Malaysia with my dad
I love bragging about my dad and I do it on a pretty regular basis. It's pretty much my go-to answer when people ask me why I decided to move somewhere soon.
My dad was a bit of a nomad during his 20s in the 70s. He hopped around from place to place using his dad's airline miles. My dad doesn't like to talk about this part of his life with me very much, but I've filled in the blanks with my own romantic ideas.
I like to tell people that I followed in his footsteps. He lived briefly in Thailand studying Buddhism, slept on the beaches in Malaysia, took up photography in Hong Kong and finally worked on a rabbit farm in Mexico.
When I talk to him about how he inspired my dreams of traveling the world, he tells me that he's proud of me. He always tells me that I've made smart choices. When we talk, he tells me that I've far out-traveled him now.
I love my dad a lot, but we're incredibly similar. When I was growing up, we fought a lot. It wasn't until I got older that I really started to appreciate him.
When I first told my dad that I'd have a month off as holiday and was considering visiting Malaysia, he immediately jumped on board.
We worked out a plan that I'd visit Vietnam first before meeting him in Kuala Lumpur.
I had a great trip in Vietnam, but I was also freezing my butt off the entire time. There are no words to express the happiness I felt when I saw my dad at the airport. I ran up and gave him a huge hug.
He had arrived a day or two ahead of me so he had scoped out some of the best spots. We went out to a lunch on the street of curry and bread.
After eating, I went back to the hotel to take a shower. I was still dressed for the cold weather of Vietnam so the hot tropical climate was a refreshing but stinky change.
After resting for a bit, we headed out to visit some of the highlights of KL. Our first stop was the botanical gardens located about a five minute walk away. The gardens were beautiful and the view looking over the city was inspirational.
Next, we decided to pay a visit to the National History Museum. We ended up having a 2 hour long tour with a great guide. We learned a lot about Malaysian history and took advantage of the air conditioning.
After we finished at the museum, we went to the Pavilion. A lot of people come to KL for the shopping alone. There's lots of brand names here offered for low prices. I'm not a big shopper in all honesty, but the mall was decorated in honor of Chinese New Year. We walked around the mall, ate in the food court and we're lucky enough to catch a Lion Dance performance.
We started our second day off with more shopping. But this time, we took it to the Central Market. I love shopping in markets.
I take a lot of pride in my ability to haggle and talk down vendors. I've definitely paid too much from time to time, but usually I get some pretty great deals.
After our morning of shopping, we left for more shopping, but this time in Chinatown. At the time, I was living in China so seeing Chinatown didn't have the normal charm. Since it was New Years though, there were lots of cool street performers.
I used the time to share some of the things that I'd come to love about China with my name. Mostly the food!
Malaysia is a truly metropolitan country. It draws influence from Malay culture on top of Indian culture and Chinese. As a result, there's lots of delicious food to choose from and lots of interesting things to shop for.
My dad and I walked around aimlessly and I shared my stories from China.
The next day, we went exploring around KL. The architecture of the city is really beautiful.
We walked by the cool looking Railway Station and Administration Building.
We checked out the Sultan Abdul Samad Building.
I explored the Batik Museum before we finally settled in at the Merdeka Square.
We went to the library and just enjoyed ourselves.
The next day, we woke up super early to travel to the Cameron Highlands. My dad had suggested the city because one of his old hippie friends had always tried to convince him to go. I loved the Cameron Highlands.
It's a very popular tourist destination for people in Malaysia trying to escape the heat. It has the personality of a quirky resort town, but I found it very quaint.
After settling into our hotel and getting food, we went on a pleasant hike.
The next day, we went on a private tour with one of the local groups. The tour only cost 25$ but it lasted well into the night.
Our first stop of the day was a beautiful rose garden. I've always loved gardens so I enjoyed walking around and taking pictures to my heart's content.
I walked up the steep steps and was rewarded with a beautiful panoramic view of the highlands.
Our next stop was a local beehive. I literally ran through it so that we didn't run out of time, but I was grateful we stopped.
Next was the petting zoo. It was so much fun! Our guide helped me learn about all the cool reptiles, spiders and other creepy crawlers. My dad hated it, but it was one of my favorite parts.
Next we visited a strawberry farm. The weather was quite cool so there wasn't much to see. All the same, my dad and I stopped for a yummy chocolate strawberry snack.
The main stop of the tour was to see the beautiful tea plantations. Our guide explained to us that he had grown up working on this plantation. He told us sweet stories about growing up chasing chameleons and playing outside. I asked him what his favorite tea was and he said that the best tea in the world was the ice lemon tea that his mother made.
Our final stop of the day was a Buddhist temple. To be honest, I don't remember the name. After a while, the temples start to blend together. We listened to the prayers of the monks and watched the sunset.
We woke up ungodly early the next day to catch a bus to Penang, the final stop on our trip through Malaysia.
When we arrived in Penang, my dad introduced me to some of the best food that I've ever had in my life. My all time favorite dish has become roti canai. Roti literally means fried bread, but it's really closest to a crepe. They cook it on a hot plate on the street and serve it with curry. Like India, it's customary to eat it with only your right hand.
To drink, I had sweet milk tea that they pour out of thin air like a magic trick.
We were tired from traveling but set out exploring. I was enchanted by all of the street art and cool things to look at.
Penang is small so it's easy to walk from place to place.
We went shopping in Little India and I got my hands painted with Henna. It ended up melting away pretty quickly.
We finished our day by visiting the fancy and air conditioned Gurney Plaza. There, we caught the tail end of a Chinese lion dance.
After a leisurely breakfast at our hotel, we set out to visit some of the beaches that my father had slept on as a hippie at Penang National Park.
On the bus ride there, my dad pointed out some of the places he had known while living in Penang.
He explained to me how he barely recognized it now. There was so much new construction and there were so many people. Everyone that we spoke with agreed that it was almost an entirely new place now.
My dad and I hiked out to Monkey Beach together. After our hike, we lounged on the beach and drank coconut milk. Rather than hike back, we hired a boat to make our lives a little easier.
For dinner, we went to Chinese style food court and split some dumplings among other things.
The next day, my dad and I took the bus out to Penang Hill. We had a surprisingly tasty lunch at the top. We walked around and enjoyed the great sites.
Penang Hill is the best vantage point in Penang. You can ride the unique railway system to the top and look out on beautiful Penang.
After we finished there, we visited Kek Lok Si and watched the sunset there. Kek Lok Si is the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia. The styles of Mahayana Buddhism, Theravada Buddhism and traditional Chinese rituals blend together to create a truly special place.
The next day, my dad and I visited the Penang Botanical Gardens. We had one of our hottest days yet.
By the end of the day, we were crazy exhausted so we overpaid for a taxi before retreating to the wonderful air conditioning of Gurney Plaza.
Our last day together was a little bittersweet. I was sad to say goodbye to my father but we both knew that I had more adventures to come. We spent the day shopping at Komtar. We finished the day simply by going to the movies. It was the perfect end to our trip together.
