Adjust the local music to your liking!

Hello from the South China Sea!  We are now a few days out of Malaysia and, after a brief stopover in Singapore to refuel, we're well on our way to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.  I fully intend to do loads of independent travel after Semester at Sea is over (I'm already planning a possible one month journey to India for this coming December/January) and I wanted to test the waters of traveling alone while in Malaysia.  Although travelling with Jimmy is like traveling alone, because he's not prepared for anything and I do nearly all of the organizational stuff, it's not the same as travelling by myself.  After four action packed days in Malaysia, I'm happy to report that my experiment was a complete success!  Semester at Sea has given me a great deal of confidence about my own abilities in a way that would not have been possible in the US.
After the ship docked, I made my way to KOMTAR, a 64 story shopping mall/government office building to buy a bus ticket to the Cameron Highlands.  Along the way, I passed through the bustling streets and friendly faces of Chinatown.  Penang consists of three groups of people; Malaysians, Chinese, and Indians which all live together harmoniously.  In the beginning, I tried walking along the "sidewalk" but soon discovered it was a fruitless cause.  The sides of most of the streets in Penang are not even.  Instead, they weave in and out of personal stores and are very hard to navigate through.  I soon realized that the best way to walk was along the side of the road with the scooters, cars, and buses whizzing by.  No worries, the traffic wasn't nearly as bad as India.  I made it to KOMTAR, bought my ticket, and walked around the mall seeing many American icons like KFC, McDonalds, and Pizza Hut.  I wonder if that's what Malaysians think American food is really like, greasy crap.  The mall was not that impressive by American standards but compared to many of the countries I had previously visited, it was pretty decent.  I left the mall and took an elevator up to the 55th floor of the KOMTAR building to get a bird's eye view of the city and surrounding area.  It was beautiful!  It was easy to see the bridge which connected Penang to the mainland (the longest bridge in SE Asia spanning over 11 kilometers) and Penang Hill rising off in the distance.  Also from this vantage point the omnipresent construction was readily apparent.  Malaysia is known as one of the "Little Asian Tigers" which means it's a country that has been experiencing tremendous economic growth in the past few years.  Many old buildings have been torn down and new high-rises are taking their place.  I then left the KOMTAR complex and walked through an open air fruit and vegetable market.  I conversed with the locals for awhile and then started to head back to the ship pausing at numerous mosques and temples along the way.  At dusk I took a city bus to the railway station to take the funicular railway up to the top of Penang Hill for a panoramic view of the city.  The railway was very slow but the view at the top was well worth the wait.  It was amazing to see the sun's light disappear and the city lights come out.  I then took the train down, ate dinner at a local food market and took a bus back to the ship for a night of sleep.
I arose early the next day and walked back to the KOMTAR center to catch the bus out to the Cameron Highlands.  This bus was much more modern than the ones I rode on in India, however surprisingly the Indian buses were much more comfortable!  This is mostly due to the fact that the air conditioner was broken and we were unable to roll down the windows.  It was like riding in a toaster oven on wheels!  It took us much longer to get to the highlands than it should of because we stopped at so many places to try to fix the AC but to no avail.  It's ironic that in some circumstances, the old ways are better than the new technologies.  After four long hours of travelling, we made it to the road which winded up to the highlands.  The assent from there took another two hours.  The scenery along the way was absolutely beautiful but I couldn't help seeing all of the construction that was occurring all around me.  The highlands are an ideal environment for agriculture because of the fertile soil, abundant rainfalls, and consistent temperatures.  They have also become one of the premier recreation areas for Malaysians because the temperatures are much cooler than along the coast due to the high altitude and the scenery is beautiful.  After weaving around countless hairpin turns with no guardrails I made it to the highlands and took a quick tour of MARDI (Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute).  I then threw my few meager possessions into a hostel and hit the trail for a trek through the jungle.  The Cameron Highlands contain very lush jungle and the trails quickly become overgrown.  I made sure to stay on the well traveled trails and saw many waterfalls, tropical plants, and butterflies along the way.  It was really interesting to see plants which I had only seen before growing in greenhouses, actually growing in the natural environment.  After trekking for a few hours I traveled back to the town to grab some dinner and headed back to the hostel to socialize with the other travelers a little bit.  It was really nice not to be in the company of Semester at Sea students for once.  Many of the people I met were from Europe, New Zealand, or Australia and had been travelling for many months.  They had very interesting travel stories to tell.  After a few hours of talking I hit the hay in the sleeping loft, after scaring away the cockroaches, to prepare for the tour I was taking in the morning.
The next morning I arose early and grabbed some breakfast at a local foodcart.  They had delicious pineapple pancakes and banana porridge, it was so cheap too (only $0.75)!  I then met the rest of my tour group and we headed to the Boh Tea Plantation.  Along the way to Boh we passed through another town which had tons of construction going on.  Many new hotels were being built and I was even surprised to see golf courses.  The highlands are very mountainous and I'm amazed people would actually take the time and effort to level off the ground to make a golf course.  The tea plantation was stunning and the tea making process was intriguing.  I was surprised to learn that the Malaysians use people from Bangladesh for cheap labor in the same way people from the US use Malaysians for cheap labor.  I wonder who people from Bangladesh use for cheap labor?  After the tea plantation I toured a honey bee farm, rose farm with over 400 varieties of roses and numerous other flowers, a butterfly farm, a fruit and vegetable farm and finally a temple.  Everything was so beautiful and I hope the pictures I took will be able to do everything justice.  After the tour, I did a little souvenir shopping and took the afternoon bus back to Penang.  By the time I got back to Penang it was late so I went to bed to rest up for yet another day of adventures.
I had my heart set on riding a bike around the island of Penang for my last day there, unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate because it poured all day long.  One thing that you must remember while travelling is to be flexible.  That's one lesson which I've learned well.  Instead, I took the opportunity to see some more temples and then an Indian movie.  I wanted to see a movie while in India however I didn't get a chance.  While walking down the street I noticed a huge billboard of a man dressed in purple with one hand in his pocket and the other hand seluting.  I recognized him immediately as Rajinkath, an Indian movie superstar who had his picture plastered all over Madras. I told myself I had to see it and bought a ticket.  Before show time, I walked around a bit more and found some interesting bread which had a neon pink coating.  Exactly what the coating was and whether or not you're supposed to eat it, I'm not sure.  Needless to say, I ate it and my stomach felt very funny afterwards but I'm still alive to talk about it so it can't be all that bad.  I hope.  The movie was excellent and I can't wait to rent more from Blockbuster once I get home.  They're very entertaining, where else are you going to get singing, dancing, romance, action, suspense, and adventure all in one movie!  I was also glad to see that I picked up on many things that I would not have picked up on had I not gone to India.  It made me very excited!  After the movie, I walked around for a bit more and headed back to the ship because it was time to set sail.
Things aboard the ship are getting more hectic because we have a lot less time (only three or two days) between the ports of call from here to Japan.  I spend much of my time in the computer lab typing up papers concerning my experiences and going to class.  I try to throw in an occasional game of Yahtzee (spelling?) or Hearts whenever I get a chance.  Nothing too terribly exciting to report in the ship life department although I still haven't got seasick!  Well, that's all I have the news I have for now, until we meet again. . .

      Your friend,

              -Pat

Last Updated September 28th, 2001

© 2001, Pat Lilja
Semester at Sea is a registered mark of the Institute for Shipboard Education