Our first stop was Melaka, a city that felt trapped in time. It's the namesake of the Straits of Melaka, a major trade route during the spice trade and still one of the busiest shipping waterways in the world. Settled by both the Dutch and Portuguese, the colonial era churches blended into old Chinese shop houses that looked straight out of a black and white post card. We spent most of the time just walking around and eating.The cuisine is a
mix of Chinese, Thai, and Indian....aka so good.
Penang
Next up on the trip was Penang, in Northern Malaysia. If anyone watches No Reservations, with Anthony Bourdain, the Penang episode is pretty good. Penang is an island, but is attached to the mainland by a long bridge. It's the epitome of the mix of cultures. You could find a Mosque, Church, Chinese clan house, and a Hindu temple, all within a mile radius.
Walking around little India literally felt like you were in India...with Bollywood music blaring, sari shops everywhere, and banana leaf curry restaurants on every block. But you also had the Chinese and Muslim populations as well. But again, with a colonial twist with an old Fort and some Catholic churches too.
Penang has been voted the best easting destination in the world, so without fail, we ate and ate and ate. We also went on a walking tour, did a little hike from the lonely planet (which turned into more of a super long trek), walked through the jungle, toured a spice garden, and hiked to turtle beach where sea turtles supposedly nest...but of course we didn't see any.
Langkawi
After Penang, we headed to the island of Langkawi for some sunshine and relaxation. As expected, it was cloudy or rainy the whole time, but we still enjoyed it. The highlight was renting a car to drive around the island. Cyrus was a little shaky at first getting used to driving on the left, but he mastered it soon enough. The whole island is duty-free, so the alochol was cheap and flowing (alcohol everywhere else in Malaysia is really expensive because they import everything, due to the high population of Muslims who don't drink).
KL
Our last stop in Malaysia was the capital city, Kuala Lumpur. I had really mixed feelings about it. It was much more conservative than the other cities we visited. Just walking around in short sleeves got me a lot of uncomfortable stares from men. But we ate good food, and had a really fun night looking out over the Petrones Towers, which were the highest in the world for a little while.
We stayed in KL for a few days then caught a flight to Bali, Indonesia!
Next up on the trip was Penang, in Northern Malaysia. If anyone watches No Reservations, with Anthony Bourdain, the Penang episode is pretty good. Penang is an island, but is attached to the mainland by a long bridge. It's the epitome of the mix of cultures. You could find a Mosque, Church, Chinese clan house, and a Hindu temple, all within a mile radius.
Walking around little India literally felt like you were in India...with Bollywood music blaring, sari shops everywhere, and banana leaf curry restaurants on every block. But you also had the Chinese and Muslim populations as well. But again, with a colonial twist with an old Fort and some Catholic churches too.
Penang has been voted the best easting destination in the world, so without fail, we ate and ate and ate. We also went on a walking tour, did a little hike from the lonely planet (which turned into more of a super long trek), walked through the jungle, toured a spice garden, and hiked to turtle beach where sea turtles supposedly nest...but of course we didn't see any.
After Penang, we headed to the island of Langkawi for some sunshine and relaxation. As expected, it was cloudy or rainy the whole time, but we still enjoyed it. The highlight was renting a car to drive around the island. Cyrus was a little shaky at first getting used to driving on the left, but he mastered it soon enough. The whole island is duty-free, so the alochol was cheap and flowing (alcohol everywhere else in Malaysia is really expensive because they import everything, due to the high population of Muslims who don't drink).
KL
Our last stop in Malaysia was the capital city, Kuala Lumpur. I had really mixed feelings about it. It was much more conservative than the other cities we visited. Just walking around in short sleeves got me a lot of uncomfortable stares from men. But we ate good food, and had a really fun night looking out over the Petrones Towers, which were the highest in the world for a little while.
We stayed in KL for a few days then caught a flight to Bali, Indonesia!
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