Malaysia
Arrived
31/12/2008
Left
6/01/2009
|
Time
|
GMT + 8
|
|
Currency/Exchange
rate
|
Ringgit
(RM) 5 to the pound. (down from 7 when we were here 5 years ago and things
are noticeably more expensive as a result).
|
|
Language
|
Bahasa
Melayu (official language). Thank you Terima Kasih.
Chinese –
various dialects – although many Malay Chinese say English is their first
language (in quite an elitist way).
Tamil
English
|
|
Beer
tried
|
Tiger –
3/5
Various
imported beers.
Guinness
very popular but expensive.
|
|
Food
tried
|
Good curries in Kuala Lumpur from street vendors.
Excellent
Southern Indian Masala Dosa in little India. (KL)
|
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People
|
KL still
seems to have its impressive harmony between the various elements of the
population. Chinese still top of the pile – they are the ones spending the
money in the shopping malls and having the more highly paid jobs. The large
size of the expat community and numbers of tourists was very noticeable after
China.
Last time we came here was after Thailand and so we were used to
the idea of older western men with young Malay women. After 2 months in China
it was much more noticeable .
|
|
Best bit
|
Good
atmosphere for New Year’s eve. Good to already know our way around. Nice to
have some more varied food after 2 months of rice and noodles.
Fun in the
hairdressers!
|
|
Worst bit
|
Much more
expensive than last time we were here and a challenge to stay in budget.
|
Despite
some heavy rain soon after we arrived in Kuala Lumpur
the jump in temperature and humidity was very welcome after the cold weather in
China
during the last 2 months. Kuala Lumpur
seemed very cosmopolitan after the Chinese cities we had been in and much more
Western in terms of the shops, advertising and number of people speaking
English. The streets and bars were packed for New Years Eve and there was a
good atmosphere.
Our hotel
was a familiar arrangement with a Chinese woman owning the business and running
the reception and administration with her 2 young sons. The cooking and
cleaning was done by an Indian Family who lived on site. The relationship
between the 2 families appeared very comfortable, but the roles of each clearly
defined their status. Having spent time in KL before it was nice not to have to
spend time finding our way around although it took us an hour and a half
wandering around little India to find the restaurant we had enjoyed so much
last time. It was worth the effort for the great food and to discover that they
have branches all over the world, including Croydon! Heavy rain each afternoon
in KL felt quite strange after dry China, but did nothing to lower the
temperatures. Throwing it down the morning we left and a 30minute walk to the
bus station with our bags. The hotel owner gave us 2 old umbrella’s that she
said she was due to throw out, very kind. The previous day we had given her
some of the expensive green tea we were given in China and she had been very
pleased.
After 2
days in KL we took the 2 and a half hour bus ride South to Melaka. Melaka is an
interesting coastal city with a Portuguese Fort standing on a hill overlooking
the city and the sea. The Dutch followed the Portuguese before the British
controlled the sea port here from 1824. The China town area is set amongst many
of the old colonial style buildings and has many nice cafes, restaurants and arts
and crafts shops. Some of the best food was in the Indian and Malay restaurants
and this was much cheaper than the more tourist focused places in Chinatown. Melaka was a comfortable and relaxing place to
spend a few days although it had a more conservative feel than KL, perhaps due
to the more prominent Muslim population.
