MALAYSIA

Malaysia is very special among unique countries in the world and very rich in culture. It is composed of two noncontiguous regions,  West Malaysia and East Malaysia making one country in Southeast Asia just north of the Equator. I was lucky enough to travel West Malaysia which is where the capital, Kuala Lumpur is.

The city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur is vibrant and modern with a fancy mall just under the famous Petronas Twin Towers with a fountain display as the sun goes down, just across the way. What  a spectacular sight it is to take all this in. I sipped a cocktail in a penthouse staring right across at the marvellous towers – what a thing to do!
I found Malaysia to be a very diverse country as just a 20 min drive away from the hustle and bustle of the city, you can visit ancient temples such as the iconic Batu Caves, with the hundreds of beautiful coloured stairs roaming with monkeys blocking the pathway to the caves.

I genuinely loved Malaysia, it was very indie and casual with a great selection of food, local and non-local, and many cool and unexpectedly awesome places to see. I spent a lot of time in Penang which is North of Malaysia. My ship docked in Georgetown about 50 or so times, so I really got a feel for the place. From local Street Markets to Big Malls to Malaysian Spas, which are so reasonably priced that I spent too much time getting massages there, I even took my mom when she visited. My best friend and I even spent a day in an upside-down Museum, we laughed the whole day. The Wall Art in Penang is beautiful and iconic. I even went to movies in Penang. There is a gorgeous glass bottom view of the entire city that you stand at a place called, ‘The Top’, many many floors up in an elevator is a must see! There are ancient, temples dotted all over. I love visiting temples and it became such a regular thing of course. It’s so easy to get around with taxi’s everywhere and locals offering tours. There are also loads of trendy cafes on every corner.

I also spent a day in Langkawi, also known as the Jewel of Kedah, which made up of lots of little islands in the Andaman Sea some 30 km off the mainland coast of  Malaysia. My friends and I went Island hopping on a boat and visited the Geoforest Park which was  a hike in the bushes away, feeling like a fairytale, to reach the massive natural lake that is hidden away. You can snorkel almost anywhere and we docked the man-made boat on many little islands which felt like the middle of nowhere. The locals are so warm and friendly, and will take you anywhere you are willing to go, but what made it even more adventurous was that they hardly spoke English so we never knew where we were going next. This was one of my favourite days on my travels in Malaysia. I was engulfed in wild, untouched beauty.

Selamat Tinggal Malaysia! 

~love&light always

JO xox