How to deal with the Heat and Humidity

2. Do we find good accommodation, malls, hospitals, pharmacies in places like Genting Highlands, Fraser Hills or Cameron highlands?

No

Live near the sea and plan on a high floor of a condo to capture constant breezes (prevailing wind direction is East - avoid westerly aspects for properties because of the heaty afternoon sun).

Gravitas wrote:

2. Do we find good accommodation, malls, hospitals, pharmacies in places like Genting Highlands, Fraser Hills or Cameron highlands?

No

Live near the sea and plan on a high floor of a condo to capture constant breezes (prevailing wind direction is East - avoid westerly aspects for properties because of the heaty afternoon sun).

Genting Highlands is closer to Kuala Lampur (around 50kms). Is it easily accessible?

Genting is a tourist area (as are all the places you mention). Very steep and dangerous access road.

There are some modern houses on the newer road down from Cameron Highlands but no real facilities.

Gravitas wrote:

Genting is a tourist area (as are all the places you mention). Very steep and dangerous access road. There are some modern houses on the newer road down from Cameron Highlands but no real facilities.

Thanks for your reply.
Apart from these regions that are touristic with no real facilities, do you see other places in the eastern side of the island near Brunei?

Flash flooding and landslides are common in the areas you mention

Kota Kinabalu perhaps.

Gravitas wrote:

Kota Kinabalu perhaps.

Nice place.
However it looks like the main facilities are located on the coastal area which is sea level.
The hills and mountains area seem less populated unfortunately.

All of Malaysia is like that.

You'd be surprised about the flooding...it can happen anywhere. Lot's of low places up in the highlands as well. And you also have to worry about hill-slope collapses.  As cities become more dense and start encroaching on the surrounding hills (popular for the views and breezes) the inevitable building on steep slopes and clearances of forest occurs.

All of the places you listed certainly have enough of the basics in terms of shopping, clinics, etc. Genting especially...with all of it's larger hotels and casinos. But for any major hospital one would have to come into the city.

You'll possibly pay a premium for longterm accommodation in any of these places. Lot's of restaurants, and tourists. I'd suggest typing in the names of the smaller cities (Tanah Rata or Brinchang for Cameron highlands) into a search engine like iproperty(dot)com or mudah(dot)com. They often will tell you the nearby clinics, shopping, restaurants, etc.

To get a good idea of the local microclimate one would have to visit the prospective condo in the afternoon. Unlike in the temperate zone there really is no "shady side" of a building (we are almost on the equator). Off shore breezes may vary depending on whether you are on the east or west side of Penang, in Wellesley or Ipoh, or elsewhere. Upper floors better, but sometimes the wind will actually pick up and your apartment will sound like hantus (ghosts) have invaded if window seals are not perfect. Sometimes there is diminishing benefit to getting higher and higher. It's just more expensive for the more expansive view.

And then there are the standard ways of beating the heat. Cotton fabrics, hats, and don't go out in the midday sun. Fans (both hand-held and kipas lestrik) if you aren't into running AC all day. Pulling shades and curtains. Double shading (if you have a balcony/veranda get a set of outdoor shades or reflective netting). Drinking ice tea and juices all the time (some prefer theirs a bit more alcoholic but there's the dehydration factor).  Showers.

Ok i'll add an answer.

There is really no point in trying to avoid the heat and humidity. By living in a certain place or which side of the road, an assumption is made that once having found such a spot that one would never leave it and thats ridiculous because sooner or later you have to budge out of that spot and into the pot of boiling water. So forget even trying to beat it.

The solution is simply to get used to it and stop worrying. In my first three years I sweated like crazy and was perpetually uncomfortable. Gradually, nature took over and adjusted the body. Im here almost 20 years and except on the very harshest of days, which are not many, i feel nothing at all, no discomfort. In fact, telling you something interesting, im from California and these days when I go back, the air is too dry, I cant breathe, and within 1-2 days my skin is cracking from dryness. I have to buy a large bottle of moisturizer and slather up! Never had to do that in my life. But my Malaysian side adjusted and now Im Malaysian in that respect, anyway.

I can always tell the newbies, they are sweating. But it does pass and thats how to see it. Live where you are most benefited by the goods and services needed and desired for your life and totally forget about the heat and humidity.  In my first trip here I bought a pack of handkerchiefs and used them plenty. Today, never. So yes, buy a pack and stop worrying

True dat! The body typically adapts. Yesterday was in a conference in a big modern hotel. They had the AC up, and I was freezing....shivering, because I came in a T-shirt. Probably a temperature that I'd shrug off in the Fall in the US.

You asked about Highland areas in East Malaysia. The two major spots would be the area around Ranau in Sabah (in the shadow of Mt. Kinabalu). Lots of resorts (with golf courses), meditation centers, retreats, homestays but didn't see many large apartment buildings. It's the one place where earthquakes might be a concern in Malaysia. It can get positively chilly at night, double blankets and cracking the ice on the dog's water bowl in the AM. The climate is excellent for western vegetables and fruits...carrots, lettuce, strawberries, etc. Ranau has a couple of shopping centers but not really catering to expats. I'm sure there are retirees around but what to do if you don't golf?

Then there is the Borneo Highlands. Again can get chilly at night, and it has a beautiful resort with lovely chalets and a golf course. About an hour drive from Kuching. Again no condos, or outside of the resort no services (no mall, only small markets, no restaurants other than in the homestays and the resort). The resort has spa, healthclub, some events, but is so secluded. Until the area opens up the Native Land to investment relationships...99 or 999 year leaseholds or whatever it will likely remain a commuter community.

@khalid298 Personally I haven't found a way to deal with the heat other than sitting under the AC. I have asthma so that's not a good option. I'd say go out, and sweat a little. It's like having your own sauna. Enjoy the climate I often laugh at my school mates suffering from the cold in US/UK during winter months. They are mostly complaining that the cold hurts the bones or arthritis joints. I haven't had that problem here, and having gone back to Texas to visit my daughter last Christmas was the worst winter on record for Texas. A huge  cold front came in from California. Something that normally doesn't happen there. I'm just praying a pole-shift doesn't ever happen here. I hate the cold. I'm a Floridian by birth so the heat appeals to me.

@cinnamonape It's now 2023 and we have lots of new condos here. Come and enjoy the view and the heat.

As I said 5 years ago in this thread, dont worry about trying to hide from the problem. Body adapts! Im in USA now and im freezing to death at anything below 80F/27C and wear three layers of clothes.

Before I ever went to Malaysia I had heard about the high humidity and heat. When I arrived it was much worse than I had imagined and wondered how anyone could live there. I thought it was so peculiar that locals werent sweating, I thought it was something in the genes and I envied them. But this was all untrue, all i needed was time to adjust.

In the beginning, very beginning, I almost refused to leave my hotel in which I ran the aircon at full speed all the time. I did the same when I got my own place but then realized I was cheating myself because this would delay getting used to the H-H. So I turned off all aircon and used ceiling fans only, same as locals. THEN i got relief and the rest is history.

@cvco

I've a similar tale to yours.

Since arriving in Vietnam, I've been able to incrementally raise the setting on my air conditioner. Then and now I still use it only in the bedroom at night (and occasional naps).

When I arrived in 2017, the default setting was 23C, something I now find much too cold after 6 years here. These days 26 or 27C suits me fine.

Bear in mind that I originate from a region referred to as "Iceberg Alley", so for me tolerating 26 or 27 is a real milestone

Never thought I would say this, but there are times I truly miss the ice and snow.

Old topic, but it can be answered in a few words:

Air conditioner

Showers

Breath through your nose.

Job done

Aidan,

And thar she blows! That 3rd pic is quite amazing. Frightening?

My ex-malaysian fiance from decades back moved to Toronto where it was routinely -5, -10, -15C everyday and she absolutely loved it. Go figure!

    Aidan,
And thar she blows! That 3rd pic is quite amazing. Frightening?

Yeah, the 'bergs can get quite large, You might even say they're titanic!

(the "Titanic" sank not far from my home)

My ex-malaysian fiance from decades back moved to Toronto where it was routinely -5, -10, -15C everyday and she absolutely loved it. Go figure!
        -@cvco

Go figure is right! I swear, some people's kids... 

It was -40C the day I decided I had had enough and started to cast my eye about looking for a pleasant retirement climate.

Incidentally, and as a piece of utterly useless trivia, -40 degrees is the only temperature where Celsius and Fahrenheit meet