Malaysia, Malaysia, where to begin? Well, in a nut shell it appears to be a lot like Thailand, but quieter (and shinier?) Everywhere I visited I saw parallels: Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, Koh Tao and The Perhentian Islands, Chiang Mai and Taman Negara. Both Malaysia and Singapore have many cultural references (principally Indian, Malay, Islamic and Chinese), as can be seen in their freaky food.
Penang
I don't think any city better demonstrated to me why traveller's reviews of a destination are so often so divergent. I arrived in Penang exhausted and lost. It was raining and when I eventually did find a hostel, I was the only person in it. In short, if you'd asked me what I thought of Penang, you'd have got a very short, very negative, one worded answer.
Nevertheless, I had been told by others what a lovely place Penang was and how it was the food capital of the world and so I perservered. I'm glad I did! Travel really is a case of what you put in you get out. I donned my camera and set myself the target of taking the artsiest photo possible of each religious institution represented. Behold my almighty work below:
Hindu Temple - ok so it was hard to make this look artistic...
St. George's Church - I had to flag this one up
Chinese temple? I'm as clueless as you.
Mosque - mission complete!
Next up, it was time to sample the (delicious?) culinary delights. I shan't cheapen my blog with the endless food photos I took, however I will show you one of their more famous desserts, Kachang.
Kachang - so named because of the onomatopoeic jarring feeling in your brain when you realise there is sweetcorn and kidney beans in your ice cream.
Wandering the streets of Penang in search of grub
The Perhentian Islands must be the best kept secret in South East Asia. They have some of the cheapest diving in the world and yet still there is practically noone there. The sands are golden and the sea sparkling blue and refreshing. As an added bonus, getting the 45 minute jet boat over is insanely fun! They must be the quickest boats I have ever been on; you frequently leave your seat as the boat soars off the edge of a wave crest.
The Perhentian Islands also yielded one of my favourite travel experiences so far. Swimming with sharks and turtles! We hired snorkel gear and took the power boat out to the coral reefs. At first I swallowed a fair amount of salt water, but soon I was diving down to the sea bed (perhaps 5m deep). On one particular dive, I wheeled around and saw a man sized shark just metres away. Nothing can describe the instantaneous moment of adrenaline, followed by intense excitement and curiosity. I tried to swim after it, until I remembered it was a shark that I was chasing and that I hadn't had air in a long time.
Small Perhentian Island
Sunset photo number 314 of the trip (this one has a boat though)
Taman Negara
One of the best parts of visiting this stunning national park is getting there. There is a so called "Jungle Train" from Kota Bharu to Jerantut, which features a comfortable, air conditioned view of the Malaysian rainforest.
I really wish I had longer to do one of the week long trekking expeditions, but as it was I had to make do with a somewhat exhausing day trek. The humidity was almost unbearable and I got stung by a wasp, sucked on by leeches and walked into the nastiest thorn bush you have ever seen. Despite these minor inconveniences, it was a magnificent day (my 100th day of travel coincidentally).
Rain Forest, Rain! (Taman Negara National Park)
The "river crossing" as identified by the map. In what world is that a crossing! I had to swim, chest deep, across in my clothes with my possesions held above head.
Kuala Lumpur
I totally love Kuala Lumpur (the capital). It's a mix of modern skyscraper landscapes and crowded streets hawking goods and food from the various ethnic groups. The Petronas Towers are also more awe inspiring than I have managed to capture on camera.
China Town, but you guessed that right?
Standing 452m high, the dazzling Petronas Towers by night
View from the Kuala Lumpar Menara
I'm just happy I finally bought some new clothes
Singapore
Singapore is another really cool city. In many ways it is very similar to Kuala Lumpur, but Singapore takes visual presentation and architecture to a whole new level. The gardens, the buildings and the shopping centres are all tastfully ostentacious. I was very fortunate to have a guided tour by two locals, one of whom I had met in Vietnam.
Obviously a highlight of visiting Singapore is going up the Marina Bay Sands hotel for the view. The experience was only improved by the presence of a large lightning storm over the city.
Marina Bay Sands viewpoint
View of the bay - a cracking good photo if I do say so myself
Because it was raining the substitute activity to sightseeing, was eating. I sampled the delights of an avocado milkshake, raw fish, pickled egg porridge, yuan yang with pearls (tea and coffee mixed with jellies), sour plum sweet potatoes, pork dumplings, coffee egg tarts, murtabak and my favourite, durian ice cream! I had been warned how vile durian fruit was and yet still when I tasted it I wanted to cut my tongue out.
Islamic Region
View of Marina Bay Sands Hotel from the ground
The imaginatively named "Gardens by the Bay"
I may have taken slightly too many photos of this building
See what I mean about Singapore being stunning
So that's it!! That's my trip through South East Asia! It has been utterly incredible and no short paragraph here will do it justice. I look forward to boring whoever is nearest about the details for the foreseeable future :P.
Trip Stats
Places Visited: (6) Penang, Perhentian Islands, Kota Bharu, Taman Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore
Distance Covered: 1300km
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