Malaysia Mainland

We flew into Kuala Lumpur and checked into a swanky hotel (for us) which was quite a treat. Although, even with such luxury we all agreed we missed Turtle Island! The hotel’s infinity rooftop swimming pool had the most amazing view of the whole of the KL city skyline, attracting a heaving mass of Instagrammers!! Top tip, best way to enjoy a pool in Asia, swim in the middle of the day, no-one seems prepared to sacrifice themselves to the blistering heat! Apart from us, don’t worry the kids have rash vests!

On our first day we took the kids to the Petronas towers. I visited Malaysia (and the Twin Towers) over 20 years ago, yikes, makes me feel old.….the skyline has completely changed. They are also currently finishing off the 2nd tallest building in the world, we were gutted we couldn’t ascend!! However we carried on our tradition of going up every tall building we could and went up both the Petronas Towers and the KL Tower!

Underneath the Petronas Towers there is a very large Western-style shopping centre featuring the Petronas science museum. Just in case anyone is unsure Petronas is an oil Company and seems to own a large portion of KL. Rather ironically we went on a tour in the museum about how to save the planet and use renewable energy, at the same time as taking a trip around a mock up Malaysian oil rig, but it was very informative and the kids loved it. Otto has come away very concerned to learn there is too much rubbish on the planet and he wants to know what we are going to do about it. Since then if he’s in a shop and they ask if we want a plastic bag he gets very cross with the shop assistant.
That evening we went out to Chinatown, here we started a game called spot the rat, this fun game has continued throughout our trip in Malaysia. Otto made us walk down a very dark alley (renamed rat alley) just so we could check out the rat activity, there was a lot! Such a pleasure seeing urban wildlife, especially when it is running all over the restaurants kitchens we were planning to eat at.

Next day we dragged the kids out in the scorching heat, on mummy and daddies walking tour, trying to fit in as much as we could! Once you escape the high-rise areas of KL the old parts of the city are really interesting, and have undergone quite a lot of recent gentrification. The kids did quite a lot of moaning, as usual, but it was hot, so as a treat we took them to watch a fountain Lightshow synced to music outside the Petronas towers. Otto said it was the best thing he’s ever done and wanted to move to this county! Big hit.

Sadly we left the next day trying our luck with the Malaysian bus system, which has turned out to be a winner!! I’m writing this on our last bus journey to Singapore. The buses are so cheap and its such a nice break, we can shove the kids on their devices for 4 hours and not feel any guilt. Bliss, I’m going to miss the down time and the crazy interior designs.

Malaysia has been our cultural highlight so far, we made a decision to stick to a few interesting towns, Ipoh, George Town and Malacca and save the beach time for our leg in Indonesia. Rich with history, from Chinese immigration, through to European colonialism, a melting pot of cultures that have made Malaysia so unique. These towns, 2 of which are UNESCO world heritage sites, have managed to keep their old worldly, decaying charm. Preserving and embracing their heritage, rich with beautiful architecture and decorative crafts, but all the while welcoming tourism to keep the money flowing in. Unlike some places where we’ve been, like the theme park of Hoi-An in Vietnam, they feel real and captivating, encouraging creativity to flourish. The street art has been a favourite, we have all loved seeking it out, you never know what gem you’re going to find down a little alley! We explored a handful of the 100s of temples in the towns, all religions, seemingly cohabitating side by side, peacefully. In Melaka we walked past the oldest functioning Mosque with its minaret taking on the form of a Japanese pagoda, built by the Dutch during their occupation. Only a few steps away, we visited the oldest Buddhist temple in Malaysia. Carrying on, we passed by one of the first Hindu temples built in Malaysia. Goes to show how culturally rich a society can become when they welcome immigration and embrace it!

Finding the right balance of tourism can be tricky as we found on a flying trip up to the Cameron Highlands, a place I visited 20 years ago. This time round I had continued expectations of cooler, beautifully manicured hills, and quaint tea plantations dotted around. No longer the case, as it is now Malaysias number one domestic tourist destination, mainly to escape the coastal heat. Unfortunately this has brought with it the mass destruction of the beauty I remember. According to one cab driver he dosn’t even work weekends when a 10 minute drive takes two hours! Bonkers! Luckily we went mid-week!

Our charming hotel looked out over a shopping mall where a London bus drove past Big Ben until midnight playing music. But then, who am I to sneer, this is early tourism in a new world for Malaysia. As long as you can get a ‘Devonshire cream tea’ and pick some strawberries, no one cares about the epic views that are now littered with ugly high rise hotels and polytunnels.
We did do a very lovely walk in a mossy cloud-forest and had a cup of tea in a picturesque plantation! Couldn’t bring myself to have cream tea though, too weird! Did get me thinking though that all these tea farms used to be jungle, what was the difference between this and the endless palm plantations? Tea? The fact the British built some pretty Tudor style buildings, while they colonised the county. Any way, I digress…..

Malacca, our last destination, turned out to be another great place to play spot the rat and ogle at beautifully crafted Peranakan houses.

One gripe with Malaysia, there is a lot of open drainage, in fact all pavements have an open drain running along side. Good for rat spotting, but bad for Otto. We have had lots of near misses, some more dangerous than others, then finally he put his foot down one, open sandals and all!! It was truly grim. Also with open drains, unexpected wildlife can pop up, other than the rat, as we found out in a riverside bar the other night! When people started jumping on their chairs. I gathered up the kids, sensing danger, then caught a glance of a very large snake frantically winding its way towards us. No idea what type it was but the locals seemed pretty panicked, i shouted at the kids to run! Mitch lingered to gather up our belongings, we all have different priorities!!!

As we approach the Border of this brilliant country, I’m going to miss it, the local food has been amazing, the kids have learnt a lot and seen so much, As have we.Read more