Flying Solo in SE Asia: Malaysia: Not same same, just totally different

Editor's note: This post was completed in two separate sittings, so the tense changes halfway through and I was too lazy to go back and edit it.

I arrived in Malaysia yesterday and upon first impressions, this country--at least this island--is pretty interesting.
This is the most overstimulated I've been since I arrived in Bangkok on my first day. After traveling a region where, aside from the major highways, there is little modern infrastructure and what development is happening is moving faster than the country's government can keep up, Malaysia is a different world.

It's amazing to see how much development is taking place here. It seems the Malays are well on their way to being the wealthiest in Southeast Asia, but right now the money is coming in so fast, they don't seem to know what to do with it. So, similar to Western nations, it's been thrown into a bunch of services that weren't necessary before, but now seem irreplaceable--think supermarkets, air conditioned public buses with WiFi, specialty stores, Bally Total Fitness and drive-thru fast food joints. At least now I don't have to worry about culture shock coming back to the US. I'm going through it right now.

I'm on the island of Penang, in the capitol city of Georgetown, which also was a major British outpost until the Malaysian revolution. It was a major stop along the trade route between India and China, so the population here is extremely diverse--several different Chinese Clans, Indian Muslims and Hindus, Burmese and Malays, all living together without any tension. In fact, the people here embrace their multicultural city and it's not uncommon for a Chinese Buddhist to marry an Indian Muslim.

Upon arrival in Georgetown, the city made me nostalgic for everywhere else. The call to prayer from the city's mosques reminded me of Istanbul. The multiculturalism reminded me of Jerusalem (sans the prejudice). The crunchy chickpeas remind me of Greece. This place really is a melting pot, but unlike many multicultural cities where communities exist separately and primarily interact with their own kind, here there's a much more open vibe. One man I met was a Burmese-born citizen, but moved to Penang as a child and now speaks Mandarin as his primary language. Just a result of growing up around many Chinese on Georgetown's fishing clan villages.

The people here are also extremely friendly. You can't sit down to a coffee without the person next to you striking up a conversation. Although it's evident that women here aren't as independent as we're used to. People constantly ask "Where's your boyfriend?" and act completely shocked when I tell them I'm traveling alone.

In Georgetown, I met up with Luke, a travel companion from back in Vietnam who has been in Malaysia for the past few weeks. The two of us and Lawrence, a British guy who was staying in my hostel, set out to visit the national park on the opposite side of the island from Georgetown. Although it's not considered a rainforest, the jungle here looks a lot more like jurassic park than the jungles in Laos and, and there's no bamboo to be found. We walked a hilly couple of miles back into the park to a hidden sweetwater lake that connects with the ocean through a small tributary. The only other people on the beach were two retirees who left soon after we arrived, so we all took a few hours to enjoy having the beach to ourselves before heading back and agreeing to meet back up later for some of Georgetown's famed street stall food. Because of the city's multiculturalism, the food here is amazing and cheap. Good thing, because the beers are expensive as hell, owing to the fact that the Muslim culture frowns upon drinking and as a result, alcohol is heavily taxed.

The next day, Luke and I visited the snake temple, which was kind of a joke. It's basically just a Chinese style temple with a few small snakes in an attached garden. If you want to see any of the larger ones, you have to pay to visit the "sanctuary," which is a room filled with caged pythons, vipers, etc. and actually is kind of depressing. You can also pay a few ringgit to get your photo taken holding a python, making the whole thing feel more like a petting zoo than a temple. But I guess it was a good way to pass some time and the bus ride out to the temple let us get a glimpse of parts of the island we otherwise wouldn't have gotten to see.

That night, we all met up to go to Slippery Seniorita's, a local dance club frequented by the Malaysian city slickers. There was a live band, but most of the Malays were standing near the stage and listening without dancing or clapping. We decided to liven up the scene and started our own dance party in an open space, and before long the whole club was rocking out. Capped the night with some roti canai at 24/7 Indian place, then caught a few hours of sleep before Luke headed for Bangkok to celebrate the Thai new year (not sure how much celebrating is going to take place in light of the violence going on there), Lawrence headed to one of the southern islands, and I took the morning ferry to Langkawi Island, just below the Thai border on the northwestern tip of Malaysia.

I've been here for three days, and I can see how some people get sucked into the Thai islands and end up having to change their travel plans because their four day stay turned into four weeks. It's unbearably hot all day, every day, so most of us spend the day migrating back and forth between the shaded common area of our hostel and the cool waters of the beach. Not exactly as interesting as traveling in cool cultural areas, but I can't say I hate relaxing by the sea all day.

There's a water sports festival going on, so the beach where I'm staying is packed with Malay vacationers and it's a pretty lively scene. Grab a coconut juice and a towel, find a bare spot on the beach, kick back and watch tournaments of tug-o-war, soccer, survivor-style water contests and beach volleyball. There's also a stage set up where music is usually playing.

Today a few of us are renting scooters to go see some of the jungles and waterfalls on the other side of the island. I feel accomplished having made plans for something other than sunbathing!

Good morning, world.

Chenang Beach on Langkawi Island, Malaysia.

Gettin' down at Slippery Seniorita's, before the bystanders joined in.

This is the real Hell's Kitchen. Guy was moving so fast. Wonder if he burns himself often on the steam.

Chinese Tao temple in Georgetown.

The umbrella didn't do much help in the downpour, but this guy refused to pull over and seek cover.

Tributary leading from a sweetwater lake out to the sea on the western side of Penang. We had to hike long and steep to get there, but the seclusion and views were well worth it.