Malaysia Travel

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 several other religions. 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.

Malaysia Links
	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 so my only photos came from outside the gates.

	The city of Kuala Lumpur is a large and colorful with high rise buildings extending for miles. The photo on the right shows the Petronas towers, you can see how much taller it is than the surrounding buildings.

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. To properly see the Petronas towers you're better off going directly to them and at night when they are more attractive. On the right are the towers, the upper left shows KL tower. The two city photos were taken from the observation deck.

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 are photos of the main shopping districts in Kuala Lumpur, here you can find your western chains like Starbucks and Planet Hollywood, but fortunately there are many unique shops here found only in Malaysia, and very cheap!

Kuala Lumpur is an international city that is 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 in the downtown area.

	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 most 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 is 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 are overcast but occasionally in the morning you can get some breaks in the clouds. Just about every day I was here it rained, fortunately the storms 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.

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. It's one of the best places to visit in Malaysia since there is so much to do and there are plenty of Hotel in Penang. 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. Kek Lok Si is a large complex with several large buildings and dozens of rooms. Kek Lok Si is not an ancient temple having been built in 1890 with other additions still continuing today. The temple remains very important to the Chinese population in Malaysia, with several major festivals taking place at Kek Lok Si each year.

Other temples from different cultures except in Penang such as the Thai temple above. Known as Wat Chayamangkalaram and also as the Sleeping Buddha temple, it is the home of the third largest reclining Buddha in the world!
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 appears to be praying. It is one of the several poisonous snakes that are free in the temple. 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.

Patricia from UK: Just returned from three wonderful weeks in Malaysia - a week in Kuala Lumpur and two weeks on Langkawi. The KLIAtrain from the airport into the city is probably the most impressive airport transport I have ever traveled on, as were the smaller shuttle trains serving the inter city. Taxis on Langkawi island were good value for money. The friendly drivers drove, stopped and waited wherever we wanted. Self drive would be easy and trouble free. Not aware of any local bus transport. Many boat trips of varying degrees of luxury to see and spend time on the islands. Many ferries from the island to various mainland destinations.

Fei from Malaysia:I glad you had some fun here! i have never seen a dusky leaf monkeys, their eyes....lol! have fun wherever you are!

Maher from Pakistan: Malaysia is my favourite country. People are very nice, I love this country!

Tariq from Pakistan: I love Malaysia, coz its the most beautiful country in the world. Love Malaysia.

Hanyamooei from Indonesia: Amazing...

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