| Malaysia |
| Malaysia is a country divided in two parts, one is located on the Asian mainland, while the second part is roughly 400 miles to the east sharing the large island of Borneo along with Brunei and Indonesia. The country is officially a Muslim nation, but also has a large population of Buddhists followed by Christians. Malaysia is a stable and peaceful country located just north of the equator. Its large cities, nightlife, rainforests, and tropical beaches attract tourists from around the world. |
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| The small island of Penang is located on the western part of Malaysia in the straight of Malacca. The island is famous for its many temples, great beaches and its city of Georgetown. You can see some of the high rise buildings above and nice condominiums found throughout the island. The picture on the right was taking from Penang Hill, the island's highest point over 800 meters. As it was the rainy season, the view was mostly blocked by clouds and overcast. |
| The temple above is known as Kek Lok Si, translated from Chinese as Temple of Supreme Bliss. The temple is by far the most popular and arguably the most beautiful in Penang. There are several buildings and dozens of rooms in Kek So Li. Exploring this place takes a long time, but it's definitely worth it. |
| The temple above is known as Wat Chayamangkalaram, also as the Sleeping Buddha temple. The reclining Buddha above is the third largest in the world, making the temple a very popular place for travelers and of course Buddhists. |
| The most unique temple in Penang and my favorite for that matter is the Snake Temple, also called Temple of Azure Cloud. It is the only temple in the world that holds poisonous vipers, some which are free to roam around. On the left is a viper that is praying, it is one of several others that is free. The larger one on the right is in a cage. |
| Rainforests in Malaysia are just outside of the equator and many scientists agree that since they are so close the rainforests may have been unaffected by previous ice ages that impacted other forests more severely. In other words the rainforests in Malaysia are considered to be the oldest in the world. Above are clouds moving in on a rainforest, on a tree near the ground is a colorful centipede. The thing didn't stay long and was fast so it came out blurry. |
| The colorful birds on the left are known as Chestnut-headed Bee-eaters. In a tree right next to the birds are dusky leaf monkeys , notice their extremely long tails. |
| Malaysia has a strong economy and symbolizes it with its KL Tower and the Petronas Towers which briefly had the title of being the highest building in the world. The KL tower is seen to the left and stands close to 500 meters. An elevator ride to the observation deck is possible and gives you a great view of the city below. To properly see the Petronas towers you're better off going directly to them and at night. On the left is the KL tower, on the right are the petronas towers at night, when they are much more attractive. |
| These two photos above were taken from KL tower. You can see Kuala Lumpur is a large and colorful city. The highrise buildings are spread out all around the tower and go for miles in the background. The photo on the right shows the Petronas towers, you can see how much taller it is than the surrounding buildings. |
| Malaysia has a democratic style government but is still ruled by a King. Above is the King's palace in Kuala Lumpur, with a Malay soldier guarding the main entrance. There are a few festivals throughout the year that take place at the palace. Outside the festivals it is forbidden to visit the place though. |
| Kuala Lumpur is an international city, its mostly composed of Malays, Indians, and Chinese, but it also has people from all parts of the world. Above is one of the monorails pulling into the station, on the right is an Iraqi restaurant. |
| For the most part Kuala Lumpur is a clean city, but some parts of it are extremely dirty. I trekked through one part of the city at 2am and passed by 3 or 4 giant rats and many huge cockroaches that were living in piles of trash. The shopping districts and downtown areas are well taken care of however. Above is one of the main shopping districts in Kuala Lumpur, here you can find your Starbucks, Planet Hollywood and all the nice clothing stores and restaurants. |
| Another good place to visit in the capital is the zoo. Malaysia and many other parts of Southeast Asia are home to tigers, but since they can be difficult to find in the wild and a bit dangerous, your best bet is to see them in the zoo. Apparently in Malaysia's national zoo you're allowed to feed the animals as to the left. |
| These pictures were all taken from different parts of the country but show some Malaysia's main ethnic groups, Malaysians, Chinese and Indians. Just about everyone I talked to who was Indian or Chinese complained about the Malaysian government, saying how they are basically second class citizens. At one point everyone was equal, but apparently in the late 90s the government changed the laws giving Muslims huge tax breaks, benefits and required all businesses to be owned by a Muslims. The Chinese and Indians who have been part of Malaysia for hundreds of years are now forced to give away their businesses or share them with a Muslim partner. Above are some Muslim Malay girls; upper right is a Chinese man selling food, and to the right is an Indian couple who has just wed. |
| One of the very interesting places to visit in Peninsular Malaysia are the Batu Caves. The caves are formed in the steep mountains and have many religious temples built inside. On the left you can see the huge statue next to the steep staircase that leads up to Batu Caves. Inside the main cave there are some smaller religious structures and a final Hindu temple at the very top. At the end of the stairs there the dark cave which is home to many bats and other animals. There are educational tours through the cave as well as adventure tours lasting several hours. Above are some monkeys who were in Batu Cave. |
| I visited Malaysia in the rainy season in October. Usually the days area overcast but occasionaly in the morning you can get some breaks in the clouds. Just about every day I was here it rained but never lasted more than 30 minutes. On the left is a man putting on his raincoat and getting his umbrella out as a brief storm rolls in. On the right is creek flowing muddy water in a forest just after heavy rains. |
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