One month in Malaysia

We spent a month in Malaysia. It was the first muslim country that we visited during the last two years. To be honest we were a bit nervous how it's going to be in a muslim country, especially on the restrictions on dressing and expectation of behaviour that are generally imposed on women in muslim dominated countries. We set all these expectations from reading about this topic and also from our own past experiences in muslim countries like Morocco, Egypt etc.


We were pleasantly surprised with how we felt in Malaysia. After we arrived, we saw that the country is a mixture of many religions and everyone lived alongside each other. The country has a population of about 32 million with Malay as their national language along with English as a recognised language. A bit over 60% of the population in Malaysia follows Islam, about 20% follow Buddhism, 9% Christianity, 6% Hinduism and the rest a few others religions and about 0.7% identify themselves as non-religious. The culture and food are influenced by immigrants and people who followed different religions within Malaysia who came from other parts of East Asia and South East Asia. We were not aware that a huge population of Indian immigrants lived in Malaysia and finding Indian food was very easy here compared to other countries in Southeast Asia. However that also brought spiciness to the local food to the point where we had to take the help of water or cooling yoghurt drinks (Lassi) to soothe our palettes :) We read a bit about the treatment of non-muslims in the country and we heard a few issues that we wanted to learn a bit more about. So we talked to locals and also with taxi drivers who were happy to share their opinions.

The geographical area of Malaysia is spread across two parts, one part connected to the land next to Thailand (West Malaysia) and the other part is on the island of Borneo (East Malaysia), with other parts belonging to Brunei and Indonesia. This spread also brought cultural and economic diversity to the country. We traveled mostly on the western side of West Malaysia.

Sam made a Malaysian friend, Hasni, while he was traveling across Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Balkans. She was around when we visited Malaysia and it helped us start our travels in Malaysia with a lot better understanding of culture and people of the country.

We landed in Kuala Lumpur and soon we realised how well organised Malaysia was compared to other countries in SE Asia. Traveling around Kuala Lumpur reminded us of being in Europe except the cost of living is only a fraction of what it was in Europe. We stayed a bit outside the city center as we wanted to arrive slowly, do some research about where we wanted to go, and then venture on our travels. Luckily, we got in touch with Sam's friend, Hasni and she took us to a nearby fishing village called Pulau Ketam. The island constituted of two predominantly Chinese fishing villages founded in 1880. As the island gets submerged during the high tide, the houses are built on wooden stilts 1 to 10 meters above sea level. The only mode of transportation between the villages and the mainland is by boat. There are no cars on the island, bicycles are the only means of transportation. Hasni took us to that village by car and then we took a boat to cross over. It was nice to see the country side of Kuala Lumpur and experience traveling with a local. We were introduced to some local delicacies and we got a chance to chat a lot about the culture and people of Malaysia.

Sam, Kathi, and Nora with our friend Hasni

Kathi and Hasni walking towards the fishing village

The narrow streets of Pulau Ketam fishing village

We enjoyed the local delicacy freshly made - fried oysters with eggs

A lot of Mudskippers were hanging out on the island

Beautifully coloured crabs were everywhere to be seen

Many homes had water filled plastic bottles in front of them to avoid dogs from peeing there

A bridge in the village

Nora running across a temple in the village

Thousands of crabs show up when the tide is low

From there we took a long distance train and went to a town north of Kuala Lumpur called Ipoh. Ipoh is the third largest city of Malaysia and is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Perak. In 1800s the city was famous for it's tin metal deposits, but these days it is a popular tourist destination showcasing its limestone hills and very large caves where Buddhist temples were built. The city also had a few wonderful Hindu temples with amazing architecture. This city was half way between Kuala Lumpur and Georgetown which was our next stop. We spent a few day in Ipoh having a fun time with Nora in the city park and visiting the nearby cave temples. Luckily, we also were there in this city during the Ramadan celebrations and we got a chance to visit a small family owned restaurant where people celebrated their Ramadan meal with their families. The Old Town city had vey nicely made wall art murals drawn by local street artists showcasing nostalgic moments of Ipoh's heritage and culture.

Nora and Sam playing at D.R. Sreenivasagam Recreational Park

Kallumalai Arulmigu Subramaniyar Temple (Kallumalai Murugan) in Ipoh

Ipoh

Street murals in Old Town Ipoh 

Street murals in Old Town Ipoh

Kathi and Nora next next to a street mural in Old Town Ipoh

Street murals in Old Town Ipoh

Nora playing with doves in a park in Ipoh

A local Malaysian dessert called "ABC"

Kek Lok Tong cave temple near Ipoh

Kek Lok Tong cave temple near Ipoh

Kathi and Nora walking next to Kek Lok Tong cave temple

From here we took a bus and went to the North of Malaysia to Penang. We stayed with a family on Penang Island and explored a bit of the city, nearby Penang National Park, and Georgetown. We made a few visits to Georgetown and we were also there during the National day celebrations and we got to see how people celebrated their National day. We really enjoyed our time in Penang as there was forests, sea, diverse food and cultural things this area had to offer.

Street performers in Georgetown

Kathi and Nora enjoying the beach in Penang Island

Kathi and Nora walking through Penang National Park

Sam carrying Nora while walking through Penang National Park

Kathi and Nora walking along the turtle beach in Penang National Park

Sam and Nora watching the nature in Penang National Park

Female military members of Malaysian forces parading during the Malaysian National Day 

Locals taking pictures of the parade during Malaysian National day in Georgetown

Kids and adults enjoying the fire trucks during the Malaysian National day parade in Georgetown

From here we went back to Kuala Lumpur passing over Ipoh and stayed there for a few days. We lived in a neighbourhood that was a bit away from the city center and we got to visit local eateries, markets, and food courts where we got to see how local people ate their meals. During our stay here we also made a visit to a wonderful Hindu temple near KL called Batu Caves. It was a fascinating cave with beautiful colours and wonderful Hindu architecture. We spent almost the entire day there and we loved it.

Nora and Kathi in a park next to the Petronas towers in Kuala Lumpur

Impressive Batu Cave temple near Kuala Lumpur

Inside the Batu Cave

A temple inside the Batu Cave

Another temple inside the Batu Cave

Overall we had a wonderful month in Malaysia and we thought the time was not enough to see everything we wanted to see. Our hearts kept asking for more. We will definitely try and come back to Malaysia again soon.