Multicultural Malaysia
Our adventure in Malaysia started with an uneventful border
crossing. From here we encountered our
first Malay transport and drivers. We
were headed for the city of Penang and the old British section of George
Town. (More on George Town in a
bit.) The drive what became
eventful. We were travelling down the
highway and then we could hear a thump-thump-thump sound so the driver pulled
the van over (we were travelling in passenger vans for most of this trip). The reason for the thumping noise was that
the sidewall of the front right tire had ballooned out and as we sat there it
popped (more of a small pyrotechnic noise).
Our guide was in the other van and well ahead of us at this point so our
driver took is slow and got us to a service area to where we thought he would
change the tire - WRONG -. He just
needed a toilet break. With part of the
sidewall and some of the tread missing (see photo below) we ventured back out
on the highway for the remaining 80+km drive much to our dismay (the drivers
English was not that good so communication of exactly what he was doing was sparse
at best). Well if any of you have
knowledge of tires know that you need the entire tire for is to work and you
guessed it the tire popped –thankfully we didn’t lose control- and we pulled
over to the side of a major highway (similar to the 400 series highways near
Toronto). Once at the side of the
highway the driver took down what I think was supposed to be a jack and a tire
iron. I asked him if he had ever changed
a tire before and the answer was no that he was just a driver. So I decided to help. The reason for the question was that he was
that the van was barely off the road and he was standing on the highway with
cars/trucks/buses narrowly missing him staring at the van. I told him that we needed to move the van so
we could work on it more safely. After
angling it into the guardrail and giving ourselves some room I took the tire
iron and tried to loosen the lug nuts.
The rims were aluminum and the nuts had welded themselves onto the studs
and the lug wrench was not exactly the correct size. We needed proper tools and thus help. After convincing his superiors that we couldn’t
fix it they called for the highway patrol who after a hour and a half wait and
much better tools fixed the situation. We
tried to make the best of it as seen in the photo below.
After the arduous trip to George Town we checked into our
hotel rooms. The only thing missing from
the hotel room was the chalk outline on the floor and blood stains. To say it was sketchy would be giving it more
credit than it deserves. With the
eventful trip, late arrival and interesting accommodations we were hardly in
the mood for dinner and a walk about. We
did go to a local food market area for some street eats but that was it for the
night. The next morning had us up early
and on trishaws (like a rickshaw) and touring the old colonial part of the
city. Our rider/guide was very nice and
had a lot to say about the city. (see photos below) We visited the pier area where we could see
the area that was destroyed by the tsunami of 2004. The driver described the event first
hand. It was quite the story. The city is also known for its murals and art
work.
We only spent half the day in George Town (Penang area) and
were off towards the Cameron Highlands.
The drive started out normal enough and then things changed quickly once
we got into the highlands area. Asian
drivers drive very fast regardless of road conditions. The road was hilly with many curves and it
had started to rain. We were in the
hills for maybe 10 minutes when we came across our first serious accident. It looked like a moto with two people tried
to pass a truck. They didn’t make it. (I leave it at that) A little further down the road there was
another accident with a van on its side and another moto in the ditch with the
driver some distance away. Not sure of
the outcome on this one but it was serious.
Our driver continued to speed through the hills. We got behind a transport (they don’t travel
well in hill areas and go slow) and our driver was getting impatient as the
other van was well ahead of us and you could tell he wanted to catch up to
them. This is when he made the most idiotic
pass I have ever seen. There was construction
and cement barricades on each side with just enough room for two cars to get
by. On a blind curve he gunned it and
started to pass much to our gasps and this is when we saw another transport
barreling towards us. I’m not exactly
sure how we made it because there was no room (I think both truck drivers
locked them up to avoid hitting us based on how they moved) but we thank God
that we’re alive at this time. The
driver got an earful and he was apologetic.
This drive was the worst we have ever had in our lives. The rest of the driving in Malaysia was
uneventful as our guide has told the story and requested the safest drivers and
they have been very good since.
Cameron Highlands is in an agricultural area with a lot of
greenhouses. It get colder there (highs
in the mid 20’s) and a welcome change from the sweltering heat elsewhere. It was here that we saw the multiculturalism
of Malaysia. Just looking at the choices
of food (Malay, Chinese, Indian, Aboriginal, Thai, Vietnamese, and the list goes
on) you get a feel for all the different people that live there. In the highlands we took a day hike for 4
hours in search of the Raffles plant.
(The largest flower in the world -over a meter in diameter. ) Remember I said that it wasn’t hot in the highlands,
well that’s not entirely true. We
ventured into the lower parts of the hills to find the plant as it likes warmer
temperatures. To say that I sweat a lot
is an understatement. Was it worth the
hike is up for debate. The hike itself
was challenging and beautiful. After the
hike we ventured back up into the hills to visit a tea plantation. We have seen and visited a couple plantations
in Africa so this was not as special for us as it was for the others but it was
part of the trip.
The next part of our Malaysian adventure had us in the
capital of Kuala Lampur (KL for short). This
city is very clean and you can see the affluence here more so than anywhere
else in the country. Malaysia itself is
richer than the surrounding countries and it shows. In KL we visited mosques, temples, the
Petronas Towers, Sky Bars, China Town, Central Market, various museums and had
numerous walkabouts in the city –see photos below. It is also starting to get pricier for food
and definitely drink the further south we go.
Our last stop in Malaysia took us to Melaka -a very
multicultural and historic town. It was
founded by the Portuguese, taken over by the Dutch, conquered by the British
and finally the Malaysian people have their independence. The architecture here was very mixed and
showed the various ethnicities - see photos below.
Malaysia stared off very adventurous on the roads and ended
very peacefully as we made our way to Singapore on a public bus. The people of this country are very friendly
and for the most part accommodating.
Sorry to those of you that have been commenting on the blog
as we have not been receiving these. I
am not sure what is happening. We have
just received some Africa comments from over two months ago. I guess the best way to contact us is my
email or Lisa’s Facebook.
Malaysian Family Robinson
 |
| Road side party waiting for help |
 |
| This is what we continued to drive on down the highway |
 |
| These buildings were hit hard by the 2004 tsunami |
 |
| Traffic and trishaws |
 |
| Floating village (no more room on shore for housing) |
 |
| Big Jelly |
 |
| George Town street art work (the following are all from the same city) |
 |
| Raffles flower (the largest in the world) after a 2 hour hike in the rainforest |
 |
| Drinking some bamboo water |
 |
| Lisa learning to use a blow gun |
 |
| Lisa and her butterfly friend |
 |
| Rhino beetle |
 |
| Millipede |
 |
| Leaf bug |
 |
| Stick bug |
 |
| Can you find the leaf frog |
 |
| Scorpion on Dan's chest |
 |
| Our lizard friend |
 |
| Outside the Petronas Towers |
 |
| Very decorated trishaws |
 |
| Our group visiting a mosque (we all have to wear these to show respect) |
