ImagesA tea plantation in the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia.

I did this in Vietnam. I bought a motorbike and spent a month driving around North Vietnam. Where do you stay when doing this in Malaysia? Are there homestays and guesthouses outside of the traditional tourist areas?
Northern Vietnam is gorgeous, really similar to here actually! We hopped on a bus here on a bit of a whim so we’re staying in a capsule hostel in Tanah Rata, but there are lots of homestays you can stay in that are away from the main drag.It’s pretty quiet here at the moment though, not many tourists around.
Any recommendations for places to stay? Going there in two weeks. Thanks!
It depends on your budget and the kind of thing you’d like to do here. I’m not sure if you’re a backpacker like me or have more cash but here are a few options I found while we were on the bus here.

We’re staying in a super budget £6 per night capsule hostel in Tanah Rata called Map Travel Lodge

Up the road, there’s this lovely Tudor cottage called Olde Smokehouse that’s more expensive at £60 per night. It’s really old English style place and does afternoon tea and great food by an open fire. A lot classier than the hostel!

Then if you’re looking for an authentic experience at mid-range budget there’s a place called Rainforest inn where you stay with a local family in the jungle. You sleep in a wooden hut (which is apparently comfortable) beside a waterfall and the owners teach you about the tribe they’re from and the day to day life there. You can eat traditional meals and they show you how they set traps to hunt etc. It’s £36 per night and has amazing reviews pretty much everywhere I looked. It’s in a place called Ringlet which is south of Tanah Rata and they rent scooters if you want to explore. It looks amazing! Check out the trip advisor/booking/google reviews.

Another place if you’re the super budget for us but want something more authentic is De Native Guesthouse. You stay in a dorm or wooden hut (less comfy than Rainforest, but cheaper at £12 per night) and there's a bar with cheap beer and the fire pit where you can meet other travelers and hang out in the evening. From reviews, it seems like it’s a little rustic but quite cool and a good place to hang out with people.
I stayed at de naive when I was there a little while back! Nice and chilled place, great to meet people at the fire pit at night and relax with a couple beers! The owner cooked a meal up for us when I was there as well, super nice curry. The rooms are pretty basic though... nothing any backpacker shouldn’t be able to handle. Did you do much trekking? Think I did route 10 you get some sweet views from the top of the mountain when it isn’t cloudy.