Langkawi is an archipelago of 99 islands in the Andaman Sea, some 30 km off the mainland coast of northwestern Malaysia. The islands are a part of Malaysia’s Kedah state, but are adjacent to the Thai border. By far the largest of the islands is the eponymous Pulau Langkawi with a population of about 45,000. The island is a declared duty-free zone.

The peak season is from December to March when moonson at the eastcoast shuts down most of the Islands there (Perhentian etc.). This makes Langkawi a good island alternative during that time period. Generally though, Langkawi can be visited all year around.

Tiny state in Borneo, sandwiched between Sarawak and Sabah. After it was a big regional player a few hundred years back, Brunei became rich upon the discovery of Oil in the 1940s. For a period time the Sultan of Brunei was the richest person in the world.