Malaysia/Singapore

Malaysia/Singapore March 2003

Indian Restaurant in Cameron Highlands
Tea Plantation
Jungle Hike

We traveled in a crammed minibus from Krabi, Thailand to Penang, Malaysia. Penang was the only stop north of Kuala Lumpur so that is where we had to go. We were not especially impressed by this dirty, hot city of Georgetown and after a few days caught a bus to the Cameron Highlands. This area's reputation as a vacation spot revolves around the cooler temperatures which allow for activities like tennis and golf. Though we enjoyed this escape from the tropical heat, we found the towns to be more tattered and musty then charming. The population is primarily Indian and we did enjoy some great curries and naan. We also visited a tea plantation from the days of British colonialism and learned how they differentiate those thousands of varieties of tea. The hills are covered in bright green tea bushes making for beautiful vistas. We also took a hike through the Malaysian rain forest, but spent most days catching up on school work. We then caught a bus on to Kuala Lumpur; a big, hectic Asian city, but neater and more modern than Bangkok. We only had a couple days and it thunderstormed for most of the time. We sought out some of the Islamic architecture since this is our only Muslim country; a characteristic all the more relevant since the war had only just started a couple days before.

Singapore Science Center
Singapore Harbour
Singapore Sling at the Raffles Hotel

A final bus ride and we finally reached the bottom of the peninsula. After almost two months in South East Asia, we were thrilled to come upon this oasis of western consumerism. Singapore is so clean and neat and the people are incredibly helpful. We visited their fantastic Science Center and beautiful Zoo and could have spent much more time enjoying the cities entertainment. We squeezed in four movies and a number of western style restaurants as well as a bit of shopping. Using the fact that our next stop (Beijing) was having a cool spring we purchased some of our first new clothes in months. We walked all over the city, and took a boat tour of the harbor. For the most part all of the old has been replaced with new modern high-rises, but we went out of our way to visit the famous Raffles Hotel where all five of us shared a $12(USD) Singapore Sling. On April 1st we flew on to Beijing; our last stop in Asia.

Indian Restaurant in Cameron Highlands	Tea Plantation	Jungle Hike
We traveled in a crammed minibus from Krabi, Thailand to Penang, Malaysia. Penang was the only stop north of Kuala Lumpur so that is where we had to go. We were not especially impressed by this dirty, hot city of Georgetown and after a few days caught a bus to the Cameron Highlands. This area's reputation as a vacation spot revolves around the cooler temperatures which allow for activities like tennis and golf. Though we enjoyed this escape from the tropical heat, we found the towns to be more tattered and musty then charming. The population is primarily Indian and we did enjoy some great curries and naan. We also visited a tea plantation from the days of British colonialism and learned how they differentiate those thousands of varieties of tea. The hills are covered in bright green tea bushes making for beautiful vistas. We also took a hike through the Malaysian rain forest, but spent most days catching up on school work. We then caught a bus on to Kuala Lumpur; a big, hectic Asian city, but neater and more modern than Bangkok. We only had a couple days and it thunderstormed for most of the time. We sought out some of the Islamic architecture since this is our only Muslim country; a characteristic all the more relevant since the war had only just started a couple days before.
Singapore Science Center	Singapore Harbour	Singapore Sling at the Raffles Hotel
A final bus ride and we finally reached the bottom of the peninsula. After almost two months in South East Asia, we were thrilled to come upon this oasis of western consumerism. Singapore is so clean and neat and the people are incredibly helpful. We visited their fantastic Science Center and beautiful Zoo and could have spent much more time enjoying the cities entertainment. We squeezed in four movies and a number of western style restaurants as well as a bit of shopping. Using the fact that our next stop (Beijing) was having a cool spring we purchased some of our first new clothes in months. We walked all over the city, and took a boat tour of the harbor. For the most part all of the old has been replaced with new modern high-rises, but we went out of our way to visit the famous Raffles Hotel where all five of us shared a $12(USD) Singapore Sling. On April 1st we flew on to Beijing; our last stop in Asia.