Postcard From: Malaysia

I'm sending you this postcard from...
Malaysia, where I spent a few days in Kuala Lumpur, a week in Penang (an island off Malaysia, close to Thailand) and then back to KL for a few more days (mainly doing last minute shopping!).

 

Utter relief! The plane had a tour group from Russia on it, who had travelled from Moscow, to Dubai, to Singapore, to KL and were planning to head to Bali for a trip (strange route, I know). They had been drinking since Moscow, and were quite drunk by the time we landed in KL– the man next to me passed out on my shoulder mid way through and as I was stepping off the plane he was asking the air hostess for more alcohol... Needless to say I think the tour group were probably not allowed to continue to their next plane to Bali until they had sobered up!

 

We landed in Kuala Lumpur, and KL airport is brand new, very modern and a lot like Changi Airport in Singapore. There is a monorail within the airport that people arriving need to catch, which can be annoying (especially after a 12 or so hour trip!) but the airport is generally very easy to navigate around, and efficient. Which was what I needed at that point!

 

Malaysia has so many people of different religions living together peacefully – Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians… Temples and mosques are often very close to each other (I found a mosque and Hindu temple side by side!). One place I loved was the Burmese Buddhist Temple in Penang, completely covered in gold with a huge reclining Buddha (the third largest in the world). It was right in the middle of the city (Georgetown is the city centre of Penang), yet was so peaceful. I’m not religious but absolutely loved it there, it is definitely a must see for anyone.

 

Malaysia is definitely the place to buy pashmina scarves! In NZ, the beautiful, intricately designed ones are often NZ$50 – I got 3 for NZ$15!! The plain coloured pashmina scarves can be found for between NZ$5-10 in markets, and silk scarves are only NZ$2.50! One place that is great for shopping in Little India, not just in Malaysia but in other Asian countries too (I know you can find amazing bargains in Little India in Singapore too) – they always have very cheap department stores in Little India where you can buy almost anything at very, very cheap prices! It’s always interesting to have a look around and see what you can find also… Some very different things from in NZ!

 

Well for a start, the shopping is much better! The weather is very warm and as I’ve said before, having so many different people living in Malaysia has resulted in lots of different attractions, great shopping and most of all amazing food! You can buy practically any type of food in Malaysia. I loved the hawker stalls – 18 Chicken Satay for $2, or an entire meal (not that Satay isn’t!) for $4… I used to always finish dinner with a huge slab of watermelon for the equivalent of NZ.50 cents!

 

Definitely shop a little more at a stopover in KL – I would really recommend KL for a stopover – a lot of people go to Singapore, but as someone who has lived in Singapore, if you are interested in shopping, KL is the place to be! Singapore is great if you haven’t been before as there are more tourist attractions, but if you have seen Singapore and want good shopping, KL offers a much more relaxed atmosphere and the malls are a lot better (and all in close proximity to hotels and hostels!). I have travelled throughout Malaysia before, but would love to return to Sabah and Sarawak (Borneo) on the East Island of Malaysia. I went there on a school trip when I was younger and loved it, beautiful scenery and a great place if you love the outdoors (it is the place to go if you want to see orangutans!)

 

It's cheap, it's beautiful and very diverse. There is something for everyone! Just cross your fingers there are no Russian tour groups on board your flight.