You likely already know it by now: Malaysia is special to us. Since May, we have been travelling across Southeast Asia towards the Malaysian peninsula, our end goal. Why Malaysia, you might wonder? Because it was Dimitri’s gateway into Southeast Asia, 9 years ago. I had not heard of Malaysia when we started dating. Since then, Dimitri had hyped me up about the country so much that I had built up great expectations for our time there. After close to one month here, I can say that my expectations are fully met and it is essentially thanks to the true gem of Malaysia: its people.

Enough with the introduction – let’s start exploring! Our focus for today:

• Joining a city-wide treasure hunt in George Town / Penang
• Getting our tea and strawberry fix in the Cameron Highlands

Before we start: Malaysia in a nutshell

Malaysia is a country in the West of Southeast Asia, hosting 34 million inhabitants over 331,000 km2, roughly two-third of France (you already know my source for these data: Wikipedia). Quite a small country, compared with its Thai neighborhood; gigantic, when compared with Singapore. Geographically speaking, Malaysia is divided into two parts: the former is Peninsula Malaysia, also called West Malaysia, with Kuala Lumpur and so; the latter is East Malaysia, also called the Borneo islands.

Like Thailand, Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy. Unlike Thailand, it is a federal monarchy. Malaysia is essentially a patchwork of Malay kingdoms, which have been brought together within the same country. Here comes the amazing part: those kingdoms have actually kept their royal families, which means that there are many kings in Malaysia and that they take turn being the country head of state.

If you are from an agnostic country like I am, one word might have striken you: “sultan“. Indeed: Malaysia is a Muslim state. It comes as a surprise after visiting the surrounding countries, which are overall Buddhist. According to my light research (eh, it’s August, I became lazy!), Islam has been brought to Malaysia by the many merchants coming from India and the Middle-East, until it was established as the official country religion. Religious state means “traditional” laws, such as a complete ban on homosexuality. It is seemingly not applied, though.

I have to admit that reading about that brought up a negative bias. Nonetheless, I very quickly learnt that the Malaysian have a somehow flexible take on this kind of things. Diversity is in their country’s DNA, and their welcoming attitude shows.

George Town / Penang is the perfect example of this multiculturalism.

Joining a city-wide treasure hunt in George Town / Penang

Malaysian multiculturalism

As we enter Malaysia from Thailand (another smooth and easy border crossing, by the way), our first stop in Malaysia is George Town, Penang. George Town is the city name, Penang the name of the region but both are often used to describe the same city. This island region faces the Northwest coast of Malaysia (see my beautiful map shared previously). Like Malaysia, George Town is the end result of a blend of cultures between the Malay (~60% of the Malaysian), the Chinese (~20%) and the Indian (~6%), coated with European influences.

Cultural identities have remained very strong and the streets are true melting pots: the Malay women all wear the hijab; all shops have signs in Mandarin in the Chinese quarters; the Indian quarters, nicknamed Little India, brings us back to March when we were visiting a part of the subcontinent. “George Town” also does not sound Malaysian – of course the British have been there, as the colonial architecture shows it.

While we were on the road to Malaysia, I searched for advice regarding how to dress. The first articles I read underlined the need to dress “modestly”. After a month in India where Dimitri could dress as he pleased and I had to have my shoulders and legs covered up in 40 degrees Celsius, I was not ready to give up on my shorts. Thankfully, this diversity of cultures makes it easy to blend in: the Malaysian are so used to seeing different styles, that they don’t mind the Western life style.

With some many communities sharing the public space, it could have turned into a fight for visibility and who deserved it best. Maybe it is the case. It does not look like it from outside in any case. We quickly notice that there is one thing that the Malaysian share: curiosity. In the taxi, at the restaurant, at the shop, we are always asked where we come from, whether it is our first stop in Malaysia, where we go next … When we pass by a Buddhist celebration at a temple at night, Dimitri acts like a local and asks a man our age what is celebrated. This adorable man explains us what he can, given our limited understanding of the whole lore. Before you know it, we join in the party and light up our incense sticks in honor of a Taoist Goddess’ birthday.

This man also told us that his sister went to Paris, France and was terrified of the French because of our tall figures. I was the worst person to convince him that the French were not that tall.

Note: the West coast of Peninsula Malaysia is much more liberal and “Westernized” than the East coast of Peninsula Malaysia, essentially Muslim and more traditional. I will cover both parts, but it is important to keep that in mind when planning a trip to Malaysia.

Penang officials’ genius idea: bringing art into the streets

Penang is a pretty cool city in itself, but it is all over social media for a specific reason: it hosts an amazing collection of street art murals and iron sculptures. Oddly, it all started in the 2000s with Ernest Zacharevic, a Lithuanian artist – I let you read his story below!

There are now so many bloggers who have written about the murals and sculptures locations that it is easy to find a map recording their locations. Equipped with our cellphones, my camera and the map created by the Midlife Globetrotter (available here), our first day in Penang is a treasure hunt. At some point, we drop the map and wander, aimlessly… until we discover again and again another piece, delighted. We are in August, Penang is a popular place so the main pieces attract many tourists; it is an open air exhibit, still, so it is easy to find your own way away from the crowd. I have so many pictures from this day, here is just a sample to give you an idea. (I didn’t take any picture of the iron sculptures, as they were not to my taste.)

The temple of sales, little tricks and haunted store

There are many things to do in Penang, once you have had your fair share of street art. Dimitri told me that he went to the beach with his friends the first time he visited; alternatively, you can go for a shopping spree at the many malls or book several tours (boat, hiking, touristy, … You name it!). We visit the city oldest mall, as I try to get my Thai-market watch fixed – not possible, as you could have expected. It had survived for 2 weeks only, teaching me a lesson about watches costing 4 euros.

One of the landmarks of Penang is the Kek Lok Si temple, which towers over the city. Built in stages on a central hill, 37-meter high, this stunning Buddhist temple shines with its many sculptures of the Buddha and Pagoda style-architecture, painted in vivid colors. It is the biggest Buddhist temple in Malaysia, and many pilgrims come from all over Southeast Asia to visit it. The weather is incredibly hot in Malaysia in August, and strolling in the holy gardens and stopping in the shade of all the beautifully decorated temples makes up for the perfect afternoon.

There is something odd that strikes us about Kek Lo Si: it is the temple of sales. There are shops at every corner of every floor of the temple, selling everything from sacred souvenirs to snacks and cheap touristy gadgets. Dimitri spots wind chimes. Like the professionals we are, we try out all the models displayed and we buy the one with the perfect chime. From this day on, the first thing that Dimitri does when he enters our new hotel / guesthouse room is setting up his wind chime, “to feel at home”.

Speaking of hotel: the cost of living in Malaysia is higher than in all the countries that we have visited in Southeast Asia before. We feel the difference the most with the accommodation. For instance, most of standard rooms offered in cities do not have windows. You need to aim for deluxe rooms for that… unless you are sneaky like Dimitri, who pretended that I was claustrophobic to get us a room with a window. It worked. Note: we did it only once, and we just asked nicely all the other times. With relative success.

One evening, Dimitri is already deeply asleep when I look for a 7-Eleven store nearby on Google Maps, to buy a quick dinner. The one close to our hotel has really strange reviews, with several mentions of “SCP-4712”. I am puzzled and investigate the matter. It turns out that this store is allegedly haunted, according to this article from JUICE (obviously a trustworthy source): SCP-4711: Locals Allege Seemingly Deliberate Inconveniences At ‘Haunted’ 7-Eleven Store In Penang. It is already dark outside, I am too scared to see it for myself and wait for Dimitri to wake up. Here is our conversation:

We didn’t go, like the chickens that we are.

After roughly one week in Penang, we leave for the Cameron Highlands… in a party bus. Just kidding: it is just a regular bus but decorated by a fitting team under LSD. The Malaysian buses are surprisingly comfortable, with massive seats in which even I feel small – so bring it in all the way, woop woop!

Getting our tea and strawberry fix in the Cameron Highlands

For years, I had misheard Dimitri when he would talk about the Cameron Highlands, hearing the Cameron islands. I was so puzzled when I discovered that they were deep into the Malaysian inlands. The Cameron Highlands are the closest thing to mountains in Malaysia, standing between 800 meters and 1,600 meters above sea level. The Nepalese guides would likely call them grasslands. This relative elevation makes them benefit from a cooler weather, with a very pleasant 25°C in average during the dry season.

Because of this unique climate, these lands caught up the attention of a British businessman in the early XIXth century, who saw them fit to develop the tea trade in Malaysia. You don’t have to think too much about what the Cameron Highlands specialize themselves in: it is written everywhere. The landscape is shaped by the never-ending tea plantations and the several strawberry farms, which are the highlights of any touristic trip.

I was quite excited for the Cameron Highlands, as I was looking forward to hiking without dying of heat. We choose to stay in Tanah Rata, at the middle of the Cameron Highlands, to be close to the many hiking paths. Upon the advice of Norbert, our landlord from the nice lodge cabin we stay at, we settle for Trails 10 and 6. On the way up, we chat briefly with a Dutch lady, who declines to join us for the way down that is said to be very steep. It was not an empty thread: the way-down is closer to a narrow trench than to a track. We meet Chris, an Irish guy who has been traveling for years, and progress together… until we reach the same Dutch lady, completely stuck. Dimitri, like the hero he is, saves her and she joins our little group.

This is the start of a great day of hiking with Chris and Rianne, in the jungle to the Cameron Valley viewpoint. We pass through farms where we try to recognize the vegetables grown (eggplant, coriander, salad, carrot, radish – so surprising to find vegetables that grow in Europe here!), until we reach the Cameron Tea plantations. After struggling so much in the jungle, it is almost unreal to walk in these neat tea plantations. Thanks to reaching them from the farms, we are alone for a little while before we meet again crowds of tourists at the main entrance. After a well-deserved break at the tea house, Dimitri and I buy way too much tea and manage to hich-hick back to Tanah Rata, sparing us 1 hour of climbing back near a dangerous road.

Don’t expect hiking paths in Tanah Rata to be well maintained. Despite the tax that you are supposed to pay at the Forest Office (that we skip given the nonsense opening hours), the jungle has clearly taken over and the forest guards accept it, just adding ropes at the steepest points. The trail 9 has us rappelling down for a bit. That’s good, the more I do that, the less I am terrified and the more I learn to enjoy it along the way.

It also makes the delicious local strawberry milkshake even more divine after. I have never been a fan of milkshakes: for me, milkshakes should be made from milk and fruits like my mum used to make them. Without any ice cream. The Cameron Highlands answered my calling: the milkshake here is made from local frozen strawberries, full-fat milk, with whipped cream and strawberry syrup on top. Why can’t it be the basic recipe for all strawberry milkshakes in the world?…

The Cameron Highlands are pretty touristy, which usually means that food is average. We are delighted to have been proved wrong. From the delicious authentic Indian restaurant, where we shared a table with a couple of Canadians and their 14-month-old daughter, to the local Malaysian canteen whose staff kindly kept my cap when I forgot it, we feasted every day. When we were not busy discovering forests as old as 160 million years. Or watching Netflix series in our shoe-box hotel room (Dimitri has discovered K-drama during our trip, and I am afraid that there is no going back now).

Most of tourists stay 2-3 days top in the Cameron Highlands. We are not in a rush and we stay for a week. “But what did you do, for a whole week in the Cameron Highlands?!” we are asked – well, we enjoyed!

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When we are close to risking a strawberry milkshake overdose, we continue moving down South towards Malacca.

See you soon for the next article, about our time in Malacca and our full-to-the-brim 3 days in Singapore!