My first international trip since I've been to Korea (other than going back home for Jen's wedding)... Malaysia! At first, I didn't know where to go or what to do, I'd be traveling for 12 days by myself, but wanted to see something new! A new country, a new culture. So I decided to go to Malaysia.
I arrived extremely late to my hostel, the Reggae Mansion which was highly recommended by many of my friends, but luckily I was able to sign up for the 7 Wonders Tour that they offer through the hostel for the next day. So I work up early, ate a nice, filling breakfast, and met up with the group of about 14 other people for the tour. We visited the KL City Gallery, which was actually a nice start to the day. Our tour guide quickly pointed out the interesting architecture, blending modern, colonial, Islamic and Asian styles. It was really interesting to see spread across the entire city. We then headed to the National Memorial Site and National Palace, where we could take pictures with the guards and horses. Some of the people I was touring with were from Canada and they were in awe of the horses. Apparently they aren't that common in Canada? Something I had never really thought about and I guess took advantage of being from Kentucky. We then headed to the Thean Hou Temple, which was preparing for the Lunar New Year (aka Chinese New Year). It was beautifully decorated with lanterns and smelled of incense. And it was nearly empty, which was great. As we walked down the back of the temple on our way to lunch and ran across a TON of turtles in a little pond. It was crazy!
Lunch was spent at a really good and authentic curry restaurant in Little India. It wasn't fancy, but it was pretty full, lots to choose from, and out doors. Of course, I would spill chicken curry all over my Khaki shorts on the first day of vacation. Go figure. We then had a little time to explore Little India, then were off to our next destination, the National Mosque where we were required to dress in provided robes and head scarves. The next stop was the Pewter Factory, something that doesn't sound so great, but was pretty fun and interesting to see. We were able to watch the workers hand carve and polish individual pieces, getting to see the whole process from start to finish.
But they definitely saved the best for last. The Batu Caves. This Hindu temple/shrine was definitely the highlight of the day. The statue outside was enormous and the climb to the cave was pretty difficult, but once inside the cave it was great. The main cavern opens to the sky, a wall of greenery covering one wall. But my favorite part, the monkeys! There were monkeys EVERYWHERE. They were so cute. Sometimes someone would put food on the ground in the cave, and it was like wolves descending. The entire wall was crawling with monkeys coming down to eat. Then, when they were finished, they all went back up, the entire wall seemingly fluid. Watching the monkeys was quite entertaining. They would steal a plastic soda bottle from someone and work for a while to get a few drops out, all the while having to fight off other monkeys. The cutest part was seeing the baby monkeys cling on to their mother's tummies as they ran around and played. That night, I grabbed a quick bite to eat on the rooftop bar at the hostel and went to sleep quite early, completely exhausted.
The next day was spent exploring by myself. I went to China Town, which was interesting to see in the morning when many of the stalls had yet to be opened and you could actually see down the road, then headed to see the twin Petronas Towers before going to explore the Central Market and then grabbing dinner back at China Town (where I got to see a fun performance with instruments and dancing dragons for Lunar New Year).
The next morning it was back to the airport to grab a quick flight to Langkawi Island. This island was pretty... rural? But beautiful. The beach and sunsets were amazing, and the food wasn't too bad either. However I have to admit that I didn't quite enjoy my stay on the island, due to the fact that I got sunburned the first day and had to spend the rest of my time hiding from the sun (which was difficult to do). So the next day I rented a scooter from our hostel and explored the island, loving the ability to stop whenever I wanted and explore beaches and coves all by myself. But Langkawi wasn't the place for me, so I decided to end my stay early and head to my next destination early, Penang Island, via ferry. The ferry ride was interesting, we couldn't walk around the boat and if something had happened, the door was blocked by luggage. But the most interesting part of the journey was their choice of entertainment. They decided to play two very graphic movies, one about military and one about pirates, both including a lot of blood and swear words. I thought those were quite inappropriate for public transportation.
Once in Penang, I had to find my hostel, then decided to walk around for a bit and explore the city of Georgetown. I have a student that lived in Georgetown for 3 years and he said that I would love it. Unfortunately many things were shut down because of the holiday week. But it was still a beautiful town. Once hungry, I stumbled upon this open air hawker stall food court that ended up being really famous. Thankfully I stumbled upon it my first night, because it closed the next day for the holiday, otherwise I'd have gone there every day. The next few days I spent going to different temples and shrines, I went to the National Park and saw a bunch of cute little monkeys, and enjoyed hunting down non-existent fireworks. But the highlight of Penang (other than the great Indian food) was Lunar New Year's Eve, when we went to the Kek Loksi Temple and were able to see all of the lights, that are only lit during this time of the year. It was beautiful, something that I'll always remember. I loved the zen feeling that the temple grounds gave, light music playing among the many lanterns and flowers. It was something that not many people in the world can say they have experienced.
My last full day in Malaysia I packed my bags once again, headed back to KL and spent the day shopping and hunting for street food (which I never found). So instead I grabbed a crepe then headed to the Petronas Towers too see the light show. Being my last night in Malaysia, it was a wonderful way to spend it. The weather was great and the light and water show was amazing, and the towers were beautiful, lit against the black night sky.
My trip to Malaysia was amazing. I didn't get to do quite as much as I'd wanted, but I met some great people along the way and was able to see the wonderful mix between Islamic, Malay and Chinese culture, and eat some wonderful food.
