Malaysia

The only thing I really knew about Malaysia, was that they manufacture a great deal of hockey pucks.  Needless to say, I had no expectations for what I would see, do and experience in Malaysia. I had made plans with a group of friends to travel all around Malaysia and get a more holistic view of the country.  Michelle, Jocelyn, Darren, Benson, Johnny and I decided we’d fly to Kuala Lumpur for the first two nights, fly to Langkawi for the next day and a half, and then ferry back to Penang to spend the last night on the ship and our final day in Penang.
        We arrived in Kuala Lumpur right around dinner-time as the sky was getting dark.  We’d taken a charter bus from the airport into the city with a bunch of other SASers to save money on cabs.  The six of us reached our hotel, dropped our bags and headed out. 
You could see both the Petronas Towers and the Kuala Lumpur Tower from the street in front of our hotel.  We used these landmarks to navigate the city.  Our hotel was located on the outskirts of the downtown area and so most of the shops and businesses around it were closed or closing as we passed by.  Turning up a street that seemed to be better lit than the others, we began to recognize a few smells, sights and sounds.  We walked under a huge sign reading “Happy Deepavali.”  We were in Little India!  It was fun to compare prices and observe subtle differences in the people.  For example, in India they do this “bobble-head” motion while talking or listening to someone.  Its neither yes or no, more of an “mhm, I’m listening.”  Its pretty frustrating when you need a yes or no answer and then you get the head bob, especially when you’re ordering food and are asking what’s in it.  I suppose is also doesn’t help that we don’t speak any Tamil:-/ I was really hoping that we’d get the “head bob” from the Indians in Malaysia, but they just didn’t do it.  I wondered if they’d been born in India and moved to Malaysia or if they’d ever been to India at all and therefore wouldn’t even recognize the “bob.”  We ventured on, had dinner and made our way back to the hotel.  We found out the hotel had free internet access downstairs, so most of us jumped online and caught up with our friends a bit.  I spent a few hours Skyping with Megan, as it was the middle of the day for her and made my way to bed.
        The next morning, we got up around 8 to get as much time in the city as possible.  We jumped on the monorail at the nearest station and made our way across the city. Neither of us had any clue where we should get off or had a plan of what exactly we were to do that day, but we all figured we’d just see how it went, or as I like to say, “play it as it lies.” Getting off the monorail, we walked through some shops and markets and wound up in China Town.  Benson kept reminding me that if I wanted to save money for anything electronic, to save it for Hong Kong.  I didn’t end up buying anything I just enjoy looking at the different fake brands and knock offs.  Benson actually ended up buying a watch and Darren picked up a new wallet. Benson’s watch was a fake Bell and Ross watch (which I’d never heard of, but then again I’m not all to well versed in watch brands).   From there, we made our way to a large mosque a few blocks from China town.  Along the way, I saw a bunch of unique stencil graffiti, including depictions of the Statue of Liberty with a gas mask on.  Underneath was written, “stop war, start class war.” I wonder if the message was pointed at America or if it meant to comment on Malaysia’s social situation.  The mosque was huge, but unfortunately would not allow non-Muslims inside at that time.  We’d been told that up the road was the world’s largest terrarium.  There were all kinds of birds there, including flamingos, peacocks and eagles.  After grabbing lunch and watching a show, we left the bird park and headed for the Petronas Towers. When we got to the towers, all of the tours to the bridge were full, but the guide told us to standby just in case people didn’t show.  There were 6 of us, so I was a little nervous they wouldn’t have enough spots for us, but it turned out that they did! We took the elevator to the 41st floor, where the bridge between the towers is.  The elevator was so smooth and fast, it traveled at one floor per second! The view from there was pretty awesome, nothing like standing forty stories above the ground between the two of the world’s largest towers. At the base of the towers was the biggest mall I’ve ever been to and much larger than I’d ever imagined. There must have been 10 floors, each one the size of any other typical mall. Every brand from Levi’s, Adidas and Canon to Converse, Nordstrom and Nike was represented.  Benson picked up a small photo printer while at the Canon store, so we could print and mail photos to friends as postcards. From the mall, we headed back to the hotel to rest up a bit and grab a quick bite. The following day was Benson’s birthday, so we were planning on staying out until at least midnight. We left the hotel around 10:30 to meet up with some other friends at a club called Luna.  It was located on the roof of a 34 story building next to the KL Tower. There were a bunch of SAS kids there to visit with and celebrate Benson’s last night as a teenager with us. The atmosphere on the roof was incredible, but the view from the bathroom was even more spectacular.  There was a man hand rolling cigars at the entrance, so Benson, Vin and I grabbed a few a smoked them on the roof, looking out over the city.  Instead of having the urinals facing a wall, each of the faced out of a large window, overlooking all of KL with the lighted tower in the foreground.  That was awesome☺ We left Luna after a few hours and went to a place called Beach Bar.  There we found some live music, dancing, and a whole lot more SASers. Benson wanted to stay out much later, but I was ready to call it a night at 2 am, so I jumped in a taxi and rode back to the hotel.
        The next morning, we had to rise early and drive back to the airport. We made our flight on time, but once we cleared security, Benson turned to me and asked me a question. Looking at himself, he asked “what’s wrong with this picture?” I looked and noticed his luggage, but couldn’t tell what he was getting at.  He asked me again, but I still didn’t catch on.  “I left the printer!” Benson and I had double checked our room a few times, but must’ve seen the printer box and assumed it was just trash. It was way to late to go back to the hotel, so Benson called and had them hold it for him, hoping he’d get a chance to ask someone else to pick it up before leaving KL. We had a 3 hour flight to Langkawi and were picked up by the owner of the house we were renting for the night. We drove across the island in about twenty minutes on the only main road. It was green everywhere.  The hills were covered with all kinds of palms and the only colors you could see were the greens of the treetops and the blues of the sky. After getting settled and paying the owner, we walked out of the front yard onto the beach. Time for some more kite flying☺ Here, we taught Johnny and Jocelyn how to fly it, but a storm blew in after a few hours, flooded the skies and made it impossible to continue flying. It was getting dark, so we went into town to pick up some food for dinner and breakfast the next morning. For dinner, we made chicken fried rice. Actually, Michelle showed Darren how to make the fried rice and the chicken was more of the oven chicken nugget style, but it got the job done;-).
        The next morning for breakfast Darren made eggs and we had some left over sweet breads from the airport the day before. After breakfast, the six of us went on a bat cave tour. We were picked up by car and taken to a small marina where we got on a riverboat.  The banks of the river were lined with mangroves, their thirsty branches stretching low to the water’s surface. Most of the tour took place on the boat.  We saw monkeys and snakes along the way, and got to watch a large group of eagles feeding on the fish in the river. Watching them circle and dive so effortlessly and gracefully was my favorite thing I saw.  At one section, we had to drive through a cave; reminded me of Pirates of the Caribbean…but real! We got off the boat for a short walk through a bat cave. It was pitch black inside and the only glimpse you could get of the bats was during that spit second of light from the flash of a camera. There must’ve been thousands of them, hanging from the ceiling with an eerie pestilence. Groups of monkeys crowded around us as we walked down the pathway back to the boat.  After grabbing lunch at a floating restaurant, our driver took us out into the open ocean to drop us off on the beach in front of our house.  Great service huh? That skinny boat was certainly not built to handle open ocean waves.  We were rockin side to side and taking on spray from all direction.  I had to put up and umbrella to protect my cameras from getting soaked. We had a few more hours to play on the beach before making our way to the other side of the island where the 3-hour ferry would take us back to Penang.
        Our final day in Malaysia was our first full day in Penang, so Benson, Jocelyn and I set out on foot from the port with no plan or direction. After walking a considerable amount of time through the neighborhoods of Penang, we decided to jump in a cab and go see the botanical garden.  A number of exhibits were closed, but we still had a good time enjoying the beauty and serenity of the park. While we’d been walking earlier, I saw an advertisement for a “mind festival” which was taking place that day at one of the local colleges.  From the garden, we took a cab to the school to see what the festival was all about.  The actual “mind festival” was going on inside the gym of the school, but outside in the courtyard were a number of campus clubs having a food fare. We were definitely the only SASers that made it to the mind festival that day.  The students were so excited to see visitors from the US and to share their food with us.  After we’d eaten, we asked them if we could borrow a phone to call another taxi, and they asked to take pictures with us in return.  Benson was able to communicate best with them in Mandarin, though they spoke some English.  The mind festival itself was more of a seminar type event on memory and other things related to the brain.  We sat in on a memory demonstration and talked with the presenter for some time afterwards, but were most excited to get out to that food fare.  We had to get back to the ship, so we grabbed a cab and headed towards the port, calling it a day.
        My favorite thing about Malaysia was the way in which I decided to spend my time.  The differences between Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi were so stark.  I really got a taste for multiple environments within one country.  The people we met and interacted with made the trip even more special. I really wish we could’ve had more time in Langkawi, but maybe someday I’ll return.

-mason

“If you only knew how much peace you give yourself and joy you give to others by living as you should, I think you would show greater interest in your spiritual progress” –Thomas Kempis