Malaysia: Langkawi/Kuala Lumpur (Jan/00)

    Sunset in Langkawi

This was a 10-day vacation.

At the end of the fasting month (Ramadan), the Muslims celebrate Hari Raya. It is month-long celebration when families have friends and relatives to their houses for food and conversation (see more on Hari Raya below). My friend Isa always go back to Malaysia during this time and, this year, Andy, Richard and I tagged along.

It was a memorable trip, good combination of beach relaxation (we spend 4 days in a island resort), cultural, gastronomic, and social experiences (staying with Isa's family was a incomparable experience) and city exploration (KL is a vibrant city).

Malasya has two parts. The first one is the peninsula bordering Thailand to the North. The second shares the Borneo Island with Indonesia to the South-East. Both are between the Indic Ocean to the South-West and the Sea of China to the North-East. That is really close to the Equator, so the weather is always hot and humid.

The population is composed by about 50% of Malays, with Chinese and Indians completing the mix. Religion is a very important part of life, which reflects in other aspects of the KL experience.

Most people speak English as a second or third language (with Malay, Mandarin or some Indian dialect as first and second). Despite the social contrasts typical of developing countries, a visitor doesn't feel threatened by crime and violence on the streets.

I arrived at the new and impressive Kuala Lumpur International Airport on the afternoon of the second day of Rari Haya and missed most of the visiting action, but I knew the open house at Isa's family would be held on the next weekend.

We all went to Langkawi, a tropical island in the Northwest cost, on the border with Thailand.

We spent 4 days there, enjoying the beach, the resort facilities (we stayed at the Sheraton Perdana), driving around the island and eating very well.

Langkawi is a beautiful tropical island. While the water was not clear enough for snorkeling and diving, it was very good for swimming and kayaking. We also spent a good deal of time in the swimming pool by the beach. Unfortunately, only older people and Japanese tourists seem to be able to afford staying there. We also found a karting circuit and had a lot of fun driving and bumping each other.

On the weekend, we were back to Kuala Lumpur (KL) for the Hari Raya open house. My hosts happen to be very important people and the open house attracted, besides family and friends, very interesting figures of the KL social and political scene. I shared the table and spend some time chatting with with the high commissioner of the Fiji Islands in KL and her sister, a member of the royal family. We exchanged experiences on what were the differences between being an engineer, a diplomat and a princess :o).

Food is certainly one of the highlights of the visit. Rice, Curry and Fish are the basic food groups. The variety is impressive and we ate very well and frequently. You can eat any time, there are food stalls everywhere. The best meals was at Isa's house, where we had real Malaysia homecooked food.

There are all sorts of different fruits. The most adventurous can try some Durian, the national, very smelly fruit. You will either hate it or find it very... interesting :o).

A typical Malaysian day is planned as follows: In the morning, we have Nasi Lemak for breakfast and then we go out. We have lunch at such-and-such place and after that we can head to that other place, where they have very good snacks. We can then go eat somewhere, before we head to Bangsar for dinner. We eat supper at home, before going to sleep.

Nasi Lemak is coconut rice served with salted fish and chili sauce, fried salted anchovies and peanuts, cucumber, hard-boiled egg, all wrapped in a banana leaf and sometimes served with a piece of chicken or fish. Satay is chicken or beef kabobs broiled on skewers. Roti is Indian bread, usually served with curry. Chendol is a dessert made of shaved ice served with beans, rice, coconut milk and some other ingredients that I cannot identify.

Last few days, we stayed in KL.  I spent less time exploring KL than I would like, but it was enough to get a good overview of this interesting city.

Went to see the Petronas Towers (arguably, the tallest building in the world), the KL tower, the Pudu Market (a really wet market), the sports complex (which hosted the 88' Commonwealth Games), the National Mosque and some of the other city's landmarks.

Bangsar seems to be the place people go at night to see and be seen. There are lots of bars and, restaurants for all tastes. We went there a couple of times. Tiger is the local beer (it is actually brewed in Singapore), but beer consumption is not a very popular activity.

During the economic boom of the early 90's, KL grew and invested in large projects as no other city. A new and super dimensioned airport, new highway system, state-of-the-art light rail system, beautiful sports complex, the Petronas twin towers, the hi-tec corridor, etc. The government projects the "2020 vision", which intends to place Malaysia as a developed country by that year.

With the economic slowdown of the past few years, things don't seem to be as rosy as before, and political opposition, population dissatisfaction, and international pressure on the current government seem to be growing.

KL certainly deserves another visit and, next time, I should go somewhere in the East coast, visit Borneo and climb a mountain there.
 
 
 

More about Rari Haya (copied from Isa's e-mails)...

It is the celebration of the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan. All Muslims across the world celebrate it. In Malaysia, this celebration is called 'Hari Raya Aidil Fitri' or 'Hari Raya' for short and people normally have what they call 'open house' - their homes are open to family/friends to come, socialize, eat, etc.

In the US, Hari Raya Aidil Fitri is commonly called 'Eid ul-Fitr' or just 'Eid'. I think 'Eid' means celebration in Arabic. 'Fitri' or 'ul-Fitr' means the giving of donations/alms to the needy I think. One of the things I need to do prior to Hari Raya is give some money to the poor (via some bank/foundation). Part of doing the whole Ramadhan thing (not eating/drinking) is to remember the needy anyway.

The Muslim calendar is a lunar calendar that is not the same as the Chinese lunar calendar. One thing to note is that the start of Ramadhan and Hari Raya moves forward (earlier) by about 10 days every year.

The start of the fasting month in Malaysia is announced by some govt. official who spots the new moon and announces it on national TV. No, this won't drag on forever if it's cloudy for a week because the max # of days in a muslim month is 30. So the start of the fasting month is either one day or the next. The same process is done for the end of fasting month i.e. to determine when Hari Raya is.

Hari Raya is 'officially' celebrated (i.e. holidays) mainly for 2 days. The morning of the 1st day is spent at a Mosque where prayers are done and from then on, it is visiting friends/relatives or be visited.