Malaysia - Part 2

Okay I am writing about Malaysia again. Now that I have written about nature tourism, I don't have any urge to write on it today. Not that there is nothing more to say on it, just the mood is not there. So I'll write about the people in Malaysia.
So how does one describe Malaysians. Generally what ever you learn about human being still applies to Malaysians. There are good people, and there are bad people. The same thing goes to Malaysians. But in general like in so many cases there are many many more good people than bad people. In other words Malaysians that you will meet on the street, in the hotel are nice people. Malaysian are friendly and always willing to extend help if asked, especially to tourists. Anyway I have come across few Americans that have their families freaked out (believe it or not) once they were asked to make a business trip to Kuala Lumpur. Well you see the post 9/11 world has developed a certain phobia towards many moslem nations. But I am proud to say that at the moment of this writing there has never been any occurence of suicide bomber or westerners being kidnapped in Malaysia. We are one peace loving nation.
Many Malaysians are also multi-lingual. Most speak english, a large percentage of the population also speak chinese, tamil. Even if you go to rural area you will be amazed that many people speak english (fluent or not included). So asking direction , ordering food, and bargaining will not be so much a problem for any English or Spanglish or Chinglish or Franglish or else-ish speaking tourists. For other non-english speaking tourist the service of a tanslator is also easy to secure. Name the language there is a 99% probability that there is a Malaysian who can speak the language. Even if you don't want to engage a translator you will be amazed that many Malaysian will patiently try to understand what you need.
One of the aspect of Malaysians that may be misunderstood by a westerner is their warmth and friendliness. A Malaysian in a street may tell more than what is needed to a tourist who just want to know a direction. Maybe the tourist will be asked where he/she comes from, which hotel he/she stays so on, how long the stay will be, his/her age, and many more. So don't feel awkward, it is normal. But I guess there is nothing wrong to be caution as long as you don't offend anyone.
With many Malaysians you can talk on any subject be it politics, religion, Islam, sex, finance. The depth of the conversation will of course depend on whom you are talking to. However do not expect that their opinions are just like what you learn from the western media. That's understandable I guess since our eastern philosophy and values are very much influenced by Islam, confucian thinking, buddhism, and hinduism. I believe this different weltanschaung is good since it complements your way of thinking. But don't be surprised if you find that many Malaysians are also familiar with western thinkers and have spend a number of years in the west.
While many Malaysians are good natured people they are also paradoxes in themselves. Don't be surprised that many Malaysians do not like to queue while embarking on a public transport. Don't be surprised to see a Malaysian throw a garbage on the street. Don't be surprised to see young Malaysians race motorcycles in city streets during evenings. Don't be surprised to find a dirty public toilet. Don't be perplexed to see the driving manners of a nice Malaysian that you just befriend. Despite all these shortcomings many will offer you a genuine friendship and assistance.

Malaysia - Part 1

Hmm what should I write about Malaysia. There is no specific plan in my mind at this moment. I just let my stream of thought flow. I guess I am quite a traveler having traveled to many asian, european, soviet, and north american regions. So I guess in my articles I will try my best to compare Malaysia to some of the countries that I have visited. If anybody wants to know some statistics about Malaysia I guess the CIA world fact book is enough ( it is available from CIA site).

What kind of tourism you will get in Malaysia. For sure not like the want you will experience from a typical european excursion. While many cities in the west is much older and richer in history and urban myths, many Malaysian cities are developed after 1957. Kuala Lumpur even though is more than a century old is only experiencing rapid development in the 1980's and 1990's. If you you ever walked in Paris there is almost a story for amost every corner of the city. In New York there are thousands of art galleries and more than two hundreds museums. For every old city there will always be stories. In Kuala Lumpur there will be stories of course but not that many and not that old. Many buildings are new and modern. Build on sites where the old buildings made way to the new ones in the name of progress. Though many new buildings tell no tale I believe many of them has nice architecture. I won't bore you with the Twin Tower since there are so many sites that talk about it. For those who loves architecture apart from the modern building I suggest visits to various religous buildings. I propose that a tourist should visit the mosques. We have many of them through out the country. The style varies. There are mosques build in the style of moorish, mogul, chinese, persian. Apart from mosques there are many interesting hindu and buddhist temples. For example, the hindu temple in Batu Caves and snake temple in Penang are popular among the tourists. Hmm... my mind always stucked when I try to recommend building site seeing.
I guess what I want to say here is that in Malaysia a tourist should do more than city site seeing. He or she should go and enjoy the nature. While the parks in Kuala Lumpur are not as grand as the New York Central Park, Kuala Lumpur offers bird park ( I heard it is the largest in the world) and butterfly park ( I heard this is the only one in the world). Outside the city we have National Park in Pahang which is also open for tourists. At 4300+ km square and 130+ millions year old, our tropical jungle is certified to be the oldest in the world. One can experience living close to nature. Don't worry about accomodation as there are many good chalets in the national park. Before I forget there is also a canopy walk. Experience walking on top trees 25 meter above the grounds. You never guess what flora what fauna you may see. Perhaps if you are lucky (depends on how you define lucky) you may also see tiger below.

Before I forget here is one link for more info http://www.tahan.com.my/tamannegara/tamannegara.asp

If Pahang experience is not enough fly to Sarawak. Don't worry it won't cost you that much since nowadays we have low cost airline AirAsia to fly you there. Once in Sarawak you will be able to visit Mulu national park. Aside from flora and fauna that this park offers, you will also be able to explore the Mulu caves. At this point of this writing there is a 300 km of passage uncovered in this cave. And this 300 km is estimated to be only 25%-30% of the total passage.
Ever wonder how people manage to get the bird nests and why the bird nests soup is expensive, then your visit to Sarawak Niah national park will help you find the answer. You will be thrilled seeing the guts of the nest collectors. I won't tell you more as it will take the fun out of you. Oh by the way while in Sarawak please visit the long house there and learn about head hunting in Borneo. No not the one done by Price Waterhouse, this is real head hunting. There is so much more I want to tell yet my eyes are tired. Besides Moscow night is getting colder , so time to snuggle under my blanket.