The Malaysian Grand Prix revs up in March.

The Kota Belud Tamu Besar is a huge tribal gathering held in May at Kota Belud near Kota Kinabalu in Sabah. It includes a massive market, traditional ceremonies, ornately decorated horsemen, medicine men and tribal handicrafts. A smaller tamu is held in Kota Belud every Sunday if you’re not visiting during May.

The Rainforest World Music Festival is held in Kuching in July or August, and Malaysia’s National Day s on 31 Aug; it will be huge in 2007 when the country celebrates its 50th anniversary of independence.

Malaysia: Sights

Batu Caves
Address Ipoh Road Transport bus: Intrakota bus 11D, Cityliner bus 69 Hours 08:00 – 21:00 Keyword religious/spiritual, cave, wildlife Just north of Kuala Lumpur a towering limestone outcrop is home to the impressive Batu Caves. The caves were ‘officially’ discovered around 120 years ago by American naturalist William Hornaday. A short time later a small Hindu shrine was built in the vast open space, later known as Temple Cave.

A flight of 272 steps leads up to Temple Cave. Beyond the towering main cavern, the space opens to an atrium-like cave at the rear. Many visitors are more spellbound by the monkeys that scale the vertical cliff faces than by the shrines which are dwarfed by the scale of the cave. The whole spectacle has been enhanced of late by an enormous golden statue of Muruga, also known as Lord Subramaniam, to whom the caves are dedicated.

Each year in late January or early February up to a million pilgrims visit here during the three days of Thaipusam. Lord Muruga’s silver chariot takes pride of place as it makes its way from the Sri Mahamariamman Temple in KL’s Chinatown to the caves.

Lake Gardens
Address JIn Parlimen, Lake Gardens district, Kuala Lumpur Transport bus: 21B, 22, 48C, F3 from Chinatown
train: Kuala Lumpur Keyword garden These 92ha (227ac) of manicured gardens lie west of Merdeka Sq and were once home to the ranking British official. There’s plenty to keep you amused, including a butterfly park, planetarium, insect museum, walk-in aviary, orchid garden and hibiscus garden. You can also hire boats on Tasik Perdana (Premier Lake).

Sepilok Orang-Utan Rehabilitation Centre
Address Sepilok Phone tel: (089) 531180 (info) Hours 09:00 – 12:00 & 14:00 – 16:00
feeding time 10:00 & 15:00 Keyword zoo One of only four orang-utan sanctuaries in the world, Sepilok is among Sabah’s top tourist attractions – so much so that the atmosphere can be a bit like a circus or a zoo. Nonetheless, a visit to Sepilok can be a memorable experience. The orang-utans are impressive, young orang-utans particularly so, all ginger fur and intelligent eyes.

Stadthuys
Address Jalan Kota, Melaka Phone tel: (06) 282 6526 (info) Hours Sat-Thu 09:00 – 17:00 , Fri 09:00 – 12:15 & 14:45 – 17:30 Keyword museum, significant house, architectural highlight The most imposing relic of the Dutch period in Melaka is the massive red town hall and governors’ residence, built between 1641 and 1660 and believed to be the oldest Dutch building in the East. It displays all the typical features of Dutch colonial architecture. Today the Stadthuys houses the musty but informative History and Ethnography Museum.