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Published: August 11th 2008
If I had to choose, Malaysia would probably be the favorite country I visited on the trip, which is no small feat considering the stiff competition. Malaysia, it seems, is often skipped or breezed through in favor of its more famous northern neighbor. It isn’t the place to come looking for a large party scene; but Malaysia has a low-key charm, a diverse culture, and stunning natural scenery. (not to mention delicious food!)
We took a train from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, a journey of about six hours through lush tropical forest. KL is an exceptionally aesthetic city. It seemed very well planned, and instead of the smoggy, chaotic metropolises of many other SE Asian capitals, KL sparkled. I was amazed at how much greenery was around the city. One minute we were surrounded by vegetation with palms hitting the windows, and the next moment we were pulling into the train station.
Our hostel in the Golden Triangle area was quiet, and we spent the evening walking around. Seeing the Petronas Towers for the first time was amazing. Before being eclipsed by Taipei 101 in 2004, the towers were the tallest buildings in the world. Despite of
Railway
View from the train between S'pore and KLstill being short of Taipei 101, Petronas still holds the title of being the world’s largest pair of twin towers. From the top of the spire the towers stand at an impressive 1,482 feet.
Owned by the Petronas oil company, the towers celebrated their 10th birthday this year. The architecture is incredibly beautiful, combining modernity with the sleek design of Islamic art.
Somehow, we took a taxi and ended up at the bird park. I was a little vague on the directions and I think our taxi driver decided that it would be a good thing for us to see. Supposedly the world’s largest outdoor aviary, the park had a stunning variety of tropical birds, and was extremely relaxing to stroll through. We even tried to summon help to rescue a baby emu that had escaped from his crate and was running loose through on of the buildings.
We walked back toward the city, dodging packs of monkeys as we strolled down the hill. Our path took us by the gorgeous national mosque, with its stunning blue tile roof. As we reached Merdeka square, the old British colonial section of town, dark clouds appeared and
within minutes the sky opened up and began to pour. We took cover under the archway of one of the buildings, but not before becoming completely soaked. The sudden deluge only lasted a few minutes, then the sun returned and everything dried out.
After a few days in KL we moved onto the Cameron Highlands, a popular destination for its great hiking, spectacular scenery, and much cooler weather. We took a winding bus ride to Tanah Rata, and immediately sat down for a great meal of Indian food. The diverse ethnic makeup of Malaysia is part of what makes it most interesting. Though the statistics vary, the country is made up of around 65% Malay, 26% Chinese, and 8%Indian. Though the primary religion is Islam, other religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism are also practiced.
We planned on hiking to the Boh Tea Estate, though following a very rough map we nearly got lost at several points. I was told that it was one of the more popular trails, but the way was barely marked and we ended up tumbling out of the jungle (after several hours of hiking) and finding ourselves walking through someone’s farm.
Klang River
Kuala Lumpur We then began following the road, a long, steep walk no longer shaded by trees. A kindly Indian taxi driver stopped to rescue us, even though he was on his day off and he was cruising around in his sports car. He told us that his parents had worked on the tea estate, owned by a Welsh company, and that he had been born in one of the workers’ houses nearby.
Having finally made it we settled down for tea and scones, walked through the factory where tea was being sorted, and climbed the hill for a spectacular view.
Our final stop in Malaysia was the Perhentian Islands, located off the east coast, not far from the Thai border. The islands were complete paradise. There are no roads on the Perhentians, so the only way around was to trek through the dense interior, or take a water taxi (a motorboat, often driven by a 12-year-old!). We spent most of our time face-down in the water snorkeling…only occasionally surfacing to eat some barbeque fish. You can’t beat that.
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