Malaysia: Journal Excerpts
Day 1 – Tuesday
Arrived in George Town after crossing an 8.4 mile bridge. Arrived about 4pm and walked 10 minutes to our hostel. Unlike Thailand, there were many Muslims and much ethnic diversity. I sat and journaled in our hostel, and I heard the Islamic prayer call echoing from the nearest mosque. It was so strange to hear that after so long and in Asia, for that matter! We stood in line for some Indian food for about an hour, and the food was amazing! It was great to be eating curry in Penang.
Day 2 – Wednesday
We both woke up extra early because of the slight time change, so we walked to the morning market for breakfast. Two Buddhist monks asked us for money. I had one of Malaysia’s unique dishes called Nasi Lamak, which is coconut rice, hardboiled m egg, peanuts with dried sardines, and cucumbers.
We bookmarked the street art and walking tour sites on Google. It was so interesting to see a combination of Islamic, Buddhist, Indian, British, and Chinese food, architecture, and people. The icon of George Town is street art of a bicycle with two children on it.
Day 3 – Thursday
Woke up at 5:30am, packed my bags, and walked to the market and got char kway teow, which is fried rice noodles with shrimp. We left for the bus at 7am and arrived in Kuala Lumpur at 1:45pm.
Day 4 – Friday
We went to the museum. Learned about the earliest Malay kingdom called the Kedan in 4th Century AD, and that Indians, Chinese, and Muslims settled and traded in Malaysia, making it a desirable, lucrative port. A Singaporean prince popularized Islam in the region and formed the Melaka Kingdom in the 15th century. The Portuguese invaded, the Dutch took over, then the British colonized. Many Indians and Chinese migrated to Malaysia for the rubber and tin manufacturing industry. Japan temporarily claimed Malaysia during World War II, but the British regained control. Malaysians fought and gained independence on August 31, 1957. Singapore separated from Malaysia in 1965.
We walked to Chinatown, and Mekael found this restaurant called Chinatown Cendol. We sampled the Asam Laksa, which is noodles in fish sauce with mint on top, and Cendol, which is ice with corn, coconut milk, and pandom leaves. It was not too sweet with palm sugar and had complex textures, colors. It was a good mix of savory and sweet.
Day 5 – Saturday
We saw Merdeka Square where the British flag was taken down and independence was declared. We saw a modern, Cold War era mosque, an old market, and finished at KLCC Park for fantastic views of the Petronas towers. The towers are connected by a skywalk almost halfway up, and the tops of both buildings have scallopped layers that become smaller and smaller, forming glistening, art-deco cones. They are the distinctive feature of the Kuala Lumpur skyline, but another unique building is the zig-zag Warisa Merdeka building, which is the second tallest building in the world. Mekael thinks it looks like a walkie talkie because of its off center, tall spire.
Day 6 – Sunday
We walked to a Syriac Church, which traces its roots to first century India and the apostle Thomas. It started at 8:45am, and it happened to be in English, even though it alternated from Malay to English every other week. We met some parishioners afterwards who were very excited to hear that Mekael was Ethiopian, and they told us that Haile Selassie visited their church in 1968. They even showed us his signature in their guest book.
Day 7 – Monday
Took a bus to Singapore.
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