Malaysia

Malaysia is a country in two parts, separated by the South China Sea: on one side the Malay peninsula, at the tip of mainland Asia, on the other the north of the island of Borneo. About 34 million people live there; the capital, Kuala Lumpur, is known for its twin towers. It is one of the most multicultural societies in Asia, where Malays, Chinese, Indians and Indigenous peoples live side by side, each with their own language, religion and food, a crossroads born of its place on the great sea routes.

Both parts of the country share the same character: rainforest, hot and humid all year, among the oldest in the world; Borneo's is home to orangutans. A spine of jungle-covered mountains runs down the peninsula, edged by coastal plains and beaches, while large rubber and oil-palm plantations have replaced part of the forest. Borneo, wilder, still has its rivers, its giant caves and its forest peoples.

The heart of the country is the Malay world, a people of sailors and traders. In the 15th century the sultanate of Malacca became one of the greatest ports in the world, a stopover between China, India and Arabia through which spices passed and through which Islam arrived. That wealth drew the Europeans, first the Portuguese, then the Dutch and finally the British, who brought in large numbers of Chinese and Indian workers for the tin mines and plantations, hence the country's diversity today. Peninsular Malaya became independent in 1957; today's federation, including Sabah and Sarawak on Borneo, was formed in 1963. The country has managed, not without tension, to hold its communities together.

The national language is Malay, an Austronesian language that links everyone; but English, inherited from the British, is heard everywhere, along with Chinese and Tamil in their communities. The official religion is Islam, the faith of the Malays, but the constitution guarantees freedom of worship: the Chinese community's Buddhist and Taoist temples, the Indian community's Hindu temples and the churches stand alongside the mosques.

Malaysia is best discovered through its food, famous precisely because it is so mixed: nasi lemak, rice cooked in coconut milk, the national dish; spicy laksa; grilled satay; Indian curries and Chinese noodles. It is the land of batik, wax-dyed cloth, of wooden houses on stilts and of a relaxed tropical way of life. Each community's big festivals (the end of Ramadan, Chinese New Year, Deepavali) are celebrated by everyone, in an "open house" spirit.