Finally a Foreigner

The Story

I spent my new years in the Melbourne Airport awaiting my overnight flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - not exactly the most exciting new years ever but I somehow found a way to keep on moving. I spent my first day in KL exploring the city, seeing the botanical gardens, the Petrona Towers (one of the largest twin towers in the world), the local markets, the national islamic art museum, and saw a few night clubs with the few guys I was staying with who were from the large national Islamic University.

My second day I took a bus to Penang in the north and stayed in the historic region of Georgetown. I rented a scooter and enjoyed the adrenaline rush of driving in an environment with very few road rules (at least followed rules). I was constantly swerving in and out of traffic, often surrounded by hoards of other motorcyclists. Quite risky but good fun when you return home safe at the end of the day. I saw a few heritage sites,a nice coast line with a mix of fisherman villages and hotel resort areas, and was completely let down by the snake temple, which only had three snakes wrapped around some mantel pieces.

After two days in Penang I took a bus to the Cameron Highlands to see the beautiful tea plantations surrounded by jungle. Myself and an Argentinian guy I met hiked to the highest peak through a dense jungle watching the mist blow up around the mountain sides. When we were not exploring the town and surrounding jungle, we were entertained by a humorous german guy staying at our hostel who had been staying in this small town for a few months.

After two days in Cameron Highlands I left for Melaka to see some of the beautiful old colonial buildings that the town is renowned for. I had an interesting encounter with a restaurant owner who began trying to convince me of the validity of his beliefs in Hinduism; always a fun experience to see how other people believe; too bad we couldn't speak the same language very well. Had a great conversation about travel styles and concepts of careers with a Finnish girl at the islamic guest house I was staying at. After two days in Melaka I took a bus back to Kuala Lumpur to catch my flight to China where I am currently traveling.

The Reflection

I have now become a foreigner. I don't speak the language, I don't know the food; sights, smells, sounds, and tastes are all new; I am the object of observation, requiring the humility to constantly admit I don't have a clue of what is going on - but it is amazing!

Malaysia consists of a great variety of ethnic groups from traditional Malaya people, to Chinese Malaysian, Indian Malaysian, Portuguese Malaysia,and a fusion of other ethnic groups. This makes for such a variety of food, culture, and religion. Islam is the largest religion, closely followed by Hinduism, and then a smaller mix of christians, buddhists, and taoists. When eating at local markets or restaurants, I rarely had a clue what I was
eating - I would either point to a word on the menu, point to food sitting on a cart waiting to be prepared, or just saw yes to the first thing they offered. Mind you I was only in Malaysia for 8 days, so I didn't really have the time or motivation to thoroughly prepare my knowledge of how to get by.

Asia provides the opportunity for a completely different travel experience than Australia and New Zealand. I have only been to Asia once before, when I traveled to Nepal and Tibet so there are many things I am still new to. Something you have to watch while traveling in Asia is being ripped off by just about everyone. It is tiring to be always worrying about getting a fair price, not knowing how to find the places you want to see, attempting to use public transportation, and getting used to the different weather (its quite humid throughout Malaysia).

Despite the difficulties, it wouldn't be a great adventure without them. And if there is one thing I am passionate about, it is exploring and seeing new things. Asia, thus far, is proving to be a great place to see how different the eastern world is from everything I am used to.

China's update is coming soon!

ciao!
KS