On my hols in Malaysia (or How I Proved That Malaysia Is Indeed Truly Asia...Whatever That Means)

Spent Christmas and New Years in Malaysia with the famille, and absolutely enjoyed all of the nine days I was there. Trip highlights and commentary:

- How unbelievably cheap everything was. A decent and filling meal could be had for as low as 13 pesos, and if you are willing to spend a couple more ringgits you can have yourself a veritable feast (more on this later). I bought myself six pairs of Vincci shoes (VNC to us) for less than three grand. I upgraded my laptop (got a 320gb HDD and 2gb RAM) for less than the price of the 160gb external hard disk I bought here in Manila. Petrol is only 15 pesos a litre and only around 7 bucks for CNG. DSLR's which cost 32 grand in Manila only sell for 23,ooo. A tub of ice cream is only a little over a hundred pesos. Toll and parking fees are 26 pesos on the average. We stayed in 3 to 4-star hotels all the way and paid close to nothing. Our tour guide only spends around 200 pesos for his monthly water bill and 2,000 pesos for electricity (and his family uses airconditioners every night!). You can easily rent a 3-4 bedroom house for 7-8,000 pesos. If only for the very low cost of living, I would so move to Malaysia in a heartbeat.

- The food is indescribably GOOD (and I mean it for realz since I actually had to pause for a moment and wrack my brain for appropriate adjectives that capture the delishness of their culinary delights. Words would likely fail you when you attempt to describe the food in Malaysia - believe me, it's THAT good). I stuffed my face silly nearly everyday with roti canai (13 pesos only!), Maggi goreng (45 pesos!), nasi goreng ayam (less than 65 pesos for a massive plate!), duck rice (50 bucks! Duck has never been so cheap and divine!), char kway teow (45 pesos!), chicken satay (8 pesos a stick!), ais kacang (shaved ice with fruit and other wonderful things - 40 pesos!), Hainanese chicken rice (so cheap I don't remember how much it costs!). In every street corner there was always a wide variety of wonderfully cheap and authentic Indian, Chinese and Malay hawker fare laid before my hungry eyes, it was heaps mad. I tell you, I literally experienced food coma every single day I was there. Then with all the glorious food I would happily guzzle down 13-peso teh tariks (milk tea with lemon) and 40-peso freshly-squeezed apple or lemon juice. Take it from me, a generous helping of love (and germs...hawkers are never hygienic, that's what makes the food so damn yummeh) is always served with every plate of food you buy in Malaysia. Oh and here's a Guiness record - the world's cheapest Noche Buena ever: 200 pesos for a sumptuous dinner for four.

- Batu Caves. A massive complex (kompleks in Malay) of Hindu temples in the outskirts of KL. After getting all breathless and sweaty from climbing up the 272 steps, I entered a limestone cave and witnessed a Hindu baptism. There's naughty monkeys frolicking everywhere at the caves too.

- Putrajaya. Malaysia's version of Washington DC and Canberra. An aesthetically-pleasing place with shiny and new government buildings all neatly arranged. However, I wouldn't live in Putrajaya even if my life depended on it. It's as dull and dreary as Canberra, and is too organised for my taste. Sorry but I require a huge dose of life and a friendly vibe in my neighbourhood. We went to Putra Mosque, a massive pink structure and one of the bigger mosques in Malaysia. Since I was non-Muslim I was made to wear a pink robe with a hood that covered my head. Non-Muslims are not allowed inside the mosque but the doors were wide open so we all had a good look at the interiors just the same. There was a Muslim lady who gave a highly informative talk on Islam and I was just about the only interested tourist who actually listened and asked questions. We had a good chat about the key similarities and differences of our religions, but when I started to feel like she was slowly trying to maneuver the conversation into an attempt to convert me I politely said I had to go.

- Melaka. A UNESCO World Heritage City. The place is exploding with history as well, having been previously under Portuguese, Dutch, British and Japanese rule. Melaka (Malacca) figures prominently in history as it was the much-sought after Spice Islands which all of the greedy and opportunist colonisers wanted to get their grubby hands on (I understand now why everyone wanted a piece of Melaka back in the day. Indeed, whoever controls the international spice trade rules the world, for spices are the best form of leverage one can wield. Tell people that they will be doomed to eating flavourless food for life if they don't submit and you will immediately have them wrapped around your finger). I particularly enjoyed walking up and down Jonker Street as it reminded me so much of St. Kilda - it's also full of antique and curio shops and artsy bohemian cafes. My brother and I spent around an hour at the Orangutan House where we bought quite a few of Melaka-born artist Charles Cham's eclectic hand-painted shirts. We easily spent the whole afternoon touring the city centre on foot (whilst trishaws are charming, scheming drivers tend to overcharge).

- Penang. Probably the major highlight of my trip. Penang has a famed reputation for being a foodie's paradise (and how!) what with its numerous hawkers selling the finest hawker food in Southeast Asia. George Town is a lovely city (also recently declared a UNESCO World Heritage City along with Melaka) and you could easily get around by walking. Make sure to go on a walking tour whilst in George Town so you could get a closer look at the fantastic architecture of the old Chinese and Indian structures around the city. We devoted a whole day to see Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, Penang Museum, the Goddess of Mercy Temple, Little India, Fort Cornwallis and the Victorian Clock Tower. Pity that I only got to see the facade of Cheong Fatt Tze that day as we came too early for the 3 pm tour. People have been raving about the mansion (it received a UNESCO award for being excellently preserved) and the movie Indochine was also shot there. On the way back we decided to take a different route so we could see another side of town. The following day we headed to Kek Lok Si Temple and Penang Hill. Kek Lok Si, perched on a hill, is one of the biggest Buddhist temples in Southeast Asia. The whole complex is breathtaking, and I must've taken dozens of photos of the Buddhas with the swastikas on their chest. We took the funicular to go up to Penang Hill where the weather is nice and chilly and you get a lovely view of the rest of Penang, fog and all. As I said, this was probably my favourite leg of our trip - only slightly marred by an untoward incident at the hotel involving a rude server, but otherwise thoroughly enjoyable. I think Penang is really one of SEA's best-kept secrets, and selfish as it may sound I hope it stays that way. Btw, I just can't help but mention that there is a large senior citizen population in Penang. I have never seen so many old people concentrated per square foot in my life. And guess what, they are still employed! Maybe it's the 20-40 age group that's sitting on their idle asses at home...? Also, why is there a high incidence of leg injuries (bumps, open wounds, etc.) among the locals? Pardon me for being overly observant.

- Kinokuniya at Suria KLCC. I must've spent nearly two hours at the place marvelling at the wide array of books on politics and international relations. They've got a good collection of travel, philosophy and lit stuff as well. Definitely would've wanted to stay longer but my brothers were starving and bored. Picked up a copy of William Boyd's Brazzaville Beach.

- I really liked how the Malays, Indians and Chinese all manage to coexist relatively peacefully. So nice to see a Nasi Kandar shop next to a Chinese resto. Multicultural societies are always very interesting phenomena for me.

- My brothers and I would giggle nonstop at the signages (Push - Tolak. Bus stop - Bas hentian. Male restroom - Lelaki. Toll fee - Bayaran). It's very interesting how similar our language is to Malay. My Indonesian and Malay friends easily understand me when I speak Tagalog.

- Both Christmas and NYE were somewhat non-occasions in Malaysia, but it's seriously no biggie as I still happily spent it with family. I have to admit that I still would've given anything to have been in Sydney for the huge NYE celebration (1.5 million people! 5,000 kilos of fireworks! A 15-minute display with a "Creation" theme!) but spending the hols in Malaysia Truly Asia was not so bad really. It was a very awesome nine days actually, and would totally love to go back sometime soon. Next SEA goal: Vietnam and Laos!

**Photos to follow!