photos.
Entopia - Penang
Located in Penang, Entopia is a live vivarium and insect sanctuary that houses more than 150 species of insects and animals. Inside, you’ll find a melding of futuristic design meets mother nature and it couldn’t be cooler! Besides the main vivarium with the waterfall and geometric greenhouse dome, my favorite part of the experience was by far their tunnel of lights meant to represent the stages of development of a caterpillar to a butterfly. I just thought it looked great for photos!
Georgetown - Penang
With its inner-most core designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its rich history and well-maintained buildings from colonial British occupation era, Georgetown is a must-stop-city on your tour through Malaysia. From artistic street and wall murals, to historical buildings and sites dating back to the 1800s, the town will not disappoint even the toughest of travel critics due to its variety of sightseeing opportunities and rich selection of authentic Malay and Chinese food that rivals even the best restaurants money could take you to. If you do visit, I’d suggest also visiting ‘The Top’, which is also by far the tallest building in Georgetown so it grants you unparalleled 360° views of the entire city.
Langkawi - Jewel of Kedah
Although Langkawi is an entire island, I put it on this list as a spot in itself. The island as a whole is a literal paradise, surrounded by aqua-blue waters and tropical scenery anywhere you go. To add to the fun, there’s no shortage of both things to do and see, from jet-skiing to the many surrounding islands, to zip lining through the jungle and even watching fire-spinning on the beach at dark— Langkawi is a picture-perfect photo spot at all times of the day. For the best views of the entire island, I’d recommend going up the cable cars and Sky Bridge.
See more of what I did in Malaysia at https://malaysianchallenge.expedia.com/