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The Atlas Obscura Guide To Malaysia

66 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Malaysia

Updated October 2, 2026
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Stories About Malaysia

Aerial view of Pulau Tiga

The Original ‘Survivor’ Island Changed Television Forever

Pulau Tiga, best known as the original ‘Survivor’ island, was as much of a character on the show as the contestants were.
by The Podcast Team, Atlas Obscura
To get acquainted with Penang's rich food culture, start with finding as many colorful iterations of kuih as possible, then dive deeper into the island's history to understand how its vibrant food scene came to be.

A Gastro Obscura Guide to Penang

The tropical trading hub is home to delicious diasporas, fantastic fruit, and sumptuous snacking.
by Samantha Chong, Atlas Obscura
A Ronald McDonald statue from a McDonald's store in Langkawi, Malaysia.

Inside the Malaysian Museum Devoted to McDonald's Toys

Lee Choon Chiek has spent four decades collecting 70,000 toys, Happy Meal boxes, Grimace costumes, and more.
by Joni Chng, Atlas Obscura
An overlooked character on the Victoria ship possibly got to his homeland before the Europeans arrived in theirs.

Did an Enslaved Man Beat Magellan to Circling the World?

The unsung hero may have also been instrumental in defeating the colonizers.
by Kate McMahon, Atlas Obscura
Kebaya is the first restaurant in New York to focus on Peranakan food.

A Secretive Food Culture Enters the Spotlight

Peranakan cuisine is a feast of complexity.
by Samantha Chong, Atlas Obscura
Metal guitarist and paper effigy artisan Koh Eng Keat sits on his motorcycle in front of a seven-foot-tall paper mansion. Keat runs 358 Custom Effigies Workshop with his father Koh Ah Bah where building elaborate papier-mâché effigies like this are just part of a normal workday.

Meet the Punk Rocker Building Life-Sized Paper Effigies for Malaysia’s Ghosts

The doom metal guitarist builds papier-mâché BMWs, iPhones, and mansions—then it all goes up in smoke.
by Marco Ferrarese, Atlas Obscura
A man makes a traditional dragon heads for the Lunar New Year celebration in Bogor, Indonesia.

5 Colorful Stories About the Pageantry of the Lunar New Year

Go behind the scenes of celebration, from molten metal to sticky cakes.
by April White, Atlas Obscura
A detail of a plant with blue berries, from Marianne North's 1876 painting Curious Plants from the Forest of Matang, Sarawak, Borneo.

A Botanical Mystery Solved, After 146 Years

How a young illustrator’s attention to detail—and a determined Victorian woman's legacy—led to the discovery of a new species in an old painting.
by Gemma Tarlach, Atlas Obscura
Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
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