Delicious salak

Local children ready to dance

Making 'tops'

Pandanus leaf weaving

I’ve had my fair share of hotels-that-could-be-anywhere and restaurants that serve the same-tasty-somethings. But here, sitting on the floor in of a house in provincial Malaysia, looking through photo albums of people I don’t know and listening to a language I cannot understand, here, feels like home.

If you’re feeling adventurous or seeking an excursion that differs from the usual beaten track of austere hotel rooms and overcrowded landmarks, then a homestay in Malaysia could be just the thing for you.

Filled with a ready laughter, and endless homemade food, a homestay is ideal for the traveller who wants to experience a destination through the lives of its locals. And in few places are locals more giving than in rural Malaysia.

Less than three hours drive from Kuala Lumpur lies the small village of Kuala Medang. Here, host families don’t treat you like clients; they treat you like friends, fussed over but not coddled. Here, handshakes are warm and smiles are genuine. And here, food is endless.

In KM, you are fed at every opportunity – and at any moment in between. If you’ve not brought an appetite, you’ll soon build one: Mee Goreng (fried noodles), Nasi Lemak (coconut rice meals), Roti Canai (local pancakes), fried fish, curry puffs and spicy laksa will see to that. For added authenticity, you’re invited, but by no means forced, to eat with your hands.

And then there are the fruits. From bananas, mangoes and jackfruit to the more exotic salak, durian (the king of fruits) and mangosteen (the queen), the fruit here virtually falls from the trees and onto your plate. It’s surprising how much you can devour when you’re not hungry.

But sampling the local cuisine represents just one facet of a homestay in Kuala Medang. Before your food has even settled, local children gather to perform a traditional song and dance ceremony for guests, who are invited to join in on the act. Fortunately for those with two left feet, no points are scored for out-of-step choreography.

Then it is the turn of the local women, who weave their magic weaving mats, bags and decorative items out of pandanus leaves – right before your eyes. Again, much to the joy of invitees (and amusement of inviters), interaction is encouraged – with mixed results.

Following this is a demonstration of the local sport of ‘gasing’ (tops spinning). After being shown how the tops are intricately made, visitors are given lessons in how to play the game. In a purpose-built gasing ‘arena’, guests take turns at throwing the tops and watching them spin. An expert can make their top spin for more than thirty minutes. Others, three seconds.

Playing soccer with the local kids, eating with my ‘family’ or eventually getting up to speed with the (more difficult than it sounds) gasing, my experience of a Malaysian homestay was more than the activities offered – it was the friends made, the smiles received and a vision of Malaysia as it really is: a beautiful country of beautiful people.