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Malaysia - Essential Visits

Located in South East Asia, bordering Thailand in the north and Singapore in the south, Malaysia achieved its independence from British rule on the 31st of August 1957. With a population of approximately 23.5 million (58% Malays, 24% Chinese, 8% Indians and 10% others), Malaysia is rich in differing cultures and traditions. The uniqueness of Malaysia is that all these differing religions live alongside each other in harmony and peace.

You may be asking "What's there to do in Malaysia?". Malaysia offers natural beauties in tropical rainforest, scuba diving; Shopping haven in all major cities; Friendly citizens across the country. Whatever you want to do, ranging from being a potatoe couch at the hotel to extreme adventures, Malaysia has it all.

Having said that, I will now point out to you the essential visits that you should take part in order to make your trip whole (in no particular order):

Petronas Twin Towers
Towering at a height of 452 metres (1483 feet), the Petronas Twin Towers is the highest twin towers in the world. Built to 88 storeys and 32000 windows, the towers are connected via a skybridge. You must book your time to access the skybridge for an excellent birds-eye view of the Kuala Lumpur city. The towers were featured in the movie Entrapment starring Sean Connery and Caterine Zeta Jones. When visiting the towers, take a stroll at the KLCC park (20 hectares or 50 acres) located adjacent to the towers and indulge yourself in shopping at the Suria KLCC located inside the towers.

Pulau Pinang (Penang Island)
Affectionately known as Pearl of the Orient, Penang is famous for its natural beauty and exotic heritage. Located at the northern part of Malaysia, Penang, a bustling island, has a large variety of culture, people and food within the 285 square kilometres enclave. So diversed, you will be able to find churches, Chinese temples, Indian temples and Muslim mosques all within a five minutes walk. Colonial buildings still exist and are constantly being restored to its former glory. When you are at the Pearl of the Orient, you must sample the hawker food found at abundance, take a ferry ride (especially at night) and stroll along the beaches of Batu Ferringi.

Sipadan Island
Located on the north-eastern part of Borneo Island, Sipadan is one of the world's best dive spots. White sandy beaches borders this 12ha island. The island was formed from a undersea volcano and is raised 650meters from the sea floor. Sipadan is famous for its reef wall, rare reef creatures and the regular appearance of sea turtles. If you are a diver, this is one place that you would not want to miss.

East Coast Islands
On the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, an abundance of idyllic white sandy beaches. To escape the hustle and bustle of the city, hop over to the east coast, put on a sarong, grab yourself a coconut, relax and enjoy the pounding of the waves. Out in the sea, islands such as Perhentian, Tioman and Redang are famous for their dive spots and family getaway.

Cameron Highlands
This 1800 meters above sea level region is a popular getaway from the tropical heat for Malaysians and tourist alike. Cameron Highlands was discovered by a British surveyor named William Cameron in 1885. This highlands resembles England as old English inns, chalets and bungalows still exists today. Attraction in Cameron Highlands includes mountain and jungle hikings, tea plantations, fruits and vegetable farms, flower nurseries and its people. Cameron Highlands has two golf courses if you are game.

Proboscis Monkeys
Living exclusively in Borneo island, proboscis monkeys have the largest nose amongst all primates. Reaching up to 17.5cm long, the reason for the elongated nose is unknown. Another distinctive feature of this unique creature is its pot belly. The proboscis monkey is an endangered species and is listed under the IUCN Red List. Visiting these creatures in its natural habitat is well worth the journey.

About the Author
Mij Gnow is an avid traveller who is infected with the travel bug throughout the year. Weighed down by the corporate world to earn a living, Mij continues to write articles in preparation for his future travels. Mij is also the creator and administrator of Travel Corridor, http://www.travelcorridor.com; a site containing essential visits around the world.

posted by 2sdthk9trv26438 @ 11:58 PM 0 comments

A Wedding in Kedah and Pangkor Malaysia

Pangkor is a little island, well known by locals but little known by international tourists. It's located about 180kmn north of Kuala Lumpur and I live nearby in the town of Sitiawan, 9km land inwards from the jetti to Pangkor.

Now living here for almost 3 years and having been invited in quite a few Chinese and Indian weddings, I was still waiting for my first invitation for a typical Malay wedding. Mrs. Sabtu from the Nipah Bay Villa, a nice little hotel at Pangkor invited me for two days of the wedding of her son. The first day would be spend in a small town in Kedah, just north of Penang but the second day would be held in Pangkor, in the hotel.

Of course I was intrigued. The little town of Guar Chempedak, just north of Penang in Kedah was the scene for the first day. Guar Chempedak is a little town where, by accident I had been a few weeks earlier. I had not even remembered the little town when I passed it on the bicycle. This time I came by bus which was quite a journey. Although only 60km from Penang, busses took a long time and stopped everywhere before arriving in Guar Chempedak.

When I arrived I was welcomed by the father of the bride. He showed me around. In the back of the house people were busy preparing food. For steaming rice they were using, what they called a rice rocket cooker. It's basically a huge rocket shape cover that covers 15 plates of rice. At the bottom there's a fire heating the rocket and steams the rice. The process takes about 3 hours.

We had a meal and then the bride and groom arrived. Bride and groom were dressed in yellow and gold, quite a beautiful sight. In the house prayers and stories were told. With the arrival of bride and groom a more serious prayer session started.

Later the happy couple joined for lunch. At the same time a pentjak silat demonstration started.

The second day at Pangkor

The second day of the celebrations, a few day days later was very different. Don't get me wrong, not better or worse, just different and like the first day, quite an experience. At arrival at the hotel, I walked around, spoke to some friends, and went to see the bride who was preparing herself in the bedroom. Here many friends were helping the bride to get ready.

We were waiting for the arrival of the groom and what do you do in Malaysia when you wait? You eat. And some of the very best food I had in Malaysia over the 3 years I am here now, I had at weddings. Here at the Nipah Bay Villa it was no different. Fish, chicken, vegetable dishes, nothing was done on the cheap. The prawns were huge and fresh. But the decoration was fresh too. While I was eating I looked around and saw that the hotel was all in blue and silver (in Kedah everything was decorated in gold - color). Even all the flowers were freshly brought the day earlier from Cameron Highlands.

Finally I stopped eating. It was almost time for the groom to enter. The bride went out for the official meeting outside the gates of the Nipah Bay Villa. The ceremony outside was followed by prayers and blessings inside.

After this family and friends were invited to bless the happy couple. This procedure, contrary to some believes is rooted way back in the traditional Malay (but not Muslim) tradition.

It works this way, you take some rice and put it in the hands of both, then you take some bunga rampai and give this to bride and groom. Bunga rampai is a potpourri of scented pandan, rose petals and turmeric rice grain which is usually prepared the day before using. After the bunga rampai, you sprinkle some oiled perfume on both hand and then you shake the hands of the groom (for the women, they shake hands with the bride only). It was now time for bride, groom and the family to enjoy their meals. Later in the afternoon the guests, who kept coming and going finally left after a great day.

You may want to read more about my experiences with this Malay Wedding. Here is the link for the page I wrote about the first day in Kedah and this page is about the wedding day in Pangkor It was a pleasure to be invited for these two days and a great and colorful experience.

Peter van der Lans is a Dutchman who lives these days in Sitiawan Malaysia. After years of traveling, he cycled from Holland to Malaysia, stayed a months in the Middle East, a year on the Indian Subcontinent and 2 years in China plus a year in the UK, he settled himself in Malaysia.

Sitiawan was the perfect place to write a website about Pulau Pangkor. Later he wrote http://www.bicycle-adventures.com, an ongoing project about his journeys on bicycles.

A third website: http://www.yangshuo-travel-guide.com he recently build. In the years in China, he lived in Yangshuo and he thinks he can tell the story about this pretty little town in China.

posted by 2sdthk9trv26438 @ 12:07 AM 0 comments