Exploring Malaysia by Luxury Buses Melaka, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Malaysia |
Melaka, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Malaysia
I had two speaking engagements on diabetes testing – one in Jakarta and one in Singapore. I had visited Singapore many times before but never in December. We stayed in the Hilton on Orchid Road, which sparkled with the full glory of Christmas lights. Singapore is always a nice place to stop over when we travel in Asia. Ray calls it the vacation away from our vacation. It is a very clean city, and the whole place is one meticulously kept tropical garden. Everything works, no surprises. We spent an afternoon at the Singapore zoo, where animals roam free (at least they appear to) in a tropical jungle setting. We saw our friendly Prebascous monkeys again, and this time I got a good picture of one who really looks like Jimmy Durante.
We took our first luxury bus from Singapore to Melaka. The distance is about 300 km, but it took us over 4 hours because we had to go through two customs checks. The bus was very comfortable, but they played Jackie Chan and a strange Malay movie (some actors spoke Cantonese, some Taiwanese, with Mandarin and English mixed in) the whole way. Malaysia has great highways, and some of the routes are lined with palm tree farms. They look nice, but palm farming is likely also destroying some native habitat.
We stayed at Puri House in Melaka’s Chinatown. It once belonged to a wealthy Chinese family, so it has many old Chinese paintings and furniture. It also has a nice courtyard and garden. There is a Swallow Welcoming Hall with real swallows living in it. Many streets were lined with buildings that had Chinese tablets on their doors. The Chinese had deep roots in Melaka since the Ming Dynasty. Admiral Cheng He established Melaka as a supply base for his 7 voyages 600 years ago. He went as far as Africa. Melaka’s male Chinese descendants are called Baba, and their female counterparts are called Nyonya. Many Chinese families were assimilated into Malay society, yet they retained Chinese traditions and customs. After Indonesia, we found Malaysia’s culinary diversity delightful. We sampled local Laksa (rice noodles in a spicy sauce) and a variety of fried fish dishes. We also had shaved ice with coconut milk for dessert. We had dinner at Satay Celup, a restaurant Lonely Planet recommended. It was like Chinese hotpot, but the soup base is made of 26 different kinds of spices (a lot of peanut paste). We selected fish, shrimp, mushrooms, vegetables, and meats, skewered them on bamboo sticks, and dipped them into the pot. At the end we ate 74 sticks of foods and it only cost us about $20. We took a boat ride on the Melaka River. The riverbank is lined with wide boardwalks and café shops. Many buildings facing the river had art murals painted on their surfaces. We also visited the Marine museum. It has a replica of a Portuguese warship. When Cheng He visited Melaka 600 years ago, it was a bustling trading port where over 80 languages were spoken. An old Malay gentleman, who calls himself a living museum, met us at Villa Sentosa. He gave us a very interesting history of Melaka and treated us like his guests rather than tourists. He said that tourists only come once, but friends come back many times.
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Our bus from Melaka to Kuala Lumpur (the Capital of Malaysia, and is shortened to KL) was not a luxury one, but with only 6 passengers, the 2-hour ride to KL was still very comfortable. We stayed at the Sentral Hotel in Little India, within walking distance of KL Rail Station. This station is huge (3 stories high) and has a bus, a metro, a monorail, a local commuter train, plus a bustling market area. From this station, we can get anywhere in KL. Lonely Planet advises anyone interested in visiting the Twin Towers KLCC to line up early, as they only issue 950 tickets a day. The Twin Towers were the world’s tallest buildings until Taipei 101 surpassed them. We arrived there at 8:30 am, and a long line had already formed. Ray reached the end of the line and waited 1 ½ hours to secure 4 tickets for the top of KLCC at 6 pm. We bought tickets to the “hop-on, hop-off” touring bus to go around KL. We stopped at our first stop, the Culture Center, which has a wealth of Malaysian crafts and artworks. We lucked out because we got to taste many special Malaysian foods at a food demonstration. However, we missed our tour bus and spent the next hour chasing it down. We eventually caught up with it. Our 2nd stop was at the National Muslim Center. It is immense and, at special events, can pack in 10,000 people. All women who visit the mosque must wear a long robe and a headscarf. We thought we looked pretty good in this outfit, except that it’s hot and hard to walk in long robes. We made it back to the Twin Towers just around sunset and got a good view of KL by day and at night. It is a very beautiful building.
I remember climbing the 270 steps to the top of Batu Caves (13 km from KL) several years ago to see one of the oldest Hindu god statues. We took a commuter train and paid the equivalent of 75 cents for a round-trip ticket. How cheap can you get? Ray and I decided to stay below and visit the Hindu temples at the base while Shiqiu and Xiaoqiu took the challenge of climbing the steps. This area has developed quite a bit since my last visit. Many devoted Hindu followers made offerings and were blessed by the priests. I like Hindu gods and mythical creatures – they are always brightly colored. There are so many sculptures; I wish I knew more of the stories behind those interesting figures. Most of the restaurants near the temples are vegetarian, but we didn’t realize there was such a variety of Indian breads, so we tried some. Our favorite was the flaky, light Roti. Ray and I took a tour to see a very rare breed of firefly that blinks in synchrony. A local fisherman took us by boat to a river where all the fireflies blink in unison like Christmas tree lights. Mother Nature sure knows how to create the most beautiful light show in the world.
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Kuala Lumpur
Another 4-hour luxury bus ride from KL to Penang. We even had an attendant who served us lunch and coffee. Have you ever had this kind of service on a bus? The Old Penang Guest House, where we stayed, sits in the heart of historic Georgetown. It is a hostel for backpackers, and the rooms are clean, but the service is minimal: no TV, no refrigerator, and no amenities. The price is pretty low at $25 a night. We took a “luxury” room, so we at least have a private bathroom. The breakfast was coffee, toast, and jams – you washed your own dishes afterward. I was surprised to see how many elderly European pensioners are staying in these hostels in Penang. Penang is famous for hawker (street vendor) food, so we went to Red Garden, where food stalls line the perimeter of the food court. The tables and seating are in the open center, with vendor stalls around it. We wandered around and picked a few Penang Specialties, including the fruit salad with dark brown dressing, stir-fried wide noodles, tofu soup, and grilled fish and eggplant. They were delicious. We visited a tropical fruit farm and a butterfly farm. We sampled fresh fruit at the farm, but we spent almost 2 hours at the butterfly house. There were some large moths and beautiful butterflies. I couldn’t snap the pictures fast enough, but I did get some decent pictures. We stopped by Penang’s beach area, Batu Ferringhi, where the night market was in high gear with hundreds of stalls filled with all kinds of cheap stuff that rich tourists can’t do without.
We woke up one morning to torrential rain pounding the roof. I had not heard this kind of sound since we lived in Taiwan and Brazil. This rain cooled and refreshed the air. We found Da Dong on 45 Lebuh Cintra, a Dim Sum restaurant, and it was packed with Chinese customers. We thought this breakfast would be good, and we were not disappointed. We had our fill of delicious dishes served to us from various push carts. We especially enjoyed Malay cake – after all, it originated here. After some serious shopping in Sam’s Batik India clothing stores, we were ready for a farewell dinner. Some locals recommended Town Steamboat Restaurant at 63 Macalister Road, Pulau Pinang. It is a buffet, or as they call it, “Eat Unlimited”. The price is $7 for people 140 cm or taller (I guess they assumed tall people eat more), and seniors over 55 get a $5 discount. Two huge tables were lined with fresh fish, shellfish, all kinds of meats, and vegetables. They have a dual hot pot system – a pot with broth in the center and a round grill around the pot. All drinks and desserts are included. What a great deal!
Malaysia turned out to be one of the easiest places to travel. The infrastructure is excellent, and buses are easy and reasonably priced. Most people speak English, Chinese, or both. Shiqiu and Xiaoqiu found that they can get around in Chinese without any problem. They have already planned to come back soon and bring their family and friends to Malaysia.