A last look behind the veil.

Malaysia...

I've told you about the shopping... the food... the shopping. By now, you may be wondering where the rest of it is. Where is the insightful truths that we're used to seeing from the Cambodia posts?

You are correct. I have been saving those for last. I've shown you the glitz and glamor of a nation whose economy is doing fairly well, but I haven't mentioned anything about what lies beneath the mask. Allow me to expound.

Just as water reflects a person's face, so does too does the people reflect a Nation.

What I've shown you thus far has been more of the touristy side of Malay. This is the part "they" want you to see... bright lights, happy faces, welcoming smiles. There's nothing wrong with that in and of itself. Indeed, we enjoyed spending time in that world and will likely go back and do so again if we are able. I just didn't want to sign off without giving you at least a glimpse of what lies beneath the surface.

It's not always super-shiny :)

Working with Sak Saum has opened my eyes to a great many things, including and especially the suffering of others. You see, a good portion of the girls that are rescued by Sak Saum come from here. They were coerced in one form or another into traveling to Malaysia to find 'work' and then, of course, were exploited or abused in some way.

One thing I observed while there was that this Nation does not place a very high value on women. Men get respect, sure, but women are forced to take a back seat. Jess journeyed into one of the smaller areas of Kuala Lumpur - Little India - and found this out the hard way. Random strange men would often give dirty looks, or make insulting comments about her and Ginny.

Dress code for women - no skin, and cover your head!

I myself could see the attitude as well, even in the malls. Women were forced to cover their heads, both as a cultural rule and as a dress code to work. No, this doesn't seem all that horrible, but think about it. I was in the most anti-antiquated part of the entire country, and these things bled through. Imagine what it's like in the 'real' world.

Better yet, let me give you an example. One day, a young girl is told by her family that she has to go to Malaysia to make money to help pay off the family (read: parents') debt. She travels across the border with promises of good money and easy work. At this point, one of several things happens:

1. She's forced into hard labor working in construction hauling bricks in a wheelbarrow all day long.

2. She's tricked and sold into "slavery" and forced to take on 10-15 "clients" a night.

3. She's forced to work as a housekeeper (read: slave) at a pitiful wage and the owner of the home (read: slavemaster) is allowed to beat her. Hard. This typically results in scars or permanent injuries, making it hard to function in society even if the girl manages to get away (read: ouch!).

Little India. The architecture is always welcoming, even if the people aren't.

What do we do about it? Well, Sak Saum is dedicated to rescuing girls like these. The story examples I'm giving you are real, and are taken in part (sometimes in whole) from the guys and girls of Sak Saum.

The real question is, what can YOU do about it? Head over to http://www.saksaum.org/ and see for yourself. Be sure to check out the To(get)her and blog sections (wait for the banner to scroll to see the link to the blog).

It's worth noting that it was refreshing to see signs written in a language that you can actually sound out the words!

Thus ends our little trip to Malaysia. We'll eventually go back, and I am sure I will bring you all along with me.

If you go to Kuala Lumpur to relax and take in some shopping, enjoy the trip, and remember....

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. :)

Malaysia - land of... shopping?

Well, as I mentioned, our hotel was in a mall, which was in a mall, in a larger set of malls. Confused yet?

Stay away from the light!!

Shopping is undeniably fun - as is Air Conditioning, fried food, and not getting stared at 24-7 - but it was time for a break. We decided to travel outside the touristy hotel-mall and head over to see the Twin Towers.

The eye of Sauron... whoops... no, that's Aidan.

No, not the Two Towers from The Lord of the Rings, the Petronas Twin Towers! Interestingly, to get there, you travel mostly underground through a large tunnel system, complete with exits for Taxis to drop you off so you can climb back to the surface. I wonder if they were built by dwarves.... Hmm.

Bright shiny!

Moving on - the Towers themselves are a marvel of engineering, not to mention a tourist trap. 88 stories high, the towers offer the best view in the city. Also, being composed mostly of shiny metal, the towers themselves are ironically the best thing to look at in the city. No, don't climb to the top and crane your head over the ledge to look at them. You can't fly, and I'm not going to catch you.



Here you can come early and get a ticket to cross the Sky Bridge (the thingy in the middle there) or pay 40 Ringitt to go all the way up. You can only stay 10 minutes on the observation decks though - people have offices and businesses up there you know. How would you like a bunch of gawky tourists roaming through your cubicle every day? Right.






In the middle and slightly before the towers themselves sits - you guessed it - another mall! Now, you would think endless shopping malls would get tedious after awhile. Honestly, it doesn't. The shops inside are all unique in their own way, and still very distinctly Asian. In Malay, you have the added benefit of a heavy Indian influence. This means colorful clothing, and great snack foods in the food court! Have some Naan bread and rich coffee while you rest your feet from all the walking. Awesomeness.

No, no... no.

Of course, there are some things I could've done without... ;)

It's like futureworld at Disney in these malls. Really!

Outside the towers, you'll find a nice park with dancing fountains, and scenic photo-ops of all kinds.  Most notably, there's a blond-haired child who is willing to take pictures with you if you smile enough.

Celebrity dude.

We aren't sure why, but the Malaysians and tourists all seemed to think Aidan was a celebrity. The patterns were similar - a group would approach slowly, stop and take pictures of something else, then scoot closer to him. Eventually, they'd muster the courage to ask him to join them in photo taking. This happened multiple times on our journey, but Aidan didn't really seem to care. Maybe he was born for this sort of thing...?

Aidan is way cooler than a fountain. Just sayin'.

The dancing fountains are a nice attraction. Bring a friend, date, or spouse to one of the seating areas, grab a bite from a local cafe, and enjoy the show. There's even picnic-perfect grassy knolls and plenty of birds singing. You'd almost forget you were in the middle of a metropolis...





...well, if it wasn't for the massive skyscrapers and oddly-shaped buildings anyway. Hey, it's still quaint, and would make a great spot to relax!







As adventurous as I am, I found the process of walking through malls to be more cathartic than anything else Malaysia had to offer. It was so relaxing that Aidan and I decided to stay back at the hotel-mall while the others went to a place called Little India - a section of town supposedly known for quaint shops and good Indian food. I'll go into that on the next post. For now, enjoy the thought of visiting here and being able to after-Christmas-sale shop without having to find parking!

 

Merry (late) Christmas!

Kuala Lumpur - how to make a grand entrance.

Season's greetings and Happy New Year!

I know I'm a little late on both, but still...

Anyway, about Malaysia. As you might expect, traveling to exotic and foreign locations can be an adventure in and of itself. This time around, we hopped aboard Air Asia, a solid airline with a relatively low cost.

There's not much to note about the flight, really. It's less than 2 hours from here to there, and the planes are much like your standard US carriers with perhaps slightly less legroom. Of note, there's no complimentary anything served aboard one of these hopper flights. Don't get me wrong, there's snacks - it will just cost you. Also, don't stick your knee out into the aisle. Not a good way to start a trip (no, I didn't do that. Stop snickering!).

Everyone is always looking for one of these. Well, here ya go!

KLIA - Kuala Lumpur International Airport is fairly easy to navigate. You take a right at the stamp-your-passports, another right past the chocolate-loaded duty free store (expensive - don't bother), and look for a giant honking WAY OUT sign. - no yellow brick road or clicking your heels together this time around!

Twin towers way in the back. This is the view from the hotel lounge!

Worth noting is the massive differences you run into upon entering the country and on leaving the Airport. In a nutshell:

-Cash is everyone's friend. In Malaysia, they have a strong culture and a decent-looking economy. In other words, unlike Cambodia, they won't take those Washingtons and Franklins of yours. You'll need to hit the money changer on the way out. The Airport prices were a good bit different than the hotel/mall's, so change what you need and do the rest later.

-Transportation is great! ...but why is everyone on the wrong side of the road? Malaysia was colonized by the Brits. That means a strong core of people speaking English, funny spellings, and driving on the left. Being in Cambodia, my first impression was more like "Why is everyone only driving on one side?'

-Fare is fare. In Cambodia, haggle your ride ahead of time. It's all good. In Malaysia, skip it and go for a Metered cab. The Airport in particular will let you pay for the ride ahead of time. Just remember not to mix and match. It's illegal to haggle with metered drivers.

Look! Coins!

Currency in Malay (Malaysia in Khmai - easy isn't it?) is called the Ringitt. Yes, like ringing a bell Ringitt. It's about a 3-1 ratio (3 ringitt to a dollar) and they have coins (called Sen). Spending time in Cambodia, I had forgotten how cumbersome having a pocket full of metal could be. Still, it makes for great Aidan-treasure.

Why so much talk about money? Well, for starters, our hotel was in a mall. Specifically, Megacity Mall, which is connected to Gardens Mall, which may also be connected to other malls and possibly Oz.

...aaaand he heads right for the weapons.

So, needless to say, I spent Christmas living inside one of the world's largest shopping mall conglomerates. Yes, it was a blast, and no, I didn't get you anything. :)

There's a lot to say about this trip... sights we saw, people we met, the amount of Starbucks that was consumed, but it will wait till the next post. For now, these tips should help you along should you decide to follow in our footsteps and journey to Malay for a vacay or holiday.

Just remember to bring your good shoes. You'll do a whole lot of walking here.

The decorations were spectacular.

A wild ride in... Malaysia?!?

Well, we've arrived in Kuala Lumpur! So far, I've experienced such oddities as traffic laws, people who stand in line, and ravenous shoppers.

Sound familiar? :)

Malaysia, or at least KL, would be considered 1st world, hands down. This is a nice change from the hustle, bustle, and mooing we get in our little slice of 3rd world goodness. Don't get me wrong - I love living in Cambodia and already miss it a little. It is nice to have some new things to share though!

When I return, I'll give you the whole scoop... Or at least as much as I am able to learn in 4 days. Until then, Merry Christmas everyone!