The Best of Southeast Asia by UNESCO - 4

Malaysia

The fascinating country, Malaysia is well know for her diversity of culture and tropical rainforests. I have wrote and post from my beginning of this blog (click here).


Gunung Mulu National Park

Sarawak's largest, Gunun Mulu National Park is covered 52,865 hectares out of other 11 national parks. It is extremely rich in palm species with over 100 species in 20 genera so far identified. The park is dominated for 2377 meter high sandstone pinnacle and world's largest and longest limestone caves after recently discovered in Vietnam (At 262-by-262 feet (80-by-80 meters) in most places, the Son Doong cave beats out the previous world-record holder, Deer Cave in the Malaysia section of the island of Borneo). However the park is home to 295 kilometers of explored limestone caves which are resident for million of cave dwellers such as bats, swiftlets, spiders, cave toads, cave snakes and so on. The Sarawak Chamber which is 415 meters wide, 80 meters high and 600 meters long and bacome one of the largest cave chamber in the world due to the Clearwater cave system fosters world's longest cave passage at 51.5 kilometers in length.


Gunung Mulu National Park is important for its high biodiversity and its flora and fauna, which has been listed for 17 vegetation zones with 3,500 species of vascular plants mainly 2,000 are flowering plants. There are 67 mammal species, more than 260 species of birds, over 20,000 species of invertebrates including 25 snake species, 75 amphibian species, 23 lizard species and over 320 fish species. Malayan honey bear, Sumatran rhinoceros, famous Orang Utan and the world's smalesst mammal pangolin (Manis javanica), swuirrels and pygmy shrew.

Gunung Mulu National Park was first constituted in 1974, opened to the public in 1985 and dsignated as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.

How to get there
Mulu is gateway and accessible by air from Miri, Limbang or Marudi. There are a numbers of Malaysia Airlines flights from Kuala Lumpur or Kuching to Mulu or Miri.

Rafflesia

"It is perhaps the largest and most magnificent flower in the world... it measured across from the extrmity of the petals rather more than a yard, the nectarium was nine inches wide and as deep, estimated to contain a gallon and a half of water..."
SIR STAMFORD RAFFLES, published 1835

Kinabalu National Park

Located in Sabah on the northern part of the Island of Borneo, Kinabalu National Park covers an area of 754 square kilometers surrounding Mt. Kinabalu, which at 4,095.2 meters, is the highest mountain on the island of Borneo. The park is featured by six major topographs - the park, peaks, plateaus, gullies, rivers, streams and waterfalls, hot springs, caves and granite slabs. It is said to exist more than fifty persentage of flowering all around the world in the park. According to the recent survey, there are 6,000 species of flora comprising over 200 families and 1,000 genera. The world's largest flower, Rafflesia is found here in three different species rafflesia keithii, rafflesia pricei and rafflesia tengu-adlini (named after SIR STAMFORD RAFFLES).

Sumatran rhinoceros, Borneo wild cattle and most of the mammals habitat in the lowlands around Kinabalu Park. The Borneo pygmy elephant is said to exist in this park but many other large mammals such as the Orang Utan ("Forest Men or Men of the Jungle" in Bahasa Melayu & Indonesia) have been spotted up to 1,400 meters. The other primates like langurs, monkey, gibbons, tarsiers and slow loris are to be seen within the park.

How to get there
It is just 2 hours driving distance from Kota Kinabalu to reach Kinabalu National Park. Kota Kinabalu is state capital and hosts as international gateway.

A Famosa (original Portuguese fortress built in 1586 AD)

Melaka

Melaka (also spelled as Malacca) is located at the edge of west coast of Peninsular Malaysia on the famous Strait of Melaka. It is 147 kilometers driving distance from Kuala Lumpur. Historical evidences said Melaka was found in 1390 AD which is last 600 years ago. After Sultanates, Melaka was ruled by Portuguese, Dutch and Britishs for centuries. St. Paul Church (once Portuguese Catholic religious place and then turned over to a burial ground of the nobel deads; where St. Francis Xavier's remain was burried there 1553 before moved to Goa, India), A Fomosa (original Portuguese Fortress built in 1586), the 1950-built-Dutch-Government-Residence, the Christ Church (built in 1753 and Dutch architectural structures are able to study), Kampung Keling Mosque and Bukit China are also major historic place in Malacca. Melaka became promenent UNESCO World's Heritage Site in 7 July 2008.

How to get there
Approximately 2 hours driving distance from Kuala Lumpur and about 3 hours driving distance from Singapore.

Khoo Kongsi Clan Temple, Penang

Penang

Located in northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia and by the famous Strait of Malacca, Penang is an island now also called as "Peal of the Orient". Originally, Penang was under Malay Sultanate of Kedah but in 1786 Captain Francis Light from British East India Company disembark Penang and renamed it as "Prince of Wales Island". He married with the daughter of Sultan of Kedah and promised the Sultan military protection from Siamese (Thais / Chakri Dynasty) and Burmese (Konbaung Dynasty). Captain Francis Light is now honored as the founder of Penang. Trading and cultural exchanges have being developed over 500 years between East and West in the Straits of Malacca settlement along with Malacca and Singapore. George Town is the historic town of Penang and listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site jointly with Malacca in July 2008.

How to get there
There is an international airport in Penang serving numerous flights. It is also reachable by overland from Kuala Lumpur is about 369 kilometers.


Ref:-
- Tourism Malaysia
- Sarawak Tourism
- Tourism Penang
- National Geographic http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/07/090724-biggest-cave-vietnam.html
- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- "You'll love Malacca Guide & Information" by Wee Hock Chye

Photos:-
- Credits go to Sarawak Tourism Board (all rights reserved)
- uk.encarta.msn.com
- Khoo Kongsi Clan Temple http://imleavingnow.blogspot.com/2007/10/georgetown-kuala-lumpur-malaysia.html