How is it to be a student in Malaysia?

May 3, 2019
Destination, Student Stories, Malaysia, Semester Abroad

Life in Malaysia as an international student be like…

Are you thinking about studying abroad? Do you want to have an experience out of the box? Do you want to live comfortably on a student budget? If you are answering these questions with `yes` then Malaysia is the perfect destination for your semester abroad. In the following, I want to give you my top reasons why I had the best time of my life while I was studying in Malaysia.

From rainforests to crystalline seas, Malaysia has so many hidden gems to explore! Photo By Iqx Azmi / CC BY

Culture

Let`s start with my favorite thing about this beautiful country. Malaysia is a melting pot where you can get in touch with nationalities from literally everywhere. I cannot even count the amount of people I met from different countries. Learning about their culture, country and religious background has broadened my horizon and made me a more open-minded person.

You can find really cheap flight tickets in Malaysia because it has one of the central airports in South East Asia. Photo By Vincent Versluis / CC BY

Travel

Malaysia offers you plenty of spots for an adventure or to recover from your days in university. You can feel the refreshing climate of Cameron Highlands, see the purest of nature in Perhentian Island and spend your evenings watching the impressive Twin Towers of Kuala Lumpur.

During your semester-break you can enjoy the best food in Thailand, catch the waves in Bali or visit the beautiful islands of the Philippines. Since Malaysia has one of the central airports in South East Asia you can get a flight ticket to those destinations for around $50 (return ticket included). Sounds like a good investment, right?

Malaysia is a foodie’s paradise. Photo By Ash Edmonds / CC BY

Food

Talk to someone who has been abroad in Malaysia and one thing they`ll say for sure is that they are missing the food. Malaysia is a food heaven and there are plenty of delicacies you have to try when you are studying in this country. The national dish `Nasi Lemak` which is a rice dish with chicken, egg, peanuts and vegetables costs very little (around RM 2 or approximately $0.50). The Malaysian cuisine is a mix wonderful mix of Malay, Chinese and Indian flavors.

You might also be interested in: Top 5 Reasons Why You Should Study in Malaysia

Nightlife

Malaysia offers you a decent chunk of bars to spend your spare time with your friends. In the pub streets you can find a lot of happy hours almost everyday and in some bars girls get drinks even for free for a couple of hours per evening. Not the worst place for a night out right? If you like dancing, you can also find plenty of options to go to go crazy till the sun comes up again.

Kuala Lumpur is a bustling and eventful place full of exciting nightlife. Photo By Nick Fewings / CC BY

One of my highlights is the Helipad Bar where you can enjoy the view over whole Kuala Lumpur while listing to good music and enjoying nice cocktails. The drinks are a little bit more expensive there but believe me it`s worth it.

I just can recommend anybody who is thinking about studying abroad to consider Malaysia as their destination and take a closer look on it. From my perspective I can hardly believe that you can find such a complete package anywhere else. The mix of new cultures, foods and spots to travel for a comparatively low price is unique.