Malaysia - 12 February to 5 March 2009

Background and History

Selamat Datang to sticky, tropical Malaysia with its friendly, hospitable mix of peoples!! Peninsular Malaysia 's original neolithics were the orang asli. First the Negritos then the Senoi came from Thailand around 2500BC and the third wave were the proto-malays (ancestors of today's Malays) who came from Indonesia between 1500 and 500 BC. The Buddhist Srivijaya Empire dominated the region from the 7 th century for 600 years until Islam arrived with Indian Muslim traders in the 1400's. Europe's appetite for spices first saw the Portuguese here in 1510, then the Dutch and finally the British gained control of Malaysia from 1824 until WWII. Malaya finally gained independence in 1957 and fused with Sabah, Sarawak (part of Borneo) in creating modern Malaysia in 1963.

Our Experience

Arriving by train in KL with no real border crossing and getting a connecting KTM commuter train to Port Klang was a breeze in this well developed country. Luckily 2 French campers who were shipping to India arrived at the port and we exchanged tips for our onward journey as they dropped us off at the 3 star Crystal Crown Hotel – clean and with a pool!! All Port Logistics was our first port of call the next day to organise the release of the 2 vehicles and although more professional than the Indian agents and costing a more reasonable $430, we had the run-around for 5 days. The first 3 nights we relaxed in the comfort of the hotel until boredom drove us back to KL for the next 2 nights. At least here we could marvel at this affluent futuristic city with its impressive skyline towering over Islamic architecture, multi-lane highways and a suspended mono-rail. Friendly clean Paradise Lodge in the Golden Triangles forest of high rises was a great central location in KL's CBD to check out the grand shopping centres, nightlife and varied divine food. Our Chinese hosts started the ball rolling by letting us sample typical Malaysian breakfasts – from tropical fruits to nasi lemak (delicious rice cooked in coconut milk with roasted peanuts and chilli curry sauce, dried fish, egg and cucumber). A visit to the world's tallest twin towers at Petronas with views from the 41 st floor sky bridge was our highlight of sightseeing in KL.

On the 17 th we all headed back to Port Klang after a false alert the previous day, to collect the vehicles. In typical Indian style we first had to pay for the ‘confused' service that included Tipperdee's awning being totally destroyed and ripped off somewhere between Chennai and unloading in Port Klang. Obviously no one would accept responsibility and after hours of enquiries we finally left it with the shipping company to sort out – with the slim hope that some fairness would prevail! After fixing our 2 punctures and shopping in Carrefour to restock a bruised Tipperdee, it was midnight and we spent the night back at the Crystal Crown Hotel. By midday the next day we were finally on our way east to KL when we again miraculously bumped into our Dutch friends at a highway filling station and together we continued along impressive highways for 300km to the east coast. Masses of palm oil plantations with some jungle scenery accompanied us across the state of Pahang to the South China Sea at Balok Beach . But this wasn't quite the spot and we continued into the evening north for 25km to Cherating where 2 German couples that we had met in Agonda , India had set up camp for the next few years! The next day we discovered what a paradise we had stumbled upon – warm tropical waters in a crescent bay flanked by jungle and plenty of shady trees for the vehicles right at the waters edge! The friendly restaurant owner Dean, allowed us to use the toilets and showers for free. Small fishing boats would bring ashore huge prawns and fresh fish daily and the weather was just perfect – a lot less humid too. The quiet fishing village had a few great local kedai kopi (cafes) so were we really sorted!! 5 days later we had to continue up the east coast into Terengganu with Marang our next stop after 125km. This was our departure point for the near deserted Palau Kapas, a beautiful small island with aquamarine clear waters and powdery white sand beaches. KBC resort with its clean A-framed chalets right on the beach, an exceptionally friendly owner, Kayan made our 3 day stay on this tropical paradise blissful. Besides enjoying the waters and Kayan taking us on a snorkelling trip around the island, we hiked across the jungle to its western side – being devoured by mosquitoes along the way. But a tropical paradise comes with its bugs and besides the mozzies, we were continually bombarded with big noisy flying beetles that also seemed to pee all over us and we even had a monitor lizard invade our bathroom in the middle of the night, shrieking wildly as it deposited a huge turd!! But the journey had to continue and after our ferry ride back to the mainland, we continued the drive up the east coast to the small fishing village of Kuala Besut where we wild camped for the night with our Dutch friends.

The next morning we were back on a speedboat for a 30 minute ride to the turquoise waters of the Perhentian Islands . The smaller Kecil island was our home for 2 nights – first on the eastern side at Moonlight Chalets and then the more chilled western Coral Bay where we could savour barbequed seafood as the sunset. The highlight though was a snorkelling trip by boat to 5 different sites around both islands where the warm clear waters revealed 2m sharks, massive turtles and schools of all kinds of tropical fish amidst colourful coral. Jade and Dane had mastered snorkelling in deep waters that at times were choppy with currents – they were a lot more comfortable in this environment than us! Back to the mainland again on the 1 st March, we arrived to a soaked Tipperdee – the silicone sealing around the sunroof had cracked due to the temperatures and the last of the monsoons gave us a taste of what rain is really like in this part of the world. So with soaking wet cushions we bid farewell again to Maaike and Rein who were heading on to Thailand as we continued to Kota Bharu where we were forced to check into Sabrina Court Hotel for the next 2 nights to dry the mattresses with the air-con and hair dryer! The state of Kelantan's capital is also a centre of Malay culture so during the day we took in the action at its colourful central market, tasted the local foods and tried our hand with the unique top-spinning at the cultural centre. Dane was quite a hit knocking the heavy wooden tops as if he was a ‘Beyblader'! Our stay here was further enhanced by the sisters Rashidah and Rose who saw our van and over ‘teh tarik' (pulled tea) we chatted about everything under the sun.

With our mattresses dry but the rain still pouring we headed west across the peninsular for about 300km to what is known as the ‘Pearl of the Orient' – the island of Penang which is linked to the mainland by a 14km bridge. In our desperation to escape the rain and with darkness imminent we wild camped in the stinky small fishing village of Gertak Sanggul at the south western point of the island. The next day the gods shone on us and we explored the surprisingly built up island mixed with thick jungle. First we found the snake temple that was built in 1850 in honour of the deity Chor Soo Kong where resident venomous pit vipers appear doped by the burning incense. After continuing north through mountainous jungle and skirting coastal beaches we found a nice spot at Teluk Bahang where we spent most of the day unpacking, drying the vehicle and re-sealing the sunroof with silicone – in between teaching duties! All sorted the next day, we headed to the capital Georgetown and explored its interesting sites like the elaborate Chinese clan home of Khoo Kongsi where tradition of ancestral worship still lives and Goddess of mercy temple – built by 19 th century settlers and decorated with intricate carvings and dragons. It was quite interesting observing devotees worshipping as they waved incense sticks or having their futures read amidst the smoke filled temples. After shopping and a late night Panang Laksa (too seafoody for some!) we spent our final night in Malaysia before continuing north to the border with Thailand at Bukit Kayu Hitam.

Selemat Jalang to a country that is a breeze to travel through and another one on our ‘come back to' list – especially the gorgeous islands.