Malaysia is our favourite country in Southeast Asia.

Its fabulous mix of cultures – Malay, Chinese and Indian – gives the country an incredible diversity that we haven’t experienced elsewhere, from food to religious practices and everything in between.

The people are very friendly and so many speak English that we’ve felt more able to make a connection with the locals than we did in Thailand, Laos or Cambodia.

Some cyclists complain about heavy traffic on the West coast of Malaysia and it’s certainly hairy by times, especially around Kuala Lumpur.

We wouldn’t recommend cycling into the capital but you can easily travel around the islands of Langkawi and Penang, over to the tea-growing plantations of the Cameron Highlands and down to Malacca without seeing much traffic at all.

The East coast of Malaysia is reputed to have fantastic beach-side cycling but not during the monsoon season, which starts around November.