Gardens of Malaysia

We depart from London on an overnight flight to Kuala Lumpur. Free airport lounge access is available prior to departure. Please note that regional flight connections, flight upgrades and/or overnight accommodation before or after the tour are available on request.

On arrival at Kuala Lumpur airport this morning we transfer by coach to our hotel in Malacca. The rest of the day is free to relax after our flight. A welcome dinner is served in our hotel this evening.

After breakfast we depart on a full day guided coach tour of Malacca, beginning with visits to the Botanic Garden and Garden of a Thousand Flowers. The Botanic Garden has a lush and tranquil setting, surrounded by indigenous forest, and is divided up into five distinct gardens; taro/yam; bamboo; orchids; herbs and heliconias. There is also a Canopy Walk, Forestry Museum and a Dinosaur Park, featuring giant stone carvings of prehistoric animals that were indigenous to this area. As the name suggests, the beautifully landscaped Garden of a Thousand Flowers contains a wide range of flowering plants, including the orchid ‘Jeanne Abdullah’, wife of the fifth President of Malaysia.
Following an opportunity for lunch (not included) and stroll along Malacca’s famous Jonker Street, we enjoy a tour of the city. For centuries Malacca was an important trading post for spices and other goods, and its colonial era architecture reflects its Portuguese, Dutch, British and Chinese heritage. Among the sights are St. Peter’s Church (1710), the oldest Christian Church still in use in Malaysia; the 17th century Chinese cemetery; the Portuguese Settlement and the ruins of St. Paul’s Church lined with 17th century Dutch tombstones. We will also see “Red Square”, the salmon pink Dutch administrative buildings which today house the Malacca Museum and government offices, and visit the Cheng Hoon Teng Temple, where the three major doctrines of Chinese belief are followed under the same roof.  Evening at leisure.

Following breakfast we check out of our hotel and transfer by coach to Kuala Lumpur, stopping en route at Putrajaya, where we visit the Agricultural Heritage Park. There is a viewing deck, a ‘herbs and spices’ trail and an area which has been planted with 170 different types of agricultural trees and plants like rubber, cocoa, oil palm, pepper, coffee, fruits, herbs and spices. We will see how these trees and plants are germinated, grown, nursed and later harvested and processed into useful products, edible or otherwise.
After a look at some of the sights of Putrajaya such as the pink-tinged Putra Mosque and the Prime Minister’s office (the executive government moved here from Kuala Lumpur in 1999) we will visit the charming public botanic garden, which features both indigenous and exotic species, including African and South American flora.
After lunch (included), we continue our journey north to Kuala Lumpur, where on arrival we will visit the ‘secret garden’ on top of the Utama Shopping Centre. Around 500 species of both tropical and cool-climate plants have been laid out in the 30,000sq feet space, making this one of the largest roof-top gardens in the country.
Later in the afternoon we check in to our hotel. Evening at leisure.

This morning, after breakfast, we depart for a visit to FRIM (Forest Research Institute Malaysia) forest reserve at Kepong, which features a canopy walkway system suspended from the trees at about 30m above ground level. The walkway was constructed in 1992 for the scientific study of indigenous flora and fauna and provides a unique perspective of life in the trees as well as panoramic views.
Returning to Kuala Lumpur we will have free time for lunch (not included), followed by a visit to Kuala Lumpur Lake Gardens (Taman Tasik Perdana) which dates back to the 1880s. Built round an artificial lake it encompasses undulating greenery interspersed with shady trees and flowering shrubs, including a small terraced garden which provides a strikingly colourful panorama of countless varieties of hibiscus. We will also visit the Orchid Garden here, which contains over 800 species from Malaysia alone, some of which are for sale.
We will round off the day with a guided coach tour of Kuala Lumpur, the federal capital of Malaysia and a relatively young city, having its origins as a trading post and frontier town in the 1850s. Today it represents the modern face of Malaysia, epitomised by the iconic Petronas Towers which provide an unmissable photo opportunity. Further sights include the King's Palace, the National Monument, the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, Independence Square and Masjid Jamek.

Enjoy your breakfast. This morning we check out of our hotel and depart by coach for Cameron Highlands. The scenic, winding route takes us via Tapah, where a few families make their livelihood by weaving bamboo baskets; the Lata Iskander Waterfall and the Orang Asli huts, a glimpse into the lives of the aboriginal Malay people who have all but vanished. At some 1500m above sea level, marked by a noticeable drop in temperature, we reach the plateau where the rolling hillsides are given over to vast plantations and we should spot gangs of workers picking the tender leaves of the flowering shrub Camellia sinensis – better known as tea. The hill station of Cameron Highlands was developed by the British in the 1920s and was originally intended as a “sanatorium, health resort and open farmland”. When the road was completed in 1931 tea planters moved in, finding the fertile soil and cool climate ideal for growing their valuable crop, which played such a vital part in lubricating the machinery of the British Empire!
We will check into our resort hotel, where dinner is served in the evening.

After breakfast we enjoy a full-day guided coach tour of the countryside of the Cameron Highlands which is packed full of local colour and variety. Our tour begins with a visit to one of the Tea Plantations and continues to a local fruit and vegetable market, an apiary where delicious honey is produced, a butterfly garden, a Chinese Buddhist temple, cactus and flower gardens, a strawberry farm and finally Tan’s Camellia Garden, where the passionate and enthusiastic Mr Tan grows a wide range of anthuriums, amaryllis and camellias. Lunch is included in a local restaurant today.

Following breakfast we check out of our hotel and depart for Penang, breaking our journey with visits to Sam Poh Tong Cave Temple, a Chinese Buddhist temple built into a limestone hillside, which features a beautifully decorated pavilion and a landscaped garden and fish pool. We continue our journey via Kuala Kangsar, where we see the Ubudiah Mosque and Iskandariah Palace before reaching the Taiping Lake Gardens. Created on the site of an abandoned tin mine, the gardens were established as a public park in 1880. Ten scenic lakes and ponds highlight the beauty of this tranquil park, along with mature trees and a host of other plants. Lunch is included today.
We continue to Penang, often referred to as the Pearl of the Orient for its natural beauty and exotic heritage. Evening at leisure.

After breakfast this morning we depart for a visit to the Tropical Spice Gardens, which contains over 500 varieties of tropical flora from all over the world. These can be viewed from three differently themed trails, landscaped on natural jungle terrain. There are also a number of different Garden Rooms featuring special plant collections such as spices and herbs, aquatic plants, bamboos, crotons, cycads, ferns, gingers, heliconias, jungle plants, orchids and rare palms, with educational signage displaying the names and uses for each plant.
We continue with a guided coach tour of Penang, in particular the capital city of Georgetown, named for King George III, with its intriguing blend of old and new. We will see Fort Cornwallis, one of the largest colonial buildings in SE Asia, dating from 1808; Chew Jetty, a waterfront settlement with houses on stilts, created by Chinese immigrants in the mid-19th century; Harmony Street, home to an Anglican church, Chinese and Indian temples and a mosque; Little India and bustling Chinatown. We will also visit Penang Botanic Gardens, which were founded in 1884 and restored to their former glory after the depredations of the Second World War. Perhaps the most conspicuous plants are the Cannon Ball Tree and the large buttress roots of the Sengkuang Tree; look out too for the Pinang Palm that lent its name to the island of Penang, and the Black Lily with its unique purplish-black coloured flowers. Macaques, Dusky Leaf Monkeys and Black Giant Squirrels can be seen flitting through the trees.

Enjoy your breakfast. The day is free to relax in the hotel or go shopping or sightseeing on your own.

After breakfast we check out of our hotel and transfer by coach to the local airport in Penang for an internal flight to Kuala Lumpur, where we connect with our overnight flight to London.

We arrive London, where the group will disperse or make onward connections.