Malaysia Highlights

some of my personal favourite places in Malaysia. I must admit - I knew very little about Malaysia before I decided to visit, and I was fascinated when I found out about its diverse ethnic mix. As a more-than-developing, but not-quite-developed (compared with the Western notion of the term) country, I hadn't realised that it was a secular Muslim nation of ethnic Malays, as well as having sizeable minorities of Chinese and Indians too, all painted against a backdrop of recent British colonial history. This was a place worth checking out.

Penang
Penang was my first experience of Malaysia, travelling down from Hat Yai in Thailand on the train to the transport hub of Butterworth. The train was very late, seemingly hanging around at the border for a good hour, and I later learned that the underside of trains were (still are?) commonly scanned for bombs due to Islamic insurgency in the south of Thailand. Penang had all the elements I had read about: a Chinatown, cinemas offering Bollywood spectaculars, huge British colonial buildings, and little Malay restaurants serving up nasi goreng and other delicacies. Above all else, it had a relaxed, gentle, even affluent feel after so many months in Thailand. I only had enough time for a few hours' stop before continuing my journey, but I have since returned and find it a very pleasant destination that's well worth a stop-off when travelling between Thailand and southern Malaysia.
(to be continued)

Harold
photos: Janin