Malaysia & Singapore

19 days · 6 main stops · August 2026.

Malaysia was the part of this trip we connected with most. Over almost three weeks, the journey changed character several times: Kuala Lumpur gave us the city start, Ipoh slowed things down, Penang brought atmosphere and food, Mersing was purely practical, Tioman became the emotional high point, and Singapore closed the loop at the end.

Why we chose this kind of route

We did not want three weeks in one resort and we did not want to race through a checklist either. The route gave us a mix of cities, shorter stops and enough time on an island to actually settle into it.

Looking back, that balance worked well. The trip never felt like one repeated experience.

The places that stayed with us

Tioman: the highlight

Tioman was the place that came closest to what we had hoped for before the trip. Melina Beach Resort felt like paradise to us, and diving with the kids became one of the strongest memories of the entire journey.

Seeing sharks and turtles together, with reefs that were mostly in quite good condition, gave the island much more meaning for us than simply spending five nights on a beach.

Penang: easy to recommend

Lost Paradise Resort made Penang feel distinctive from the moment we arrived. It did not have a real swimming beach, and it sat outside George Town, but neither became a major disadvantage for us. Grab made getting around straightforward, while the resort itself had enough character that we were happy to return to it after being out.

Ipoh: the stop we would question

Ipoh is where our answer becomes less simple. Sam Poh Tong and Perak Tong were beautiful, and Tasik Cermin was worth seeing. But on a three-week Malaysia trip, Ipoh itself is the stop we would most likely shorten or leave out.

But not the orangutans. That experience was an absolute must for us and one of the highlights of the journey. Our verdict is therefore not “skip this part of Malaysia”; it is simply that Ipoh as a city did not feel essential to the route.

The trip was not perfect — which is the point

The Octagon in Ipoh had a strong smell coming from the toilets and was the one hotel we would not book again. Melina on Tioman was expensive. Boat taxis on the island were expensive too. YOTEL in Singapore had very small rooms.

None of those things ruined the journey. But they are exactly the details we want to preserve here because they matter much more when planning than generic lists of attractions.

Would we do this route again?

Yes, with adjustments. We would protect the time on Tioman, keep Penang, keep the orangutan experience, and question whether two nights in Ipoh were the best use of limited time.

That is the idea behind Unfiltered Miles: not to declare a route perfect, but to show what it felt like after actually travelling it.