Returning to Malaysia always has the feel of coming home for us. When my parents traveled through here in 1973, they were picked up while hitchhiking by a warm family who quickly opened their hearts and homes to them. For the next 22 years, letters and pictures were exchanged until we went back as a family in 1995. By then, the young children from '73 were grown with kids of their own, and the connection continues to this day. They live just outside of Kuala Lumpur, the bright capital of Malaysia, and every time any of our family members or friends travel through Malaysia, we are invited into their homes and lives again. The Grandmother Savithri, her daughter Santhi and Santhi's husband Ganesan welcomed us, along with their three girls, Manjoo, Tharra and Urmila, who are growing up amazingly fast.
Santhi's brother Arunan lives with his wife Veronica and daughters Amara and Calista and new son Vernon only 20 minutes away. Not only do the two families give us a warm and comforatble home away from home, with great food and fantastic company, but they also give us a look into Malaysia that few foreigners are afforded. A tri-cultural country, Malaysia is for many countries a model for multi-culturalism in action. That model, however, isn't perfect, and indeed while we were there a demonstration was held downtown, complete with riot police, projectiles, and the finality of a road block in and out of the downtown area. This demonstration, however, was different from previous demonstrations, as it was the first time the Indian population spoke out against the government, accusing them of unfairness in their dealings with the three peoples of the country. The Malays, the ethnic majority but long-time economic minority, enjoy all kinds of rights and privileges that the other two races are beginning to tire of. Pro-rated university entrance numbers, obligatory partnernship with Malays for any business opened by the other two races, and monetary supplements for any number of life's tough spots all lead to an unfair level of treatment, so the Indians and Chinese say. It's not like Singapore, where there really are no ethnic peoples, as everyone basically moved there en masse through the past couple of centuries. It's these small insights that the family provides us that help us grasp what makes this country tick.
Apart from this, Malaysia is a burgeoning state, with lots going for it. One look at the downtown area, with its broad streets, clean roads, friendly faces and sky-scratching highrises, and you have to remind yourself that you're in Asia. Central Market and Chinatown bustle with shops and outdoor vendors selling all sorts can't-miss articles, while the KL City Center has the Petronas Towers, the KL Tower, and the business high rises that give the city its opulent feel. Walking the streets of KL, you feel like you're walking through the United Streets of Beneton, with clothes fashions from all over the world, not to mention face shapes and skin colours. The real attraction of Malaysia, however, is on the east coast - beaches. Unfortunately, these gems were under the monotonously wet attack of the monsoon season, so we were forced to avoid them, leaving our beach time for Thailand. We therefore headed to the hills, Fraser's Hill, to be exact.
Fraser's Hill sits 3 hours north of KL, sandwiched between Malaysia's other attractions - the tea estates of the Cameron Highlands, and the sweltering rainforest of Taman Negara National Park. We chose Fraser's Hill because it it less developed, actually only 30% developed and 70% undeveloped rainforest, which differs from the 80% developed Cameron Highlands. It had also been raining quite a bit, and we were a little tired of watching for leeches on our shoes when trying to bird, so the National Park, which is known for such creatures, was also out. What we found was wonderful. Quiet trails led through the forest, while birding from the one-way roads leading off the hill were very productive. We met the leader of the local NGO and had a great chat with him about the environmental scene in Malaysia, which, to our surprise, seems to be quite positive. No other country we've traveled in has had a rosy environmental picture, and we've interviewed people in all of them. The good will towards the environment, however, was only created through the disastrous 2004 tsunami, which devastated mangrove areas along the coast. The government learned to respect that force, and in turn has been actively working with local NGO groups to protect undeveloped areas while promoting environmentally-friendly development. A bit of a leap from tsunami destruction to environmental protection, but hey, the environment will take it any way it can!
After 4 days in the cool breezes of the old British hill station, we descended back on KL before heading out by plane to Thailand. Because of the way we've structured our trip - trying to see a lot of places in not a lot of time, we don't leave ourselves much time to breath in a country and its people. Singapore felt like a whirlwind, while we did India from top to bottom with only a couple of breathers in between. Although we only spent 10 days in Malaysia, we felt refreshed, like we had taken a break from the break-neck pace we've been on. Thanks to the family and some lovely time birding and hiking through quiet green spaces, we're ready to take SE Asia by storm! Well, we're ready for 10 days of beaching in southern Thailand anyway . . . Happy holidays to you all, and we wish you all the best in the New Year!
Santhi's brother Arunan lives with his wife Veronica and daughters Amara and Calista and new son Vernon only 20 minutes away. Not only do the two families give us a warm and comforatble home away from home, with great food and fantastic company, but they also give us a look into Malaysia that few foreigners are afforded. A tri-cultural country, Malaysia is for many countries a model for multi-culturalism in action. That model, however, isn't perfect, and indeed while we were there a demonstration was held downtown, complete with riot police, projectiles, and the finality of a road block in and out of the downtown area. This demonstration, however, was different from previous demonstrations, as it was the first time the Indian population spoke out against the government, accusing them of unfairness in their dealings with the three peoples of the country. The Malays, the ethnic majority but long-time economic minority, enjoy all kinds of rights and privileges that the other two races are beginning to tire of. Pro-rated university entrance numbers, obligatory partnernship with Malays for any business opened by the other two races, and monetary supplements for any number of life's tough spots all lead to an unfair level of treatment, so the Indians and Chinese say. It's not like Singapore, where there really are no ethnic peoples, as everyone basically moved there en masse through the past couple of centuries. It's these small insights that the family provides us that help us grasp what makes this country tick.
Apart from this, Malaysia is a burgeoning state, with lots going for it. One look at the downtown area, with its broad streets, clean roads, friendly faces and sky-scratching highrises, and you have to remind yourself that you're in Asia. Central Market and Chinatown bustle with shops and outdoor vendors selling all sorts can't-miss articles, while the KL City Center has the Petronas Towers, the KL Tower, and the business high rises that give the city its opulent feel. Walking the streets of KL, you feel like you're walking through the United Streets of Beneton, with clothes fashions from all over the world, not to mention face shapes and skin colours. The real attraction of Malaysia, however, is on the east coast - beaches. Unfortunately, these gems were under the monotonously wet attack of the monsoon season, so we were forced to avoid them, leaving our beach time for Thailand. We therefore headed to the hills, Fraser's Hill, to be exact.
Fraser's Hill sits 3 hours north of KL, sandwiched between Malaysia's other attractions - the tea estates of the Cameron Highlands, and the sweltering rainforest of Taman Negara National Park. We chose Fraser's Hill because it it less developed, actually only 30% developed and 70% undeveloped rainforest, which differs from the 80% developed Cameron Highlands. It had also been raining quite a bit, and we were a little tired of watching for leeches on our shoes when trying to bird, so the National Park, which is known for such creatures, was also out. What we found was wonderful. Quiet trails led through the forest, while birding from the one-way roads leading off the hill were very productive. We met the leader of the local NGO and had a great chat with him about the environmental scene in Malaysia, which, to our surprise, seems to be quite positive. No other country we've traveled in has had a rosy environmental picture, and we've interviewed people in all of them. The good will towards the environment, however, was only created through the disastrous 2004 tsunami, which devastated mangrove areas along the coast. The government learned to respect that force, and in turn has been actively working with local NGO groups to protect undeveloped areas while promoting environmentally-friendly development. A bit of a leap from tsunami destruction to environmental protection, but hey, the environment will take it any way it can!
After 4 days in the cool breezes of the old British hill station, we descended back on KL before heading out by plane to Thailand. Because of the way we've structured our trip - trying to see a lot of places in not a lot of time, we don't leave ourselves much time to breath in a country and its people. Singapore felt like a whirlwind, while we did India from top to bottom with only a couple of breathers in between. Although we only spent 10 days in Malaysia, we felt refreshed, like we had taken a break from the break-neck pace we've been on. Thanks to the family and some lovely time birding and hiking through quiet green spaces, we're ready to take SE Asia by storm! Well, we're ready for 10 days of beaching in southern Thailand anyway . . . Happy holidays to you all, and we wish you all the best in the New Year!
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