Malaysia

http://www.tourism.gov.my/

Melakka is great and Kuala Lumpur is beautiful. GREAT FOOD, great shopping! The land is gorgeous and everything is wonderfully cheap (the people are real nice, too).

Try durians if you're real brave. Some people would die for them.

If you can survive the bus ride, the Cameron Highlands can be interesting. Penang also had some worthwhile sights and some beach action.  If you like the beach, go to the east coast area.

To get toPerhentian island (small island) take a bus from Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Besut.  Then take a 1 hour boat trip.  It's really fun.  Crystal clear water, good snorkling and diving. Or go to Tioman Island or Cherating.  For the forest go to Taman Negara in Pahang.  The best time for surfing is just before the monsoon. 

Crossing into Malaysia from Thailand, you can notice the economic difference right away.

Malaysia is definitely more expensive than Thailand particuarly on penninsular Malaysia.

The highlight of the trip to Malaysia is the Cameron Highlands. I loved it there for a few reasons:

1) I love tea and the Cameron Highlands is all tea plantations

2) I was tired of being hot and sweaty all the time, the Highlands were notably cooler

3) It was super laid back, quiet and the place reminded me of Banff before it got ridiculously touristy.

4) There is lots of great hiking there.

That said, aside from the Highlands the only other part of Malaysia I got to that I liked was Kuala Lumpur and frankly that was just another big city to me.

In Kuala Lumpur, take in the Petronas Twin Towers.  Probably they MOST efficient tour ever experienced. You're in and you are out and you're not lobbying for viewing space with several hundred others because they limit the number of people on each tour.  There are some caves on the outskirts of the city that are worth the visit and you can get there with ease by bus.

The season for surfing is Dec-Feb.  There is place called Langkawi, Wave pool at Sunway It's supposed to be a place where you can learn surfing.

Working on the Road

A lot of the guesthouses have postings for jobs on bulletin boards. A few restuarants/bars also help wanted signs up looking for English speaking help. You'd probably be able to find something pretty easily there.

Day Trips

See if you can try to pop down to Singapore if you haven't been there. Not the most fun place - in fact, looks like a nightmare to live there - but it's a sight to see. Never seen a more clean, organized, robot-like city that is completely functional before. From there, cross the line into Malaysia - the beaches around Johor Bahru are beautiful.

Weather

http://www.kjc.gov.my/