I ventured out to Malaysia with the University of Portsmouth as part of their ever-growing Summer Schools program in partnership with Santander. At first, I was sceptical with this being my first trip alone and not knowing anyone that I was going with, along with being my first ever trip to Asia. However, I can honestly say that it was the best travelling experience I have been on to date, with an itinerary of organised activities spanning the whole 2 weeks that we were there.
Unfortunately, as I have now graduated, I am ineligible to go on any of the other trips available, including India & China, so I would highly recommend that any students interested in travel to look no further.
Kuala Lumpur:
The first week we spent in the capital city, Kuala Lumpur. My first impressions were that it was a very diverse place, nothing like my expectations, as there were many elements of Westernisation, being that Malaysia used to be a British colony. On almost every corner, you could see a Starbucks and the streets weren’t swarming with traffic to the extent of other Asian countries. I plan on visiting many other Asian capitals in the near future, especially Singapore to compare and contrast the various differences of cities that were once part of the same country.
Day 1:
Day 1 of the Malaysia trip was filled to the brim with activities. The first stop was the Thean Hou Temple, a Chinese temple of Mazu, the Chinese sea goddess. Immediately I was starstruck by the various intricacies and perfection of the structure, it was pristine and whilst it was full of tourists, it never seemed to have lost its integrity with traditional prayers being performed inside the temple.
Whilst venturing around the temple, I was in awe of the views not just of the temple itself but the cityscape surrounding it, as it was in an elevated position, almost impossible for our coach to climb to, with it being at full revs and travelling not much faster than standstill, my heart was beating incredibly fast.
After leaving the temple, we were off to the Rainforest Canopy Walk, renowned for being the last area in Kuala Lumpur which is still rainforest. Along this we encountered monkeys and equally awe-inspiring views of the rainforest and cityscape in the background. The canopy walk was just one small section of the rainforest area to explore, but unfortunately, we were unable to view the rest of the area, I would highly recommend that you visit this area and plan for at least a couple of hours to make the most of this rainforest.
After this we travelled to Merdeka Square, home of the tallest flagpole in Malaysia, and once upon a time was the tallest flagpole in the world. Next to the flagpole there was a procession of all Malaysian prime ministers past and present, a common theme in Malaysia as they were extremely patriotic. During this section of the day we had the first of our many encounters with durian fruit. In my opinion, as was the rest our group, it was the vilest smelling food I have ever witnessed, few were brave enough to attempt to eat the fruit and the consensus was clear from their facial expression.
In the evening before heading back to the hotel, we had dinner in the food market of Jalan Alor, it was absolutely heaving with people, with many different selections of food from food stalls, to restaurants serving anything from seafood to rice and noodles. One of the great things about Malaysia was that everything is extremely cheap; for the entire trip I only took with me the equivalent of £300 as spending money, most of which went on souvenirs!
Day 2:
For the second day the group visited the University of Portsmouth’s partner university HELP (Higher Education Learning Program), from which we had numerous seminars about the economic overview of the country, from one of the university’s very own alumni, and the socio-political view painting a picture of a country currently in the middle of political issues, albeit from a strong-minded lecturer.
In the evening, for the first time we were able to explore the city on our own terms, so naturally we went up to a helipad bar, had some beers and watched probably the best sunset I have ever seen, with views of both the KL tower and Petronas towers in the peripheral, the sky was painted red, with an orange sun slowly disappearing until the sky became a deep purple. I would be aware not to look over the edge of the helipad, as there were no safety nets, just a sheer drop to the bottom, slightly ironic that I’m not the best with heights.
Day 3:
The day after, we returned to HELP university to meet current students, who performed numerous dances for us, encouraging us to join in, although many were fearful to indulge with the peer pressure rife. We learned about their experiences with the university which ranged from volunteering to travelling all around the country to complete activities such as rafting and hiking.
Afterwards, we went out for Street Art, Shisha & Tapas. Immediately you could tell the individuals that were professionals with smoking shisha, I was not one of them, coughing profusely and escaping the humiliation by way of a Tapas bar, where I first tried a mojito and what went on to be the drink of choice for the rest of the trip. The tapas menu was vast with the food completely filling the table with a wide array of flavours to try, as naturally the group didn’t want to leave anything off the menu.
Day 4:
Today we went to Sekinchan to witness the Rice Paddy Fields and the Wishing Tree at Redang beach. These 2 destinations were wholly underwhelming, with both the paddy fields and the wishing tree out of season, therefore we were unable to put any wishes on the tree and the paddy fields were empty, obviously I cannot give my opinion on the experience as we went at the wrong time of year. Within the tree itself you could see a shrine; the tree was that large that you could even walk and stand inside of it.
Despite these two not going our way, we found success in visiting the Sri Shakti Temple, a Hindu structure not disappointing with its impressive architectural qualities. Inside the temple, they strictly prohibit footwear and photographs, so I would make sure to try and get one through the front doorway if you visit. Next there was the Monkey Hill, a small hill to walk up to see tens of monkeys along with banana merchants making absolute killings from selling us the bananas for the monkeys to eat. A large part of the struggle was convincing a monkey to jump on my shoulders, for which I’m grateful there are no behind the scenes videos (or are there…).
After this full day of travelling, we went to another food market, which unbelievably was even busier than the last, but with the overbearing stench of durian fruit just to compound the business. The market was almost endless, with us nowhere near making it from end to end without having to get back on the coach to head to the hotel.
Day 5:
The fifth day was a last-minute adjustment with the initial traditional dance being called off last minute due to the student s having a competition, therefore instead we attempted calligraphy and Henna art. I have always had a likening to calligraphy, but this wasn’t the same type that I was used to seeing when scrolling through my timeline, this was of Chinese symbols, therefore we had Chinese students on hand to help us perfect our craft. But alas I was a lost cause, being left-handed and refusing to hold the brush unlike a pen, they could do nothing to steer my calligraphy in the right direction, which resorted to me essentially “painting” symbols.
Henna was a different story, with me not in fact being the worst in the class, although some in our class were experienced in Henna without even using a template as believe it not, in preparation for weddings in India, it can take up to 7 hours to complete the Henna art necessary, I do not think I would have the patience to sit still for even half that! Can you tell which one was mine and which was the pro’s?
After a relatively relaxed day, we went to the Petronas Towers to witness the tallest twin towers in the world. It was surreal, and within the towers was a massive shopping mall from which we were exploring most of the evening, few bought anything though as it replicated Western prices, but we were able to snag a 3 course meal at Chilli’s for all of £20, I don’t think I have ever eaten more at a restaurant. Then after rolling out of there, we walked around the garden area behind the towers, trying to catch all of the tower in my pictures… new phone with wide-angle pending, then just sat and watched the synchronised light and water display, much like the famous ones you see in Las Vegas and Dubai, until the sky was dark.
Today was the day we also had the best traditional dance performance of the whole trip with another rendition of Malaysia is Truly Asia, the choreography and the vocals were down to a T and the crowd engagement was equally enticing, part of the reason we sat in the middle, to have the lowest chance of being called out.
Day 6:
Day 6, much like Sekinchan was full of travelling, to see the UNESCO World Heritage site, Malacca. But before reaching Malacca, we made a stop at a Kelly’s biscuit factory. We were given a tour of the factory and even gave a try at making our own biscuit combinations, I also discovered my new favourite thing Kaya jam! It was as if it was passed down from the gods!
Finally, we made it to Malacca, but my first reaction was what makes this a UNESCO World Heritage site? After delving deeper into this city, you begin to realise the diversity from within with influences from the Dutch, Portuguese and the British with all the various buildings representing those nations, when I mentioned the diversity of Kuala Lumpur, it is almost dwarfed by this destination.
In order to get bird’s eye view of the city, we rode on the observation tower, a 360-degree tower, which slowly elevates and falls with panoramic views, after this we went to check out the oldest building in Malaysia and South East Asia: St Paul’s Church. This church is situated on a hill in the middle of the city, providing views of the for the age of the building it was in incredible condition with the statue outside having next to no imperfections and the 2 structures merely off-white as opposed to a dull grey.
Then we ventured to the Harmony Street Temples, a testament to the diversity of Malacca, with 3 temples representing each of Malaysia’s main religions (Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam) on the same street and within walking distance. As with all temples in Malaysia, they were pristine with intricate architecture, although much to my surprise they weren’t as busy as the other temples we had visited throughout the trip.
Last stop was Jonker Street market, and in my opinion the best market of the whole trip. The highlight of the market was a calligraphy artist who had no hands, effortlessly drawing, I had to take a moment to just stand and watch:
Day 7:
The final day in Kuala Lumpur, and potentially the most interesting destinations, started with the Royal Selangor Pewter Factory, the world’s largest Pewter factory. But what is a Pewter factory? I didn’t know either before arriving there, but they produce intricate metal designs, you might recognise them from the numerous Formula 1 trophies this factory had produced. Most of the time we spent here wasn’t even purchasing the many amazing creations on display, it was just walking around thinking “how did they make this?”, with the most impressive design was a metallic peacock worth 250,000 Malaysian Ringgit (around £50,000).
Next we went to a chocolate factory, which produced a plethora of weird and wonderful flavours, my favourite being white chocolate raisin, one of the biggest surprises of the trip for me was the amount of food, I thought that I would be hungry most of the trip, but it was completely on the contrary and this was just an example with most of the group buying multiple packs of chocolate whilst there.
Then there was what Malaysia is maybe most famous for: the Batu Caves and the colourful stairway, whilst it was an amazing trip, there is definitely an element of expectation vs reality. This is perfectly depicted by @Hayley’s picture from the exact same location, for which she arrived at 5am just to get a picture with fewer people. Whilst this is true, you shouldn’t write it off as a place to visit, and if you’re worried about the steps to the top, it isn’t nearly as daunting as you would think, and most people walk up at a slow pace to take pictures along the way (I was not one of these people, as I was too eager to see what was at the top). Once you reach the top, there are amazing sky views, with beams of light shining through into the caves onto religious symbols. Then, there is the descent, I would warn you not to take it too fast, otherwise you will almost fall down the stairs, and you do not want to look like that in a randomer’s IG pic, luckily I survived and am here to tell the tale.
Last but not least, we travelled to the Pink Mosque. This was the most jaw-dropping architectural structure I had seen since being in Malaysia, the only thing that could have made it better is if we didn’t visit during Hajj, as for religious reasons we weren’t allowed in. But even not being allowed in we could admire the surrounding scenery of Putrajaya in what seemed to be a completely different country, it was surreal. I love modern architecture and minimalism; therefore I may be getting excited about this but you may not care, but this was definitely one of the highlights of my trip, I can only imagine what it would have been like if could have gone inside the Mosque.
Kuching:
Day 1:
After travelling by plane to the other Malaysian island, we had a day of free roam around Kuching. It was completely different to Kuala Lumpur, it actually felt more like an Asian country, but at the same time I’m not sure how, my perception of what an Asian country should be like is probably completely off the reality. One of the lowlights of the trip was when a group of us went to a pizza hut… It almost put me off pizza forever, with a tuna and sweetcorn pizza being delivered to the table, without the sweetcorn!!! Don’t worry, I didn’t order the monstrosity, but we all got a good laugh from it, with the equally awkward paying with pennies at the end of the meal.
Midway through the day we ventured across the Sarawak river by river boat after walking to the other side on a very unconventional new bridge compared to the surroundings, this river boat was definitely an experience, with us almost capsizing by stepping in the boat, luckily sitting down helped balance out the boat
Day 2:
The second day was none other than visiting various animal sanctuaries, beginning with crocodiles. We watched on during their feeding hour with them leaping out the water to catch chickens suspended from wires, although the feeder’s showmanship added to the challenge of catching the chickens with numerous instances of the chickens being yanked out of reach at the last minute. But you could tell who were the wiser crocs, waiting until after the show to have the chickens dropped down to them to ensure that they all ate, looking at the Youngbloods in disgust *rolling their eyes in croc*.
Next was the orangutan sanctuary, this was less of a zoo like the previous one and more of a wild with a feeding ground plopped in the middle. Again, this had the case of expectation vs reality, with tourists having to be held back to avoid spooking the orangutans. Despite this, these creatures were truly majestic strolling proudly to collect their probable daily supply of bananas and then disappearing into the horizon.
To finish the day, we had a sunset cruise along the Sarawak river, again accompanied with an impressive view, but also with a traditional Malay dance in the foreground of the view, exemplifying the rich patriotism which spreads wide across the country and isn’t just limited to the capital.
Day 3:
Day 3 in Kuching involved the first of our two day trips, this one to visit Bako National Park involving a trip on a speedboat to get dropped off at one of the many beaches in the area. From there we were guided through the rainforest in search of the elusive Proboscis Monkey, which is said to only be found in that area. It is true, their noses are indeed massive after seeing 2/3, that is their only distinctive feature, but it is clearly identifiable, you couldn’t miss it! If we thought the humidity in Kuala Lumpur was bad, it was nothing compared to an actual rainforest, if you are planning to travel here in the near future, don’t wear clothes that show sweat easy, you will regret it.
In the evening, we found our mainstay bar for the week, Monkee Bar, with at least a third of the profits going animal welfare and conservation work, so essentially we were doing good deeds by drinking more.
Day 4:
I know TLC said “don’t go chasing waterfalls”, but I had to with this next day involving hiking through the rainforest to check out the three waterfalls up the mountain, although the pace was slow at first to look at the progression of a certain flower’s life, truth be told I don’t think anyone really cared and were hoping for the walk to speed up to get to the reason we all were actually there for. Once the walk properly began, the group dropped in size rapidly as people settled for the first 2 waterfalls, so by the time we reached the 2nd waterfall, only 3 continued to the 3rd and final waterfall. It didn’t disappoint, with a log conveniently aid across the waterfall to sit and admire nature with the legs dangling over the pools of water, although getting to this point was treacherous with our supervisor for the trip, Kim, demanding that we don’t venture to the final waterfall, so naturally we ignored the demand and went anyway, and failing to keep it under wraps later.
Day 5
The final attraction of the Malaysia trip was to visit Sarawak Cultural Village. This was laid out similar to a park, with multiple attractions in one, with a passport given at the front gate to get stamped at every stop. This park surrounded a lake which provided great views of the surrounding mountains and especially in one of the stops the backing music of a special-made guitar, built by the player himself. None of us wanted to move from that spot, just taking in the surroundings with the soothing tones provided, we didn’t want that point in time to change.
For anyone that is planning to go to Asia I would definitely recommend Malaysia as a travel destination, especially if you have never been to Asia before, like myself. It has the perfect balance of Asian culture and Westernisation, of course the Westernisation is amplified in the capital, Kuala Lumpur. I would also highly recommend the Canopy Walk, the Pink Mosque, the Petronas Towers and the helipad bar as must see places, unfortunately we didn’t have time to go up the KL tower, but I have heard that the views are up there with the best of them in the city. Some tips I would give for when you go is to STAY CLEAR OF DURIAN FRUIT, be prepared for unusual toilets and learn to use the chopsticks, as it is considered rude to stab food with chopsticks, and no I didn’t do this.
Thank you for reading my blog, Cyprus and Athens blogs are currently in process.
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