Malaysia

Malayasia

Here is how Andy described Malaysia and I couldn’t agree any more: 

Malaysia is kind of like when you order a glass of coke, but they bring you Dr. Pepper instead…you take a sip and it is not what you expected, but in the end it was kind of good!,

 

March 19, 2008:  Malaysia- Day 1

Once again, it was an early wake up to see the sunrise over Penang, Malaysia…beautiful!  Docking in Malaysia was different than any of the other ports we have been to so far.  The water was too shallow to dock at land, so our ship had to dock in the middle of the water, and we all had to take our tenders (life boats) to shore.  Only 1 tender was used to transport students to and from shore, so anytime we had to go back to the ship (our home), we would have to wait up to a half hour to catch the next tender; not so convenient!

I would say that there were about 50 taxi drivers waiting for us as we got off the tender, trying to get us to take their taxi…very overwhelming!  Kristin, Candice, and I hired a cab driver for the day to take us to a famous Buddhist temple called Kek Lok Si Temple.  On our way to the temple, we stopped off for lunch at a local street vendor.  In every other country, we were told NOT to eat the street food, but in Malaysia it was actually the opposite; street food was recommended.  We were told that it was safe to eat the street food, and that it was delicious, so why not.  The three of us had some sort of chicken and rice dish that we really enjoyed.  What made it even more enjoyable was how cheap it was- 3 ringettes (a little less than $1).  After lunch, we walked around the area to look in the nearby markets and stores.  One of the markets was selling a fruit called Durian, so I decided to try it (I have become much more adventurous on this voyage and have learned to try a lot of new things).  Little did I know that this fruit was used on the show Fear Factor, and was absolutely disgusting.  Don’t worry, I bought some Durian candies for ya’ll to try.   After some shopping around and trying nasty Durian, we got back in the cab and drove up to the temple.  Situated high up on a hill in Penang, the Kek Lok Si Temple is one of the largest temples in all of Southeast Asia.  The temple was so pretty and so different than anything I have ever seen before; it was so colorful with very intricate details and amazing architecture.  Several praying halls that were dedicated to various g-ds shot off the main center of the temple.  There were also numerous pagodas, each with different statues and manifestations of the Buddha.  The view of Penang from the top of the temple was amazing.  As we descended down the hill from the temple back to street level, we walked through a market and of course, shopped!  On our way back to the ship, we stopped off at a chocolate and coffee store, as well as a Batik store.  There were so many different flavors of coffee and chocolate that I got to try!  At the Batik store, it was interesting to see how much time is spent making Batik fabric by hand, and how it is actually done. 

 

We finally made it back to the ship around 1745, only to be ready by 1830 to leave for dinner…there is barely any time to breathe when you are in port, it is all about the quick turnarounds!  Not everyone was ready by 1830, so Candice, Hilton and I took a tender over to shore to get a few drinks while we waited for everyone else to make the next tender.  We had a hard time finding the rest of the crew we were supposed to be meeting up with (Kristin, Kristen, Kailey, James, and Rob), so we decided to eat street food again.  I think street food is the way to go; I mean it tastes pretty good if you like white rice, and it’s really cheap!  We finally found everyone at a Japanese restaurant and joined them for some Sake bombs and then began bar hopping! The night was fun because practically all of the bars were advertising “ladies nights,” so I had free drinks everywhere I went.  Little did they know that 70% of the students on SAS were female!  They definitely lost money.  Everyone from SAS that went out pretty much wound up going to the same bar, Slippery Senoritas!  There was a live band and plenty of beverages!  Candice and I had to call it an early night because we had to get a tender back to the ship; our trip to Terengganu was meeting at 0400 and the last tender back to the ship was at 0100…we didn’t want to miss our trip (or so we thought).

 

March 20, 2008- Terengganu

As I have mentioned before, you don’t get much sleep, if any at all, while in port.  I have yet to go to sleep.  I was too scared that I would fall into a deep sleep and not wake up in time for my trip, so I decided to just stay up.  At 0400 I met up with my group to leave for our trip to Terengganu, what a mess… 

 

Let me start off by saying how excited I was to be going on this trip with Candice, Andy, Zach, Michael, and Adam; I haven’t traveled with these boys in a while and was really looking forward to our trip to Terengganu, a place with some of the world’s prettiest and longest coastline beaches.  So the day began with our flight to Terengganu.  Our flight arrived into the airport, yet we landed in an airport that was 3 and a half hours away from where we would be staying in Terengganu.  We got off the plane and began our 3-4 hour bus ride to our destination.  Usually you take a long bus ride to your destination in the hopes of seeing things along the way.  Well…  our first stop was to a morning market.  I would have to say that the morning market was definitely worth seeing.  I got the opportunity to see how many of the local people live their lives and make a living.  The people of the morning market sold a HUGE variety of fruits, vegetables, and a ton of dead fish and chickens.  I hated the smell of this place, but I still walked through it (I tried my best to not hold my nose or make a face, but I am still pretty sure that my face spoke a thousand words)!  If you couldn’t tell yet, I have gotten a little bit better with trying new foods.  At the morning market I tried mango (which was ok), and some other fruit that was kinda nasty, I don’t know the name of it.  I also tried this thing that looked like mushy rice wrapped in a green leaf, it was so-so.  I don’t know the name of it, but I took a picture of it; I think I have had it at Khoa’s house before!  There were a few stands set up outside the morning market with little things to buy, but nothing much.  So all in all, the morning market was a good, cultural experience.  After the morning market, we got back on the bus and made our next stop to some deserted beach place.  There was nothing to do here and nothing to see.  I am not sure if this place had any significance because SAS hired us a guide that didn’t speak very much English!!!  Oh well.  We got back on the bus and drove a little while to our next stop.  I felt bad because our tour guide would talk the whole time we were driving from place to place, but no one could really understand him.  Also, the further back you were on the bus, the worse it was!  Most people used the time on the bus to try to catch up on some sleep.  Our third stop on our way to Terengannu was a “fishing village.”  As I walked off the bus into the “fishing village,” the smell of dead fish filled the air….so I held my breath as best I could.  Women were taking these bucket like things (that kind of looked like a big pasta strainer), filled with dead fish, and throwing the dead fish onto netted tarps to dry out and eventually recollect to sell and eat…YUCK!  I was under the impression that we would be going to a fishing village where we would get the opportunity to fish with the local people or at least see them fishing, but we didn’t…oh well.  I guess we got the opportunity to see a different kind of “fishing village.” Onto the “wood carving factory.”  The best way I could describe this “wood-carving factory” is as follows:  imagine my dad sitting in the backyard with some of his tools and a piece of wood, sanding away… Some woodcarving factory alright!  We also stopped off at a batik factory.  Since our guide didn’t speak English very well, we didn’t really understand what he was saying.  Luckily for me, I went to a batik factory yesterday, so I kind of had some idea of the process that was taking place.  Everyone on this trip was pretty annoyed at this point.  We took a plane to an airport that was three hours from our hotel to stop at places that either were not on our original itinerary, did not meet our expectations, or we could not understand what we were going to see because our guide did not speak English! 

 

We finally made it to our hotel!  Our hotel…nasty, dirty, stained sheets, shower curtain could have been changed a few years ago, broken air conditioner, and worst of all…not located on a beach.  Like I said before, Terengganu is known for its beautiful beaches and for having the longest coastline of beaches in Southeast Asia, and here we are, in a hotel in the middle of town.  We all expected to be staying on the beach, as that is what Terengganu is known for.  On the bright side, I got to experience a very Muslim area.  For a little background on the Malaysia population, the country is 55% Muslim with some Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians too.  There is also a diverse mix of Indians, Chinese, and Malaise people.  Many of the women that I saw walking around wore their burkahs, and as far as night life….DREAM ON…it doesn’t exist.  Since our trip wasn’t going as according to planned, a group of us decided to make our own plans for the next day.  Candice, Kristin, Andy, Zach, Michael, Adam, Allie, Whitney, and I went to a nearby travel agent and set up a trip to Kappas Island (a beautiful beach area).  Then, Candice, Krisitn and I booked a flight to Kuala Lumpur (KL) for the next night; that is where many of the kids from SAS went.  Most of the people on this trip decided to stray away from the itinerary, as things were being changed left and right, and they were not meeting our expectations.  After setting up day 2’s itinerary in Malaysia, we ate diner at the hotel (rice), went to an internet café, and then went back to our hotel rooms.  Candice and I just talked in our hotel room since there was nowhere to go; it was so hot and we were pretty frustrated. We all don’t understand why we paid so much money for this trip…either everything we have done is really cheap or it doesn’t cost anything.  We looked into prices of the hotels, flights, coach buses, tourists, etc.; the prices just don’t add up…

 

March 21, 2008- There actually are beaches in Terengganu, go figure…

Kappas Island…what Terengganu is all about!  I woke up early to get a shower, packed my bags and had a quality hotel breakfast…white rice and soy sauce!!!  Candice, Kristin, Andy, Zach, Michael, Adam, Allie, Whitney, and I met at 0830 to leave for Kappas Island for the day.  Kappas Island was by far the most beautiful island I have ever seen and been on.  The island was deserted, clean, and surrounded by clear blue water.  As for the sand of Kappas Island…it was really soft and felt nice between my toes (I don’t know how else to put it)!  We took a small boat over to Kappas Island.  When we got there, there was nobody else in sight, we felt like we were on a deserted island.  Our guide gave each of us snorkeling gear and he took us snorkeling in the water surrounding the island.  Although I have only gone snorkeling a few times, this was by far the best snorkeling I have ever done.  The water was so clear and the perfect temperature.  As we swam out into the ocean, we had to be careful of sea urchins because they were everywhere!  I saw tons of sea urchins, puff fish, needle nose fish, NEMO’S and a ton of other little fishies!  As I snorkeled I had an infamous Morganism…I wonder what it would be like to live in the ocean.  How do fish know to swim together?  What is life like in the ocean?...  It just amazes me that the world is covered by so much water, and there is so much life under the ocean that we have no idea about…I would love to live under the ocean for a few days!!!!

 

When we were done snorkeling, there were a few other people on the beach, but still pretty deserted.  We walked around the island, collected seashells, and laid out for a few hours. Around 1300 our boat came back for us to take us to another part of the island for lunch.  We ate at a little restaurant on the island; the restaurant overlooked the beach and the water and was absolutely beautiful.  As for the restaurant itself, it was the kind of restaurant that the people sit on cushions on the ground and the table is low down.  It was very exciting!  To no surprise, I had white rice for lunch…again!  After lunch, our guide showed us a few card tricks that I hope to master by the time I get home.  We also just used the afternoon to relax and lay out on the beaches of Terengganu.  We got to lie out in these really cool looking chairs that kind of looked like rockers.  Since Candice, Kristen and I made plans the night before to fly to KL, we had to take the boat back to the bus around 1630.  Andy, Zach, Michael, and Adam decided to spend the night in these little shacks on the island.  I am really glad I got to spend the day on Kappas Island with this group; I had a great time.  I got back to the hotel, showered, packed up, ate dinner, and headed to the airport with Candice and Kristen.  This time we went to Terengganu airport, 20 minutes from our hotel; I don’t get why we didn’t fly into here in the first place, but I can’t complain…it is all a part of the learning experience.

 

KL…Let me start by saying that Candice, Kristen and I bought a one-way ticket to KL and had no reservations for our sleeping arrangements.  When we got into KL, we asked a taxi driver to take us to a hotel that Kristen’s friends were staying at…it was an hour away.  On our way to the hotel we passed by the Petronas Twin Towers (the tallest twin towers in the world).  I am so glad we got to see them at night, as the whole building lights up, it is definitely a sight to see!  On our drive to the hotel, I learned that KL is the federal capital of Malaysia; it was full of high rises, designer stores, and had a starbucks on every corner.  After our hour long cab ride, we figured we would all just drop our stuff off in Mel’s hotel room (Kristen’s friend), get ready in there, go out for the night, and figure out our sleeping arrangements later.  There were already 4 girls staying in Mel’s hotel room, but she told the 3 of us we were welcome to stay there as well, we would just have to sleep on the floor…sounded good to us!  Now with a place to stay, we quickly changed our clothes and were on our way out at 0030.  The 7 of us squeezed into 1 taxi and tried aimlessly to find SASers at nearby bars.  We went to a bar called Aloha and Beach Club, but it wasn’t as easy to find other SASers as it was in Mauritius.  The bars were extremely crowded, loud and skeevy; part of the crowdedness had to do with the fact that the Formula 1 Grand Prix car race was taking place the next day in KL.  I saw so many old men making out with girls a few years older than me…YUCK!  We made our way to a few bars, had a few drinks and wound up running into Kristin, Kailey, Theo, and a few other SASers.  After a night out in KL, and a day on the beach in Terengganu, Candice and I went back to the hotel and slept on the floor.  We didn’t get much sleep because we didn’t get home until after 0300, and were woken up when the other girls came back at about 0540.  So yea, I didn’t get much sleep, and whatever sleep I did get, it wasn’t very good; I “slept” on the floor with no blanket! 

 

Comparing KL to my last port, India, it is crazy for me to think about how money can be concentrated so excessively in some parts of the world while it is so absent in other parts of the world.

 

March 22, 2003 – Kuala Lumpur (kind of like NYC but much cleaner)

0700 and Candice woke me up to go get in line with her to reserve a spot to see the Petronas Twin Towers.  We waited on line for about an hour and were told that we couldn’t go up right away, our scheduled time to go up to the towers was at 1115, so we had some time to kill.  We used our time wisely; we stopped by the train station and reserved spots on a sleeper bus back to Penang.  After we figured out our way home, we made our way to a starbucks and shopped around a nearby mall.  At 1100 we went back to the Petronas Twin Towers to go up to the skybridge.  The Petronas Twin Towers were a sight to see, being that they are the tallest buildings in the world (some say the second tallest now that the tallest building is being built in Dubai). Halfway up the 88-story towers, at levels 41 and 42, a hollow space between the two structures is linked by a skybridge that we could walk across.  Unfortunately, tourists that come to see this attraction are only able to take an elevator to this level.  Although the view was quite impressive, I still wish I could say that I went to the top of the tallest towers in the world.  At least I got to go to the top of the Twin Towers in NY when I was younger.

 

After visiting the twin towers, Candice and I went back to the hotel and got a massage.  We were exhausted from traveling around and were definitely suffering a bit of sleep deprivation.  The massages in Malaysia were extremely cheap and were just what we needed…so relaxing!  After our hour-long massage, Candice and I made our way to the train station to take a sleeper bus back to Penang (where the ship was docked).  The sleeper bus was actually really nice; it had reclining chairs, tv’s for each seat, and leg rests!  What more could I want for a 4 hour bus ride.  Candice and I practically slept the whole way home.  We got back to the ship around 2300 and bumped into Hilton, Kristin, and Kristen as they were getting off their tender; they told us to meet them at hotel Malaysia.  Even though I was tired, I told them that I would get a quick shower and meet them out in about an hour.  I got a shower, and as I was getting ready to go out I didn’t feel so well.  I thought I was just really over tired, and tried to ignore it; I figured it would go away.  Chad and Theo were waiting for me to go back out, but when I finally got dressed and ready to leave, I realized that I really felt like crap.  My legs were killing me (which usually happens when I am sick) and I just couldn’t fight it anymore.  I decided to just stay in and try to sleep it off L (I hate staying in…I always try to fight off not feeling well, but this time I couldn’t).  I knew I was actually sick from the fact that I was giving up a night of going out!

 

March 23, 2008- Happy Easter!

I woke up around 0900 feeling like absolute crap.  Today is our last day in port, so I knew I had to get off the ship and explore Penang for a while.  One part of my body was telling me to stay on the ship because I didn’t feel well, but a bigger part of me was telling me to get off the ship and explore, I am only here for one more day!  So…I got off the ship.

 

Luckily, Candice wasn’t feeling too hot either, so we spent the day together.  We were the only 2 that could keep up with one another’s slow pace.  We hired a taxi driver for the day to show us around Penang.  We started off by going to a morning market that sold a variety of fruits and a ton of little gadgets and trinkets.  Once again, the morning market was a great way for me to see how people work to make their money.  It is so different than anything I had seen or known of at home.  After the morning market we went to a batik factory.  We were trying to get our driver to take us to a place to buy batik for cheap, but he kept taking us to all these high-end batik factories.  Once again, it was very interesting to see how they make the batik fabric and how much time and energy goes into each piece.  After the batik factory, we stopped for lunch at a local street vendor…WHITE RICE.  White rice seems to be the safest bet, I know I like it and I can’t be disappointed with it.  After lunch, we finally got our driver to take us to a cheaper batik store.  The fabric was still expensive, but much more in our price range than before.  We shopped around the batik store for a while and then made our way to a mall and food store to get some groceries.  Unfortunately I have been sick all day.  I wasn’t really able to walk around the food store and shop for groceries because my stomach hurt so badly.  I kinda just squatted in the corner of the food store and had Candice pick out a few groceries that came to mind…Ragu, pretzels, and juice!!!  I am definitely going to regret this selection when I feel better!  I just couldn’t think of food because my stomach hurt so bad!  After our short lived food-shopping experience, Candice and I came back to the ship.

 

Goodbye Malaysia…Vietnam, here I come!