During his eight-year stay, he traveled a combined distance of 14,000 miles by native boats or Dutch mail steamers.
Major stops where he found modest accommodations include Singapore, Sarawak, Ternate, and Maluku Islands.
He ventured into jungles, braving diseases, insects bites, and wading through leech-infested waters to collect and prepare specimens.
Wallace, on his collection [Preface, 'The Malay Archipelago', 1869.]
Wallace's Malay servant, Ali [A.R. Wallace's 'My Life.']
He was assisted by apprentice Charles Allen, Malay boy Ali, and various local dignitaries, villagers, and native hunters.
He learned Malay and was able to find his way around, conversing with locals.
Along the way, Wallace collected 125,660 specimens, some of which are still new to scientists today.
Map of Wallace's Travels in the Malay Archipelago
[Use scroll-bar on the bottom to navigate to left and right of map; click on the red dots to see people and culture encounters; and click on the yellow dots to see nature encounters.]