Adventures in Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Selamat Datang!! Malaysia, our first country to be visited during our tour of Asia . . . truly exciting!!!
Now knowing what we know, although it put a little jam in our schedule, coming to Malaysia first was probably one of the best decisions we've made. It's definitely a great way to transition from a country like Australia, and back to so-called developing countries.
Since we were flying here, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital city, was to be our first stop in our visit here.
I must say, my first impression of the place was . . . WOW, such organization, clean, and quiet!!
None of the craziness I was expecting from a country in Southeast Asia.
It was the complete opposite, actually. No screaming vendors, no honking cars, no folks hassling you simply because you're tourists, just the noise of traffic could be heard.
Still, for now, I much rather preferred this than suddenly finding myself back in complete chaos again.
I was also particularly intrigued to see how multicultural Malaysian society is. While Malays make up the majority, you can still feel the strong presence of the Chinese and Hindu communities here . . . all living in harmony, despite the obvious differences in religion.
Kuala Lumpur's quite the capital city. As previously mentioned, you have all these communities living together peacefully, and respecting each other's differences and cultures.
Oddly enough, though, one thing I still don't understand and that bothers me a bit .
Might sound silly, but for me it doesn't make any sense being that they were born in Malaysia and that there IS an official language. Probably thinking too much into it, but hey, I just couldn't imagine speaking to other Latinos, born in the States, in Spanish . . . I'd speak to them in English, because that's the language we learn at school and that's what's used in everyday society. But enough about that! :)
KL, as it's affectionately called by the locals, is quite the modern city, with all its high tech infrastructure, technological advancements and comforts; But then, at the same time, still affordable enough for the poor backpacker, like us!! :)
Arnaud, unfortunately, was unable to join me during our first day in KL, because he came down with a cold, and was unable to climb out of bed.
I thought I'd feel a bit intimated walking around this muslim country on my own, but I really had nothing to worry about eventhough I wasn't all covered up. I got a few stares here and there, but overall, the folks here were very friendly and, again, there was this incredible feeling of tranquility all about. So, no problems.
One thing, I do have to admit that has played in my favor since the beginning of this trip . . . I've been able to pass off as a local in practically every country we've be to. And it was the same for Malaysia. I had people talking to me in Malay, every now and then; and even had folks talk to me in Hindi pretty frequently enough! No chinese spoken to me though!! Guess, I don't really look Chinese!!
For my first encounter with an Asian culture, I was completely fascinated by the people and architecture in Malaysia.
As I strolled around the city, I was taken aback by the temples, both Indian & Chinese, but particularly, by the mosques. I can't describe the feeling felt whenever I heard the prayer calls that blasted from the speakers of the mosques around the city. Really a moving sensation.
As for the landscapes, those are still to be seen . . . soon enough though because off we go to try our luck with hitchhiking in our first Asian country!! Wish us luck!!
Apres 8h de vol nous voila a Kuala Lumpur, capitale de la Malaisie.
On se faisait deposer chez notre contact de CS et le lendemain je me reveillais avec une bonne grosse creve. Donc pour moi la journee etait deja fini, Juanita elle toujours en pleine forme, profita de passer une journee sans son grincheut d Arnaud.
Le lendemain, je parvins enfin a sortir du lit pour visiter cette grande ville de KL, on peut y voir les 2 tours jumelles, un des plus hautes structures du monde. On peut apprecier l achitecture Islamique sur tous les batiments, assez nouveau pour moi, plutot impressionnant!!
Et je reviens encore sur le calme, les gens sont d une tranquilite, c est assez destabilisant, surtout pour une capitale.
Le temps etait maintenant de visiter le pays, la destination etait Penang au nord du pays a 500km. On savait pas trop si le stop allait marcher, et il y avait qu 1 seul moyen de le savoir, on commenca a la station la plus proche de la route du nord.
Une fille et mere "indou" nous amenerent sur une branche d autoroute ou apparament tout le monde qui passaient par la montaient au nord . . . et bien ce ne fut pas le cas!
Un Chinois Malaisien nous amena a la case depart en plein milieu du centre ville, il trouvait que c etait le meilleur endroit pour trouver quelqu un!!
Il faut aussi prendre en compte que les gens ont du mal a comprendre le fait du faire du "STOP".
Finalement j arrivais a convaincre ce mec de nous amener a l entree d autoroute pour eventuellement voyager un stop!
Et comme toujours on pouvait compter sur les routiers, un "indou" encore s arreta, c etait pour moi les premieres fois que je rencontrais ces gens et j avoue tres gentil, sympa, pleines de bonnes intentions.
