Malaysia

Malaysia is a land of contrast. Contrast in climate: cooler hills, warm beaches and steaming jungle; contrast in people and cultures: Malays, Chinese, Indian and aboriginal (Orang Asli); contrast in religions: Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity. The list can go on and on. Photographic opportunities present themselves each step of the way. While in Kuala Lumpur the best way to photograph is at night. It looks rather plain, brown-grey in daylight. At night, the city suddenly lights up in a myriad of colours. The butterfly park in Kuala Lumpur presents a lot of opportunities for macro photography. You can spend a couple of hours in there looking for the best subjects and opportunities. There are not many organised tours as such to go to the rainforest. On a number of occasions I have booked a tour where I was picked up by a car and driven to the destination where I have left to my own devices to find my way in the jungle. There are pros and cons to it. The advantages are that you move along quietly and do not to disturb the local wildlife. You can stop any time and rest. While the disadvantages are that if something happens you have no way of getting help. My mobile phone was out of coverage as soon as I have proceeded to the depth of the jungle. However, the trails in parks are clearly marked with directions and distances. As long as you stay on the track you are bound to be found by another fellow hiker. One thing you are pretty much guaranteed to see is the monkeys. They come in a number of shapes and colours and belong to 2 types (as far as I know): long-tailed macaque and silvered leaf monkey. The first one is larger and can get aggressive, while the other is small and cute. However, as with any wildlife you have to give them space and appear non-threatening. I usually just stop and wait. After a while monkeys will start to ignore you. Once, they are relaxed and continue with their business, I start taking photos. There are also various kites and eagles. You need to have at least 300mm fast lens on a digital SLR to be able to get reasonably good photos of those. I generally carry a monopod that I use as quick support and it also doubles up as a walking stick. While in the rainforest, the humidity is quite high. You need to dry the equipment thoroughly on return.