Nusajaya – The Thrifty Traveller

Here are recent new additions to my website Malaysia Traveller which you might have missed:

Pulau Besar – Mystical Island Near Melaka

Pulau Besar is part beach resort and part Islamic pilgrimage site. There are also legends of elves, goblins and strange rocks. Worth a visit.

Chitty Village

The Chitty Village is home to a unique hybrid community of Hindu Peranakans, descendants from Tamil traders who settled in Melaka over 500 years ago.

Melaka Zoo & Night Safari

Melaka Zoo is one of the better zoos in Malaysia. Read my review here and see entrance fee, opening hours and directions.

A’Famosa Water Park

A’Famosa Water World probably has the most thrilling water theme park slides in Malaysia. Read my review here.

Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park

Younger kids will enjoy Sanrio Hello Kitty Town and The Little Big Club located at Puteri Harbour Theme Park in Johor. Read details here.

Legoland Malaysia

Legoland Malaysia is a new, world-class family theme park in Johor. Read my review of the attractions here.

My recent blog about the smoking orangutans at Melaka Zoo attracted the attention of the Friends of the Orangutans, a Malaysian organization trying to end cruelty to orangutans. You can read about their work here:

Legoland Malaysia opened in September 2012 in Nusajaya, Johor. It is the 6th Legoland theme park in the world and the first in Asia, the other ones being in:

Billund, Denmark

Windsor, UK

Carslbad, California

Gunzberg, Germany

Polk County, Florida

The rides, roller coasters and other attractions are pretty similar, if not identical, in all the parks but where there is regional variation is in the Minilands, the miniature worlds made from millions of Lego bricks, which form the heart of all Legoland parks. Windsor Legoland for example has models of landmarks and scenes from around the British Isles and Europe whereas the Malaysian version portrays famous buildings and city-scapes from Malaysia, Singapore, other ASEAN countries plus China and India. There are no scenes of Japan, Korea, Taiwan or Hong Kong, perhaps suggesting that Legoland might open a park in that part of the world at some future date.

Here is an end-of-year quiz for you. How many of the following 11 places can you identify? (one point for each correct country and one for each actual landmark or location).

Hover your mouse over the photo for the answers.