If you think about heading to Johor Bahru, you are more likely to be a victim of petty theft than violent crime (unless you run into a drug trade), but you would want to avoid being a victim of any crime.

If you decide to walk around the city of Johor Bahru, don’t do it alone because this is one of the easiest and best ways to be safe and try to keep it to day hours.

Secondly, if you are purchasing anything, please use change or small bills, if possible, don’t show your wallet or money to anyone and keep it close to your body, refrain from “wow, that was cheap or saying something like that.

If you are wealthy or even reasonably so for that area, don’t do anything to show your wealth, keep jewelry to minimum and clothing simple

Be cautious of strangers asking for change, ignore them because if they have your attention, you are more likely to be mugged at a knife point, better act disinterested and keep walking.

Finally, and completely different from your personal safety, be careful about water in Johor Bahru, boil all tap water and if possible drink only bottled water.

It is the southernmost city in Malaysia, thousands of travellers hit this city on their way from Thailand to Singapore. It is the second largest city in Malaysia after Kuala Lumpur. Because of the extremely large flow of tourists the city of Johor Bahru has developed into a real hub of heritage attractions, great variety of cultures, awesome cuisine and hundreds of fun things to do.

No one will ever get bored in this lovely place as there are hundreds of shopping malls, handicraft shops, exhibitions, bazaars and night markets to wonder around and get some souvenirs. Johor Bahru City Square is very famous for delivering great quality goods to shoppers of any expectations. It is situated in the Central Business District

Incredibly interesting side of Johor Bahru is its night life. As soon as it gets dark you can see thousands of food stalls and vendors appearing literally from nowhere, bringing some fabulous cuisine as well as an extremely great variety of local drinks such as ‘Chai’.

Taking a cab is a very common and cheap (not as cheap as taking the local bus) way to travel around the city as nearly every city cab is supposed to have a meter. The fare prices double after the midnight.

KTM (local train system) offers numerous services connecting Johor Bahru with every Malaysian state and can even take you to Singapore in no time. Tourists who prefer to travel by sea may do so by taking a ferry from Tanjung Belungkor ferry station in Johor Bahru straight to Changi Point in Singapore, the journey will satisfy absolutely anyone who is in love with the sea.

The weather in Johor Bahru is the same as the everywhere in Malaysia; the Malaysian climate is categorized as an equatorial because the country is located near the equator, being hot and humid throughout year.

The annual rainfall exceeds 2000mm a year and the average temperature is 27 degrees (81 F).

Malaysia faces two monsoon wind seasons, the Southwest monsoon from late May to September and the Northeast monsoon wind from November to March.

The northeast monsoon brings in more rainfall compared to southwest monsoon. The records suggest that the highest temperature was recorded in Chuping Perils on the 9^th April 1998 at 40.1 degrees (104.2 F) and the lowest rainfall was recorded on the 6^th January 1967 at 608mm in kota Bharu, Kelantan and the highest in Sandakan, Sabah at 5687mm in 2006.

The wettest place in Malaysia is Kuching Sarawak with the average rainfall of 4128mm with 247days of rain a year, and the driest place in Malaysia is Chuping Perils with the average rainfall of only 1746mm a year.

Visitors to Johor Bahru will never go hungry as there is a great range of cheap food to try, which draws large numbers of hungry gastronomes from Singapore every day. Fresh seafood is widely available and often turned into spicy curries and traditional Malay dishes. Johor Bahru is famous for its vibrant night market and this is also a great place to find a cheap meal and pick up a bargain or two.

Hawker stalls and coffee shops are good places to find a cheap and tasty meal. Hawker stalls tend to be very clean and open until late in the evening. Curry dishes and other meals in western style restaurants, while seafood restaurants serve fresh fish prepared in the Chinese style. For western food, head to the shopping malls, where you will usually find a large food court with a number of well known fast food restaurants.

Despite being located in a predominately Muslim country, alcohol is widely available in Johor Bahru. Beer and other alcohol can be bought in bars, restaurants and 7-11 shops. The local brew is tuak, which fermented rice wine that comes in many forms. Usually served lukewarm, tuak is often flavoured with sugar or honey.

Cameroon Highlands offers many accommodations from guest houses to apartments to Luxury hotels and whatever your budget or requirements there is surely somewhere in this exotic, cool and beautiful destination to suit you. That said it is hard to find mid range accommodation here but the ones on offer are very, very good.

For the budget conscious or outdoor enthusiast  Sg Pauh Campsite in Taman Sedia just between Taman Rata and Brinchang is a basic amenity campsite with running water and showers.

A very popular hostel is Father’s Guest House in Tanah Rata. It has dorm and private rooms and you can book tours from here.

For as little as 8RM you can rent a dorm room bed in Daniel Kang’s Traveler’s Lodge in Tanah Rata, They offer hot showers, DVDs, a pool table and nightly bonfires, where you can barbeque your own food.

Owned by friendly Indians, The Twin Pines offers great value rooms from 12RM to 75 RM with internet, cable TV, hot showers and a small garden.

On Jalan Mentigi lies The Cameronian Inn with its cute cottages and lovely garden., afternoon tea and strawberry scones, and mix of dorms and private rooms.TV room with ASTRO. 4-Bed Dorm: RM10, Private Double Room w/shared bathroom: RM50.
In Brinchang there is the Hotel Chua Gin, with its inexpensive rooms and apartments.

For the less budget conscious there is The Bala’s Holiday Chalet in Tanah Rata. One of the most ancient colonial buildings in Cameron Highlands which started life as a school. Within walking distance of Tanah Rata this mock English guest house has lovely lawns and spectacular mountain views, just the place to contemplate and enjoy tea and scones.

The Cameron highlands may be short on bars but its restaurants and food stalls are a delightful experience and great value for money. Loads of cuisines to choose from Western, Malay, Indian and Chinese as well as superb local produce like strawberries, honey and locally produced teas. The English influence still remains and cream teas with jam and scones are wonderful.

A ‘steamboat’ is a great delicacy. They give you a pot of boiling water and you cook you own meat and vegetables at the table try The Mayflower in Tanah Rata where it’s a specialty.

Zainab Samin in Tanah Rata has fantastic Malay food.

Gerai Opah in Tanah Rata offer great mountaineers breakfasts and friendly staff.

Restaurant No. 14 in Tanah Rata has fabulous curries and other Indian delicacies.

Bala’s Holiday Chalet is famous for its afternoon teas which are delicious at any time of the day.

Right next to the guilty pleasures of Starbucks in Tanah Rata is Sri Brinchang which has great Indian food at exceptional prices with some vegetarian dishes..

Another tea room with a great atmosphere is Tanah Rata though remember they close on Sundays.

The only place to enjoy German food in Jalan Persiaran which is The German Swiss Restaurant well worth a visit the sausages are so fresh you’d think you were in Berlin

All of these restaurants serve authentic, well made food with great service. It’s a good job that there are many opportunities for exercise in the Cameron Highlands!

^{Kota Kinabalu has a constant equatorial climate with very heavy rainfall, high humidity (over 80% throughout the year) and constant temperature all the year round. The highest daily temperatures are in the low thirties centigrade. The lowest daily temperatures are in the low twenties. The temperature changes little throughout the year but April and May are the hottest months with December and January being the coolest. There are marginal shifts of one degree centigrade and so really of little effect to ones enjoyment of the location, however, the visitor must be aware of monsoons before travelling here.}

^{Like all of Sabah Kota Kinabula is subject to two monsoons the Northeast Monsoon and the Southwest Monsoon.  The Northeast Monsoon occurs between November and March the Southwest Monsoon occurs between May and September making it a difficult destination at these times. Also there are two inter-monsoons occurring between April and May and between September and October will also bring difficulties to sightseeing and amenities.}

^{February and March are the driest times to visit and the monsoon is at its peak in mid October so travelling will probably be the most easy and enjoyable at these times of the year.}

The Cameroon Highlands is a very kid friendly destination with a mild climate and easily accessible attractions. Although little here is children specific, except for some playgrounds and park exhibits, the destination itself is exciting for young and old alike.

Even the most unfocused child should have a lot to occupy them. With a little pre arrangement games, such as spot the fauna or name the insect can provide hours of contented fun.

There is so much to see and do that a three day family visit is action packed. Getting around is very easy with on foot or local buses for the budget conscious. Maps are plentiful so make sure you pick up one for you and one for them!

Taxis and four wheel drive offer tours of the area.

The Butterfly Park contains fish snakes, turtles, tortoises, scorpions grasshoppers, stick insects and guinea pigs. Most children will find this very interesting but supervision and support is needed for the more sensitive child! Allow 1-2 hours here which includes ample time for lunch or refreshments.

The Strawberry Parks are everywhere and kids not only love picking strawberries but can also eat them later with ice cream topped with sugar. Yum!

The Cactus Farm and Robinson waterfalls are well worth visiting but supervision is, of course, recommended in both these areas.

A trip to The Smokehouse Restaurant for tea and scones is a must and maybe as a reward for a picking up litter excursion which many children enjoy. Hotels provide a plastic bag and a useful activity for the ecology of this wonderful place.

The main hospital was established in 1943 as a small health clinic with only one Hospital Assistant along the main road of Tanah Rata.

The Outpatient Department (OPD) is located on the ground floor and opens from 8.00am to 4.30pm daily from Monday to Friday. On Saturday, it opens from 8.00am to 12.50pm. It is closed on all Public Holidays.  Foreigners have to pay RM15.00 for each OPD visit. This charge does not include laboratory investigations and procedures done in the Hospital. Medication is included.

Emergency radiological services are available. Ultrasound services for maternity cases are available.

The Inpatient Facility has two wings, with one wing for Maternity and Gynecological cases and the other wing for general medical, surgical and pediatric cases.

There is a labor room catering for normal deliveries as well as instrumental deliveries. Patients requiring a Caesarian Section have to be referred to Hospital Ipoh.

There are no charges for admission into the wards for Malaysians but foreigners are charged RM50.00 for a delivery. Admission is by referral from the OPD or Casualty.

The Casualty is situated on the ground floor and caters for emergency cases during and after office hours. After office hours, patients ring the bell at the front or inform the Ward staff upstairs. There is always a Doctor or Medical Assistant On-Call.  Foreigners are charged RM15.

The Pharmacy is situated on the ground floor and caters for ALL patients of the hospital. Only drugs prescribed by the Doctor or Medical Assistant are dispensed.

The Dental Clinic is situated on the ground floor towards the back of the building. The operating hours are the same as the OPD. The clinic is manned by one Dentist and 2 Dental Nurses.

All cases are by appointment. Walk-in cases are on a case to case basis.

Depending on the type of dental procedures, there will be a fee levied

There are no separate charges for the drugs dispensed.

Taking its name from surveyor William Cameron who mapped the area in 1885 The Cameron Highlands quickly became developed by Chinese vegetable farmers, tea planters and rich colonialists attracted by its cool, high altitude weather.

The temperature never drops below 10˚c or rises above 21˚c perfect for tea  making the area became the centre for Malaysia’s vast tea industry. Vegetable cultivation also flourished here as well as flowers which grow in commercial abundance to the present day.

In recent times property development has grown at an unprecedented and rapid rate. Modern high rise have done much to destroy the once peaceful English colonial atmosphere.

The environment has also suffered greatly from unchecked and  often illegal land clearance.

Vast hillsides have been flattened and streams filled in to increase farmland causing flooding and landslides.  Erosion had caused Ringlet Lake to silt up almost completely by 2005, when lengthy dredging operation began, and flooding problems will no doubt continue. The Malayan Government has introduced tougher laws against water pollution another ecological nightmare. After many years of construction a better road running from Ipoh to Brinchang and Tanah Rata is now open, making trips to and from the Highlands easier and faster. This new and better access will no doubt bring even greater population and prosperity to the area let’s hope with a more respect for the nature which originally started it.