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Published: April 28th 2011
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The harbor of Port Klang serves as the entry for Kuala Lumpur. We have been in KL many times on previous cruises, so upon the recommendation of friends, Hilda and Jarmo, we decided to visit the newly built capitol city of Putrajaya. While Kuala Lumpur is the financial capitol of the country, the governmental functions are being transferred to the new city designed just for that purpose. Not everyone is sold on the idea like some of the princes and the powerful Sultan who prefer to live elsewhere. But Putrajaya is a well planned city set in beautiful surroundings incorporating both traditional and modern architectural design--somewhat like Washington, D.C.
We had a fairly empty bus as there were about 15 no-shows for the tour. Since most of the tours are complimentary, there are some passengers who don’t cancel the tours they have signed up for. It must be quite costly for Regent to have buses and guides ordered only to be sent away empty.
Malaysia has a very complicated governing format because Islam is the official state religion where there is one set of laws for Muslims and another body of secular laws. This garden city of the future
is an ecological wonder filled with lakes, wetlands and botanical gardens. The modern bridges sit in contrast to the Moroccan style Mosques and the convention center resembling a space ship. Malaysia is a fairly stable country which manages it ethnic diversity quite well. Unlike Vietnam and Cambodia who have been involved in wars in the last half century, Malaysia has been able to use its money for development of infrastructure and bettering the lives of its residents. As a result they have a much higher standard of living than some of their neighbors. They are big in the automotive and internet industry. Our guide was very proud of Malaysian made cars and would point them out every time we passed a Proton or a Perodua. She dismissed Japanese cars, calling them "rice cookers."
Georgetown, Penang is a Malaysian island that is still recovering from the effects of the 2004 tsunami. The docks have been rebuilt and the cruise terminal is now operational. We went on our own walking tour to the ethnic neighborhoods. We ran into a retired couple from Hawaii who had just moved to Penang. They can get a 10 year visa just by posting a bond.
They said that they loved living in Malaysia-- the pace of life, the low cost of living and mostly because of the Malay people.
We went to the Eastern & Oriental Hotel for a look around and lunch. The hotel sits on the ocean's edge and it is one of a string of elegant colonial inns built in the 1800s throughout Asia. We shared the pool patio with Gillett and Bruce. Gillett is the District Sales Manager for Regent Cruises in Northern California. They were thrilled to be traveling in this part of the world.
Phuket was our last stop in Southeast Asia on this cruise. This resort town was discovered by backpackers in the early 1970s. The lovely curved beach fringing Padong Bay became a death trap on Dec 26, 2004 as the tsunami waters rushed in. Many people were washed out to sea, including the King’s grandson. The fishing fleet was decimated and its recovery was hampered because Thais would not eat the fish caught in the area fearing that the sea-life had fed on the dead. Now there are few traces of that tragedy in this raucous party town.
We returned to a delightful
spa resort that features massages in open-air tree houses. Declaring it a pampering day, we ended up getting pedicures, manicures, back massages and foot reflexology treatments--just the right thing before heading into the demanding world of India travel.
We had two sea days on the Indian Ocean in absolutely perfect cruising conditions. When the sea is as flat as a floor you can see the cloud reflections on the water along with the tracks of the flying fish. It is easy to spot the dolphins cavorting beside the ship and the turtles poking their heads out of their shells eyeing us. On these balmy evenings after dinner we like to play a few games of ping-pong and then go up to “Dag’s Porch” on the top deck just to enjoy the warm breezes. The Bay of Bengal sunsets are renowned for their orange and magenta hues and a spectacular full moon put an exclamation point on this passage to India.
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Vic & Mary Lyczak
non-member comment
Love continuing the cruise through your blog!