Malaysia Part 3: Penang Island

The last part of our trip was off the mainland of Malaysia to the island of Penang.  My friends had booked this trip before I arrived in China so I booked everything for myself after them.  Luckily, I was able to add a roll away bed to the hotel rooms except for our stay while in Penang.  In reality, I can't complain about having my own room at the end of a jam packed trip.  I especially couldn't complain when my room was so nice.

Our resort was super beautiful and on the beach.  It had live music at night and a really good restaurant.  We were able to lounge on chairs by the pool, the lawn, and down at the beach.  I was able to read one and half John Grisham books and be awesomely lazy.  They had tiki bars and thatched roof restaurants across the property.  Unfortunately, it was overcast the majority of our time in Penang but I still managed to get a little burnt because of course I did.  There was a night market directly outside of our resort with stalls lining the streets, which we enjoyed perusing in the evenings.

Two queens pushed together and all for me.

An actual shower!

The girls and tropical drinks.

The beach view.

One afternoon we went into the city of George Town to explore.  Along the coast is Fort Cornwallis, which is an old British outpost.  The rest of the city is much more modern and vibrant with Indian and Chinese influences.  We had an amazing lunch in Little India and enjoyed exploring the city's shops. 

We walked along some old wharves that were lined with shops.

Fort Cornwallis

The main draw to the city (at least for me) was the street art.  You walk along and need to pay attention or you will miss most of the the art tucked away on the sides of the winding streets.  You would need much more time than an afternoon to observe all the work and more is constantly being added.

I swear, Minions are taking over the world.

Wrought iron work.

Children on a Bicycle is the most famous street art attraction in the city.

Stray thoughts:

• Being in Malaysia, and especially in touristy places, there were other westerners and more diversity in general so we didn't stand out so much.  It was quite refreshing.
• The majority of people living in Malaysia speak English!  That was super awesome to actually be able to communicate with people.  We made friends with all our cab drivers and were able to chat with people as we traveled.
• We asked one of our cab drivers what the AWAS signs meant since they were all over the place.  He replied, "All Women Are Sexy."  They are in actuality warning signs to remind drivers to stay alert.  Our driver said it's really the same thing since you need to stay alert around women.

• Thus ends my blog entries about Malaysia.  It was an amazing trip and 7 days really wasn't enough, especially when traveling is put into account.  I highly recommend visiting if you are ever on this side of the world.

Malaysia Part 2: Elephants

Part of our jungle tour included a visit to Kuala Gandah Elephant Conservation Center.  So as we headed back from the jungle of Taman Negara to the city of Kuala Lumpur we stopped at this elephant sanctuary.  The Malaysian Department of Wildlife and National Parks rescues Asian elephants and brings them to a new home where they get pampered daily.

At our arrival we were able to buy sugar cane and bananas to feed to elephants that were in pens.  Some bore marks of hunters and traps, others had their homes destroyed due to cultivation and development, and others were abandoned orphans for one reason or another.  One actually had lost her tail and had scarring all across her backside from a tiger attack when she was a baby.  Despite their past hardships these elephants were the happiest creatures with all the attention, trunk petting, and loads of food being handed to them.

The big ones.

The little ones.

This actually happened.

Two baby elephants vying for my attention (or really my sugar cane).

Next there was a show where four of the adults elephants were paraded in with their handlers and the crowd was told their stories.  The announcer told more about the center and the elephants living there, as well as other elephants who have been relocated to the jungle.  Afterwards we were able to feed the elephants papaya.  Then we followed the procession down to the river where the elephants splashed along in the water and took baths.

Staring down my papaya.

Bath time!

After the adult elephants were done with their baths, a baby elephant was brought into the river.  If you were willing to pay a little extra then you could go into the river with the elephant and help give her a bath.  We were obviously not going to miss out on this opportunity!  Unfortunately I do not remember our elephant's name because I was too giddy excited about hanging out with an elephant to remember her complicated Malaysian name.

We were told to reach down into the water and grab some of the muddy sand, which we then rubbed onto her as a nice little exfoliating scrub.  Then we had to clean her off, so we splashed water over her and the guides splashed water all over us.  Luckily they had a woman who worked there who stood out of the splash zone and took pictures for us.

The group with a small elephant.

My contacts were a little fuzzy after this.

Can you tell I had a good time?

Stray thoughts:

• While it is extremely sad that these elephants have lost their homes, it is wonderful to know that there are people looking out for them and actively working towards awareness of elephant conservation.
• Trunks are crazy weird and also really strong.  The little guys didn't have the best control of them still and so they were a little wild with them, which was super adorable and also a little scary.
• Just FYI, I bought a pair of sweet elephant patterned pants and a little wooden figurine from a market to commemorate my elephant experience.

Matching elephant pants.

• The last part of my Malaysian adventures will be about the end of our trip at Penang Island.

Malaysia Part 1: Kuala Lumpur and Taman Negara

As mentioned previously, I left China for 7 days to visit Malaysia with some friends during the national holiday.  We flew into Kuala Lumpur and spent a couple days there and the surrounding area.  We found a tour company through TripAdvisor and they were fantastic.  Our main guide was named Ram and he was the most wonderful and amazing person.  We had such a great time with him and he went above and beyond to make sure we had a great time in Malaysia.

Ram picked us up early our first morning in Kuala Lumpur to start our jungle trip.  It was a several hour drive to Taman Negara and Ram told us all about Malaysia and kindly stopped at a gas station so we could get doughnuts (they don't exist in China).  Once we reached the jungle he split his duties with DJ, who would take us into the jungle.  We stayed at a resort in the jungle that we could only reach by taking a boat across the river.

The group with our jungle guide, DJ.

The hotel shuttle.

The luggage trolley for our hotel.

Our accommodations.

Really roughing it in the jungle.

Monkeys were swinging in the trees as we walked to breakfast.

After settling in, DJ started us off on our jungle tour.  We did what they call rapids shooting, which is basically white water rafting but with a motorized boat.  So DJ did all the work managing the boat and maneuvering through the rapids and we all got soaked in the process.  Luckily it was so hot and humid that being wet as we started our hike was refreshing.  Our hike included a canopy walk, which was really cool.  Unfortunately, some people were unable to keep in their frightened shrieks as they walked and so we didn't get to see any animals below.

Taken before we got soaked.

Walking in the canopy.

I was told not to look down but I needed photographic evidence.

A group shot with DJ.

DJ was also a really amazing guy and he liked us a lot too.  Usually he takes his groups to a touristy village with little shops that is in the jungle but since he liked us we were taken to an actual native village.  The Bateq Tribe are nomadic aboriginal Malay people who DJ and his family before him have had a relationship with and that is why he knew where to go and how to communicate with them.  We had to go off the beaten path to reach the village and at one point had to cross a fallen tree over a river.

Just casually walking across a tree in the jungle.

Trying to act like I'm not scared of falling to my death.

While we were unable to communicate with them, DJ played interpreter and the Bateq people were very friendly.  They showed us how they made their thatched roofs, make a fire, and how to create and shoot poison arrow darts.  They even invited us to take turns shooting darts.  It should be noted that we only used ones that did not have poison on them!  It was very surreal to be with these people in the middle of the jungle and they sent us off with souvenirs from the experience.  They made a dart (without poison) and a little holding tube for each of us as thank you gift for visiting them.

The village.

Inspecting the blow dart tube.

DJ holding a poison blow dart.

DJ and a villager facing off.

Poor Mickey is used for target practice.

On my 2nd attempt I was able to hit the netting around Mickey.

In the evening, DJ took us on a night walk through the jungle to look for nocturnal animals.  With his amazingly keen eyes he was able to show us a flying squirrel high up in the trees, snakes, various bugs, frogs, an adorable mouse deer, and he played with some scorpions.  Under UV lights, scorpions glow in the dark and so DJ would poke around their holes and draw them out while under the UV light so we could see them scuttling along as they glowed.  It was very cool and also really terrifying.

On our way back to Kuala Lumpur we stopped at the Batu Caves, which are right outside the city.  The limestone formations are estimated around 400 million years old and have a series of caves inside.  The caves are one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside of India.  Lord Murugan stands 140 feet tall at the base of the stairs we had to climb to reach the temples inside of the caves.

The group with Lord Murugan.

Monkeys were climbing all over the stairs trying to get food from tourists.

In the evening, Ram took us to an amazing Indian restaurant and to see the Petronas Towers even though the tour was technically over.  Like I said before, he was an amazing guy who enjoyed our company and wanted us to see the best of Malaysia.  The Petronas Towers were beautiful lit up at night and were once the tallest buildings in the world and are still the tallest twins towers in the world.  On our way back to the hotel he even stopped at a little bakery so we could have some Malaysian Indian sweets before bed.

Our favorite Malaysian, Ram!

I don't know how to describe these other than they were awesome.

Stray thoughts:

• Ram was awesome and told us all about Malaysia and had us try all sorts of foods and drinks.  Like how palm oil and rubber are major industries in Malaysia.  Also, naan and their chickpea and curry sauces are amazing!

Palm dates are used to make palm oil.

A rubber tree plant being tapped.

Naan with curry sauce for a van ride snack.

I'm a little embarrassed how excited I was for Diet Coke.

• If anyone wants to go to Malaysia then I will give you the information on Ram's tour agency because he and DJ made the trip even better.
• The only downsides I can think of for Malaysia are the scorpions and big spiders.  Also, the leeches.  My toe has a nice little circular blood blister looking spot from where a little sucker hung on for a bit.  Who knew leeches liked to sneak around in the underbrush?
• The next blog entries will be about more Malaysian adventures with elephants and visiting Penang.