Malaysia

On the morning or February 20, I was nervous and not exactly sure how I would complete all the immediate tasks at hand (get money, call host, get to train station, etc), but I soon had an ally. I was met by the Hanjin port agent on the ship. I bid farewell to my companions on the ship and I disembarked onto the chaotic loading ramp. This friendly Malaysian guy drove me over to customs, where he insisted that he handle the "negotiations" with the immigrations official. He had no problem securing me a 90 day free entry into Malaysia, which would turn out to be about 86 more days than I needed. Next stop was the grungy township of Port Kelang, which was about a twenty minute drive from the actual port. I was able to change my money into Malay Ringgits and purchase a cheap ticket for the KL Komuter train, though for the life of me I couldn't figure out how to use a pay phone to call ahead to Jon, the Couchsurfing host that I was set to stay with.

I thanked the port agent and found a seat on the nice air-conditioned train (I've learned that in this region, it is never not sweltering and humid). Riding for about an hour towards the capital of Kuala Lumpur, I watched the scenery change from dirty villages lined with banana plantations (reminding me of Guatemala) to the suburban condominiums and finally to the skyscrapers of modern KL, the apex of the skyline of course being the Petronas Towers, the tallest "twin buildings" in the world.


A bit past downtown KL, I got off the train and followed the directions I had scribbled down in my notebook to Jon's house. He was a bit surprised to see me but within a couple hours he was accompanying me downtown for a tour of the city. At this point, a description of the city seems futile. It is after all, similar to any modern city with an international population. There is a Chinatown, a metro train, tall buildings, shopping malls, and lots of traffic.

What is however interesting about this place, is its people- rather, its peoples. There are the Malays, or the natives, though in fact some of the other ethnicities have roots going back nearly as far in this land. There are sizable populations of Indians (which itself is divided into Tamil and Punjab), Arabs, Persians, Chinese and other SE Asians. Throughout the heart of the city, you will see Mosques, Buddhist and Hindu temples, and even some churches (a holdover of British colonial days). You will see women in headscarves, and even some in Burqas. While the country is Muslim officially, and by a slight majority, it is relatively moderate.

Being an English-speaker here is a breeze, as English is taught in all public schools and most people can speak it at least basically. This is effectively a bilingual country, with most people speaking Malay as well, which uses the roman alphabet.


So in my four days in KL, I explored the Batu caves, formed in a large limestone outcropping in which a Hindu complex has been built. I walked around downtown, ate Indian, Chinese and Malay food, went up the KL Menara tower (and saw the lay of the land), and met up with a couple other couchsurfers for some drinks. I ate little but I ate well, and I walked miles (or kilometers, as they call them here) everyday. All in all, it was a pretty, pretty nice time, though I soon felt the travel bug again and decided quickly to catch an overnight train to Thailand (where I am now). That chapter will have to wait though.

Cheers from Thailand!