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Published: July 22nd 2009
Monkey greets us
Fort on Malawati HillMonkeys on the hill
Monkeys cluster around us. We feed them plant stems that they love. They take the food right out of my hand. No biting. These silver-leaf monkeys clamber all over the old cannons and on the road at Malawati Hill. The young, energetic ones jump from tree to tree.
A baby wanders too far from its mother. She swipes it back from the monkey that is playing with it. Its hair is a lighter colour than the older monkeys. Young Rohan wanders over towards a group of tourists. Mum grabs him and leads him away from the passing traffic. His blonde hair stands out from his older brothers. He is scared of anything with big teeth. Monkeys are scary at first - but soon he chases them around.
Kuala Selangor on the River
We visit a fishing village called Kuala Selangor. "Kuala" means "river mouth" in Malay. Indeed, this village is right beside the river with easy access by boat to the sea. We eat at a restaurant perched over the Sungai Selangor River. Water swirls underneath the jetty. A couple of locals throw in a fishing line from the next jetty. We see
fish jump and the men hook a couple of small fish. We eat fresh crabs, prawns and ocean fish. Benji likes the golden crunchy rings. They are squid cooked as calamari. Rohan and I are happy with a chicken rice dinner.
The sky is clear and the sun is setting. This is the first time during the last two weeks that we have actually seen a sunset. The sun glows bright orange and grows huge. Sunlight glitters and dances over the river currents. Then we set off to see a different kind of natural light.
Fireflies light up the river banks
This motor boat is much quieter than any other. The motor is whisper quiet and the night is black. I don't see or hear the boat pull up at the jetty. I step in and settle back for the ride. Just over the river, I see dots of light. As we get closer, I see more lights. The riverside lights up like a row of Christmas trees. Each tiny light is a firefly. These insects live on mangrove trees in the river mouth. A firefly scoots past the side of the boat, right near my hand.
I only see the glowing tail - a spark of fire darting in the darkness.
Dinosaurs, science and technology
Petrosains is a great technology centre right beside the Petronas Twin Towers.
Dinosaurs roar and fight each other. T. rex seems to be losing this battle. The lights fade and no-one is hurt. But these robotic dinosaurs move just like the real thing. We experiment with computer simulations We even do the
chicken dance with a herd of hadrosaurs.
We sit inside a "pod" moving along train tracks. It swivels around and presents a sound and light show around us. Cool!
The earth is shaking beneath my feet. A lamp swings overhead. The bench I'm sitting on lurches sideways. So, this is what an earthquake feels like. I don't run out of the room screaming. But the simulation is realistic.
We board a helicopter ride to travel out to an oil rig. We climb up through the clouds. It's a bumpy ride. The seats tilt and shudder and I'm glad I buckled up. But a plane is firing at us. We're hit! We stall and hurtle down towards the sea. The copter pulls up just
Infrared image
Zac with cap; Dad with camera before impact. Phew! That was fun. Soon we are climbing around the crew quarters on the oil rig.
Easing back to the west
We are back at the Petronas Twin Towers. Dad calls it a "decompression chamber" between cultures. This is the most westernised part of Malaysia - an Aussie can adjust easily to life here. It has
McDonalds,
KFC and even
Toys'r'Us. And there are many people visiting from all over the world. We came here at the start of our trip. Now, it is the last place we visit.
Next door to the twin towers, KLCC Park has water jets and sculptures. We have a great splash in a cascading waterfall. Neat! Rohan wades around, then dashes off to the playground. It's huge - you could get lost in there!
Farewell to Malaysia
Sadly, it is time to leave Malaysia. We have done many different things. Things I don't normally do at home. Others that don't even exist in Australia.
We say goodbye to our KL hosts, Michael and Christina. They have introduced us to their country and also helped us in the last two days in KL. We give them an
Seafood by the river
Calamari is a big hit animal carving from Sarawak. It is a crocodile merged with body parts from other animals. Our hosts give us some Malaysian fabric as a farewell gift. It is a nicely patterned batik with many uses.
Our gift card sums up our trip. Here is the farewell message:
The crocodile links our two countries. From a shared body, many interesting things grow.
Differences enrich all of our lives. Tolerance and an open mind enable harmony. Malaysia embraces a range of peoples and beliefs.
Goodbye, Malaysia! Selamat datang, Australia.
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Vince
non-member comment
Rushing back for Dad's Birthday?
Happy Birthday Steve. Neat trick, holiday's over and you get an extra night of being spoiled by the fambily. Zac of course will do the dishes when it's your turn next!