Luxury on stilts is what you get in the rooms at Pangkor Laut resort.

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• Gallery: Malaysia at its finest       

I now know what it felt like to be a concubine in Ancient China and, from the look on the face of my masseuse, I think I had the better deal. You see, the start of the Bath House Ritual – which is meant to represent various bathing traditions from all over Asia – involves a footbath and a Chinese foot pounding with a wooden hammer-like device. The treatment, I was told, was previously enjoyed only by the concubines belonging to the Emperors of feudal China.

One thing’s for sure, the Spa Village at the Pangkor Laut resort would have had even the staunchest Emperor a little jealous, especially with its 2011 Best Luxury Destination Spa title from the World Luxury Spa Awards fraternity.

The resort itself sits on a privately owned 120ha island 5km off the west coast of Malaysia along the Straits of Malacca. It’s the only resort on the island and is surrounded by forest and warm ocean. The spa was opened by none other than the late world-renowned tenor Luciano Pavarotti (you can stay in his two-bedroomed suite up on the hill in the rainforest) and there really has been no expense spared in not just the architecture of the spa but the cultural experience too.

Malaysia’s health rituals are said to be amongst the oldest in the world, with the combination of Malay, Chinese, Indian and Thai practices aiming for some serious rejuvenation.

After getting your feet hammered into submission, the Bath House ritual continues with a dip in the Malay circulating bath (meant to symbolise when villagers bathed in streams and rivers) complete with a rain experience. This is followed by the inhaling of various steams to cleanse your nostrils, then a self-administered Japanese bath with a defoliating goshi-goshi cloth followed by a dip in the heated Rotenburu pool.

Just as you start wondering if it can get any better, it’s time for a Shanghai scrub – which is seriously higher grade exfoliating – followed by some local tea on a relaxer next to the ocean, before the actual spa treatment starts.

Spa treatments are varied, ranging between Malay, Balinese, Thai, Shiatsu and Aroma, with gender- or couple-specific combinations available too. We tried the Malay offering, which included a Malay herbal wrap that had me feeling like a piece of sushi compressed in seaweed. The wrap includes local herbs like lemon grass, ginger, galangal and camphor, and the idea is to let the ingredients marinate for 10 minutes while you’re tied closed like a reed mat. Nine minutes into it I was claustrophobic and on fire, which a cool outside shower sorted out immediately.

Bearing in mind that the Malay treatment alone is three hours long will give you an idea of how much massaging and technique goes into the afternoon. Not to mention the relaxed natural feel of the private spa pavilions, and how many times I woke up to the sound of my own snoring.

The rest of the resort is straight off a postcard, offering a nice balance of exploring the jungle, water sports, a really idyllic coastline, or luxurious pools with deck chairs and dangerous drinks. There’s yoga at sunrise on the sundeck (which had the instructor literally pointing at me with a worried, call-the-ambulance look on his face), great restaurants and rooms in the form of beach, hill and garden villas. But forget those – what you want are the Spa or Sea Villas which are straight out a Bond movie and sit on long stilts in the ocean. Balconies, views across the ocean from the bathtub, wooden everything – so try not to go alone, see.

But the real purpose of our visit to Malaysia was something called the Malaysia Year End Sale, which is Tourism Malaysia’s answer to places like Dubai in terms of being a shopping mecca with some serious discounts. The annual sale is supported by malls and outlets across the country.

Besides just the very real discounts (ranging from anywhere between 30 and 70 percent), there are various fashion shows and exhibitions highlighting the colourful side of the country. Very interesting was a ladies fashion show with conservative, Muslim-style outfits and the creative way the designers turned them into eye-catching garments. But the highlight was a show with British designers showing collections from the recent London Fashion Week, at which shoe-design icon Jimmy Choo got to meet the cuzin. Choo is actually Malaysian and a fashion ambassador for the country; he is also an incredibly humble man.

The place to be, it seemed, for the best shopping was Kuala Lumpur with its abundance of mammoth malls. The first thing you notice, besides just how spotless and good looking the malls are, is the spending power the locals have. Which isn’t all that surprising when you consider what a buoyant economy Malaysiaenjoys. Besides being a rather cosmopolitan country with a split between Malay (60 percent), Chinese (30 percent), and Indian (10 percent) citizens, unemployment is staggeringly low at 3.5 percent with just 3 percent of the country’s population below the poverty line. You can sense that not only is the economy booming but crime seems non-existent and locals on the street look genuinely happy (Kuala Lumpur has a population of 2 million, the country on the whole 28 million).

The currency, the Malaysian ringgit, makes our rand look like a poor cousin, with an exchange rate of around 0.4 ringgits to the rand. Which can sober your shopping spree up a little. But factor in that large shopping districts are duty free zones to start with, before the sale prices kick in, and you’ll understand why I got excited with getting two Timberland T-shirts for under R300, Puma shorts for under R200, and had to ignore the sound of a TAG Heuer watch screaming my name down the aisles at the impressive Pavilion Mall – the watch was priced at around seven grand and here would be more in the region of R11 000.

And the food. Oh, my word. If bangers and mash or fish and chips are your kind of thing, you’ve got the wrong continent. But if, like me, you don’t understand why Nando’s even offers herb and lemon, or mild for that matter, Malaysia is your kinda spot. Three words – curry for breakfast. But before you start wondering if the local pharmacies stock Gaviscon, the food is exceptional not for being hot, but for being spicy – there is a difference.

From coconut milk to local teas, everyone is catered for. My absolute favourite was something called Nasi Kandar which means something along the lines of Sauce from the Pots. We went (more than once, I insisted) to this type of restaurant with rows of curries and tandooris, but what they do after you have your primary curry is take a little bit of gravy from various pots and add it for flavour. It is honestly the tastiest curry combination I’ve ever had, unbelievable. The Chinese food was very good, the classic Malay dishes different too. The spices make the differences, trust me – you won’t go hungry.

Not only does the food incorporate the different cultures, but it is interesting how the cultures integrate and how they demonstrate the respect they have for individual beliefs. The mosques in Kuala Lumpur would rival the best in Arabian countries like Dubai, while the modest Chinese temples in the residential areas are immaculate.

I made a special effort to visit the Batu Caves, just 30 minutes by car outside Kuala Lumpur. It is the home of the world’s tallest statue of Lord Murugan, a Hindu deity, which stands 42m high and is covered in gold paint from Thailand.

Behind the statue lies 272 steps which ascend to the caves themselves, wherein there are various smaller places of Hindu worship. It’s a moving experience climbing those steps, especially if you’re Hindu, and then praying in those cool caves with the resident priests.

Royal Selangor, a maker of pewter, is also worth a visit. Besides being the largest pewter factory on the planet, the establishment is a slice of Malaysia’s history, being founded in 1885. The pewter is composed mainly of high quality tin, with a small portion of copper and antimony to strengthen it.

Its low melting point and softness make it ideal for intricate designs, with a majority of Royal Selangor products hand-cast. What was different about the visit was the opportunity to handmake a pewter bowl in the original way, using wooden hammers and wooden casts to shape it. It’s called the School of Hard Knocks, and when you’re done you get to stamp your name on it, making it a lifetime memento.

We also visited the world’s largest free-flight walk-in aviary – the KL Bird Park. This is twitcher heaven with the park boasting over 3 000 birds of 200 local and foreign bird species. It is spread over 8.5ha, with nets so high up you don’t even realise they’re there .

Just 23 000 South Africans visited Malaysia in 2010 (out of 24.5 million tourists that year), which, though on the rise, is still a small number considering what the country has to offer. My only negative with the country is the immense humidity, but if you can do humidity and enjoy heat, you’ll appreciate that the temperature throughout the year varies by just 8°C.

The country offers good value for money, relaxation and entertainment, but do the Island retreat last – you’ll need it after the shopping. - Saturday Star

*Pangkor Laut – www.pangkorlautresort.com

Royal Selangor– www.royalselangor.com

Pavilion Mall, Kuala Lumpur – www.pavilion-kl.com/content/

Tourism Malaysia – www.tourismmalaysia.gov.my

Royale Chulan hotel, Kuala Lumpur – www.theroyalechulan.com.my

KL Bird Park – www.klbirdpark.com