Our four days in Kuala Lumpur (commonly called KL) were great! We wish we could spend more time here. Many things surprised me about KL--the cleanliness, the minimal number of motorbikes and taxis, the fact that everyone speaks English... We drove through the suburbs when we first arrived and it reminded me a lot of rural LA. We made one quick stop for food (Our first Malay food, which was fabulous--but very similar to Thai).
So, here's the rundown: Sunday we went to church at 11 am. The church we went to had a guest speaker from Ghana--he was speaking on prayer and giving based on the beginning of the story of Cornelius in Acts. We went to church with a friend of a friend of a friend! :) He works with the Iranian immigrant community, so we ended up going to lunch with a group of them and then they invited us over for dinner. (Next two meals in Malaysia: Mediterranean and Persian.) It was a great evening/morning...it started after 9 pm and ended about 1:30 am! They were really a fun bunch though--now we think we'd like to visit Iran...
Monday we toured the city with Joshua--the friend of a friend. It was great to have a personal driver and tour guide! Joshua is very knowledgeable about KL and Malaysian history--it was fascinating. Now we think we'd like to come back here for longer... (Are you sensing a theme? ) We started at the National Monument, then went to see the Hornbills in the Bird Sanctuary, and next a stop for lunch was important (Next meal: Chinese). After lunch we visited the new and the old KL. First the Petronas towers and then the old British administration buildings. I'll spare everyone the exhaustive historical accounts--though you really SHOULD be interested--it's fascinating!
Monday evening we met up with an Iranian friend for dinner (we had Indian). It's just the end of the Indian New Year Festival of Deepvali, so we were given so much extra food. IT was all delicious, but we just couldn't finish it!! And I'd like to know how I've survived until now without eating cheese-garlic naan--it's amazing!
Okay, sorry, but a bit of history. Malaysia is very much a country at the crossroads of many others. Because of that, it's ended up with a lot of immigration and influences from neighbouring countries. Currently the population is about 60% Malay, 30% Chinese, and 10% Indian. Therefore the celebration of Deepvali and the prevalence of a variety of food makes sense...
Tuesday we also did a mixture of new and old. We started off the day in one of the newer areas called Putra Jaya where all the government building are built. It was very nice: beautiful gardens, shopping, fountains, an impressive mosque, and a huge "office" for the Prime Minister. Interestingly enough, the Prime Minister's building is nicer than the palace (in our opinion, anyways!). Next came lunch--it was a noodle soup that was considered Malay I think... Good too!
After lunch we reached the old port town of Malacca. This was the town that ruled the sultanate of Malacca and commanded considerable trade. It was captured in 1511 by the Portuguese--who burnt the old town to the ground. Then in 1641 it was captured by the Dutch who basically tore down the Portuguese town. In 1824 the British arrived (after it was ceded to them by the Dutch in a territory exchange treaty) and they stifled most of the trade so that Malacca wouldn't interfere with their formerly established towns of Singapore and Penang, turning it into a forgotten backwater. The current town is a fascinating mix of Malay, Portuguese, Dutch, British, Chinese, etc. influences in the architecture, food, and history. When I return to this country, I'll definitely need to spend more time there.
Wednesday we went back to nature! :) After sleeping quite late, we drove up to FRIM (Forestry Research Institute of Malaysia). While there, we spent several hours hiking through the jungle. It was beautiful! The highlight was the canopy walk though. It was awesome! Close your eyes and imagine a line of old weathered 2x4's strung out end to end...several hundred meters off the ground! At chest height there are ropes to hang onto and the area between the boards and the ropes were covered in netting. I'm not really sure the netting would have held the weight of a person, though, if someone tripped and fell. Needless to say--it was AWESOME! The pictures make it look way too safe though...pity! (Lunch: chinese).
So, here's the rundown: Sunday we went to church at 11 am. The church we went to had a guest speaker from Ghana--he was speaking on prayer and giving based on the beginning of the story of Cornelius in Acts. We went to church with a friend of a friend of a friend! :) He works with the Iranian immigrant community, so we ended up going to lunch with a group of them and then they invited us over for dinner. (Next two meals in Malaysia: Mediterranean and Persian.) It was a great evening/morning...it started after 9 pm and ended about 1:30 am! They were really a fun bunch though--now we think we'd like to visit Iran...
Monday we toured the city with Joshua--the friend of a friend. It was great to have a personal driver and tour guide! Joshua is very knowledgeable about KL and Malaysian history--it was fascinating. Now we think we'd like to come back here for longer... (Are you sensing a theme? Monday evening we met up with an Iranian friend for dinner (we had Indian). It's just the end of the Indian New Year Festival of Deepvali, so we were given so much extra food. IT was all delicious, but we just couldn't finish it!! And I'd like to know how I've survived until now without eating cheese-garlic naan--it's amazing!
Okay, sorry, but a bit of history. Malaysia is very much a country at the crossroads of many others. Because of that, it's ended up with a lot of immigration and influences from neighbouring countries. Currently the population is about 60% Malay, 30% Chinese, and 10% Indian. Therefore the celebration of Deepvali and the prevalence of a variety of food makes sense...
Tuesday we also did a mixture of new and old. We started off the day in one of the newer areas called Putra Jaya where all the government building are built. It was very nice: beautiful gardens, shopping, fountains, an impressive mosque, and a huge "office" for the Prime Minister. Interestingly enough, the Prime Minister's building is nicer than the palace (in our opinion, anyways!). Next came lunch--it was a noodle soup that was considered Malay I think... Good too!
After lunch we reached the old port town of Malacca. This was the town that ruled the sultanate of Malacca and commanded considerable trade. It was captured in 1511 by the Portuguese--who burnt the old town to the ground. Then in 1641 it was captured by the Dutch who basically tore down the Portuguese town. In 1824 the British arrived (after it was ceded to them by the Dutch in a territory exchange treaty) and they stifled most of the trade so that Malacca wouldn't interfere with their formerly established towns of Singapore and Penang, turning it into a forgotten backwater. The current town is a fascinating mix of Malay, Portuguese, Dutch, British, Chinese, etc. influences in the architecture, food, and history. When I return to this country, I'll definitely need to spend more time there.
Wednesday we went back to nature! :) After sleeping quite late, we drove up to FRIM (Forestry Research Institute of Malaysia). While there, we spent several hours hiking through the jungle. It was beautiful! The highlight was the canopy walk though. It was awesome! Close your eyes and imagine a line of old weathered 2x4's strung out end to end...several hundred meters off the ground! At chest height there are ropes to hang onto and the area between the boards and the ropes were covered in netting. I'm not really sure the netting would have held the weight of a person, though, if someone tripped and fell. Needless to say--it was AWESOME! The pictures make it look way too safe though...pity! (Lunch: chinese).That was just about it for Malaysia--except for our night in the airport! We were planning on sleeping in the lounge but it turned out the whole airport was closed from 10:30 pm to 4:00 am for pest control! So...we slept outside the airport on hard plastic seats... Not the best night's sleep I've ever had, but, oddly enough, not the worst either!
Good-bye Malaysia! We'll be back...
1 comment:
Look like you are having a great trip Leona. I were in South Africa for 4 weeks during the month of February. I had a wonderful time with family and friends, I even went to the game reserve, what an exoerience, I can't believe how much I have missed the Country. I can see you have a real passion for the work, good luck and I hope your travels will be safe.
Please write when you can
biagio26@netscape.net
Good luck and God Bless
Biagio 8-)
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