After a quick morning cab ride to the airport, we boarded a flight to cross the South China Sea and arrive in Kota Kinabalu. Life in Eastern Malaysia moves in a different fashion at a different pace than life on the mainland. While it does feature active urban centers like KK, the sense of natural mystery and wonder that is endemic to the island of Borneo permeates every aspect of Eastern Malaysia. …Also, it was way more humid. Our initial plan to drive from Kota Kinabalu, up the west coast of Borneo to the tip of the northern state of Sabah. [View Full Entry]

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The Asam Laksa is known throughout South East Asia as one of the best noodle soup dishes ever. Penang apparently is THE place to get the real deal. Now, I had read stories online about Penang Asam Laksa and all its majesty. I desperately tried to find it back home, but the best I could come up with was coconut laksa - and I wasn’t too impressed with it either. Before I continue, it should be said that I [View Full Entry]

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And again we find ourselves ready to eat…you guys must think I’m a glutton of sorts. Anywhoozits, we visited a delightful under-a-canopy food area a little walks away from the night markets at Batu Ferringhi. Hunger was setting in and I was ready for another round of Malaysian food delights - Penang stylez. The place we ate at was called Cafe Long Beach - imagine a Kopi Tiam, but ALOT bigger… and outside& [View Full Entry]

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After a quick nap and a hot shower (both well deserved), we hit the town in search for some trinkets and whatsits at Batu Ferringhi’s huge night market. What used to be a calm sidewalk by day, transforms into a frenzy of activity, full of shoppers trying to strike a deal. The bright fluorescent lights of each table and crazy neon colors of trishaws passing by reminded me of a Eastern influenced Las Vegas. It was madness! [url=http://www.malaysia.com/batu-ferringhi-night-ma [View Full Entry]

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The hotel we were staying at in Penang was one of the many which sit on the beachfront strip of Batu Ferringhi (Foreigner’s Rock), Penang’s most famous resort district and nightspot. The popularity with visitors to Malaysia which gave the region its name hasn’t diminished over the years: we spotted plenty of Americans, Brits and Aussies soaking up the sun and lazing on the beach. We checked into our hotel, one of many that open directly onto the beachfront. The ground [View Full Entry]

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The Penang curry still warm in our bellies, we drove to the foot of Crane Hill and prepared to climb up to Penang’s most recognizable cultural landmark: the Buddhist Kek Lok Si Temple. Built into the side of the hill, the temple’s been a work in progress for over a hundred years, with new wings, shrines and statues constantly being added. Unfortunately, construction work was being done on the massive statue of the goddess Kuan Yin during our visit, and scaffolding blocked our view of the 30 meter goddess who loo [View Full Entry]

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After a subpar stay at a hotel just outside of the KL airport which shall remain nameless (grungy room, malfunctioning AC and moths the size of HOLY EXPLETIVE!), we headed to the airport at the crack of dawn to catch the first morning flight to Penang. The flight was quick n’ easy, and we met with our friend Azhar, a Penang native who’d volunteered to guide us around his home state. Penang was the place we’d spent the most time reading about prior to the trip, and [View Full Entry]

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We got a bit turned around during our tour of Malacca’s old quarter and weren’t entirely sure how to get to our next stop, the antique and curio district of Jonker Street. Given how small and centralized Malacca is, I’m not entirely sure how we accomplished this. I blame the disorientation on Red Bull and constantly looking through camera lenses while walking around. In any case, we decided to avail ourselves of one of the lavishly decorated trishaws which are ubiquitous in the Town Square. [img=http://www.malaysia.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/malacca-food-sp [View Full Entry]

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We went to a food court just near our hotel after exploring the town square - and after all that walking we were famished. Before I get into each dish we ordered, let me say something about Malaccan food in general. I don't think my brain's ever released as much pleasure chemicals or endorphins as it did when I was gettin' my eat on in Malacca. Every dish I ate gave my tastebuds a new gastronomic experience, awakening new regions of taste in my tongue, and sending me down a path of hedonistic pleasure. [img=http://www.malaysia.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/malacca-food-s [View Full Entry]

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We had an impressive list of historical sites to hit up during our visit to the famed colonial city of Malacca. Thankfully, Malacca’s old city square is much as it was hundreds of years ago, with most of its attractions within spitting distance of each other. Our feet were happy when we informed them of how little traveling we’d need to do that day. Malacca was colonized by European powers no less than three times between its founding in the fifteenth century and Malaysian In [View Full Entry]

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