Georgetown's beautiful houses...

Georgetown! How much did I like that place! Once again, I keep on praising Malaysia, to the point of boredom. But how could I not? The old architecture, the small streets, the big mosque, stuck between Little India and Chinatown… The smiles…

Now that I’m back  in Hong Kong I already miss this tranquility, this cheerful spirit. In contrast, I find Hong Kong dehumanizing, dehumanized, and both at the same time. And it’s even more striking since there are also Chinese in Malaysia, they also speak mandarin – putonghua -, and yet they are so different!

Maybe it has something to do with the developments of the last century in mainland China, or the Mao phenomenon and the craziness that followed: years of mass mobilization campaigns, of maddened collectivism, of insane government programs that cost millions of lives and the sanity of many…

Or is it just the fact that there’s room in Malaysia? Indeed only 20 million people live in this country which isn’t small. That like a drop in China’s population of almost a billion and a half. Maybe, since people can actually breathe (politically and physically) they have, let’s say… ‘cool down’?

Who knows?

Market in Kota Bharu

After my previous post people might think that I spend my life having fun on paradise islands… but it’s not true! As many of my friends could confirm easily, I am a hard worker. So after 5 days on Pulau Perhentian of hard labor Sabrina and me went to Kota Bharu to discover a bit these Malays people. We ate at the night food market, listened to the prayers, observed men women interactions in this part of the Muslim World, went to the vegetable market (picture above), got a haircut (for Sabrina)… Busy we were.

Being Buddhist

(Jungle Temple…)

And then it was time to change a bit of scenery, so we went Buddhist temple hopping on Friday. Kelvin, the son the our guests at Ideal Traveller’s House drove us around the northern province of Tumpat, along the Thai border.

Our legendary luck stroke once again as we ended up in the middle of a festival of some kind, so we got free food and a free bamboo leafs packet making course, taught by old Thai women (picture above: me not understanding anything about what she’s saying… with the monks in the background wondering what’s going on).

That was really fun, as there was no other -westerner- tourists whatsoever. After the third temple we got tired of it and went back to Kota Bharu, as it is known here. That night we tried to have Tum Yum soup, but a tropical rain forced us to go to Pizza Hut, and it was my first time; and I have to say: these American pizza are really awful. I would go further: it is a real sadness that whole countries around the world get to discover la pizza in the American way, and probably will never get to bite on a real pizza.

This is a tragedy.

Coral Bay at Pulau Perhentian

Malaysia!!! I finally managed to escape the frenzy of Hong Kong for a delightful ten days. After almost a month and a half of school, parties, suffocating heat and stuffiness, and a constant bath among billions of people I needed a break. So Sabrina and me flew to Perhentian Islands, for the second time in my long and eventful life. We first wanted to go to El Nido on Palawan, Philippines, but then a typhoon flooded the country. We then though of going to Pulau Weh, an other island in Aceh, Indonesia, but once again Mother Nature (la pachamama, caramba!) played against us and sent earthquakes on Sumatra. Really not nice. So in the end we went to Pulau Perhentian, ignoring the people suffering all around; but what is there to say, eh?

BBQ corner...

Anyways, Marco, Morten and Marcel, three friend of mine, joined us on this little piece of paradise. This (on the above picture) is where we had dinner every night: fish bbq! Amazingly really nice. There is little better in life than beach, sun, and bbq; except beach, sun and bbq on Perhentian. That is said.

But I should also praise the incredible people of Malaysia. It is really a wonder, for such nice people is definitely what makes the most of Malaysia. You may come for the Petronas Tower, or the Orang Outan, or Borneo, or even Perhentian Islands, but it’s the people who are the best asset. Every one is just so nice! And on top of it I really like the interesting symbiosis between Malays Chinese, Hindu and… me, I guess.

Malaysia is my favorite country in Asia, so far, and only Central America could equal it in terms of the “I just feel good here” scale.