Francis Peppett Photography

We spend 48 hours in Kuala Lumpur, visiting it's amazing Islamic Art Museum, eating Rota Canai, and dipping into art galleries. RexKL is in Chinatown, and people roam the booky labyrinth, stopping to read in little nooks and crannies.

After trekking through Penang National Park to one of its many deserted beaches, we seek shade in a café by it's entrance. After a few minutes a troop of macaques exit the park to begin roaming the nearby residential streets, with one stopping for a scratch on a roadside scooter.

Little India is a small neighbourhood in central Penang, awash with colour, sari shops and the smell of samosas being fried and incense being burnt.

On a blisteringly hot day, Siva served up Pani Puri and sweet masala chai from his some roadside hawker stall.

Our first stop in Malaysia is Georgetown, a city of multiple cultures, rich history and suffocating humid heat. It's population is over 50% ethnic Chinese and our visit coincides with Chinese New Year. The city is quiet on the day itself, with many spending time celebrating at home with family. However, impromptu firework displays light up the sky in the evenings, as a young girl watches on from her dad's shoulders.