Malaysia Road Trip 2006
So we finally landed in Malaysia. The train ride from the airport to the city central was cozy and quiet. Not much to see from the windows though, we were tired. Instead Corey and Mari got sucked into the info/news channel that was on in our car and Tara fell asleep with her hoodie on, looking like a druid/jedi. Let's talk about the public transportation for a moment, shall we? We've said it before, the subway, rail and bus systems here are kicking NYC's ass. Not only is there a train right in the airport that takes you straight to the city center (that practical bit of city planning is not happening in new york in our lifetime), there were transit workers that were there to HELP. they carried bags. they gave directions. they were not looking for money. they were not homeless. they were for reals. everywhere we have tried to go using public transportation has been easy, clean, safe and cheeeeeap. love it.
Rina (Stacey's bff from college) and Thomas (Rina's boyf) came to pick us up at the Starbucks outside of the KL Sentral Staion. More about Starbucks later.
Before showers and sleep we had THE MOST DELICIOUS chicken satay at a big hawker stall. tons of families and locals. WHAT? Mari eats chicken?? That's right. She ate it and loved it. NOTE : you can tear up your roti bread with your left hand...but that's it - eat the rest with your right. Mari kept feeling bad that she would almost eat with her left hand, so she sat on it instead. mmm.
Next morning, we had breakfast and coffee at the Starbucks in the mall beneath the twin towers. What? Starbucks? That's right. The KL locals be lovin Starbucks. Cause central KL is about high end shopping malls and the global consumer standard. As we've traveled on, we've learned about the many many kinds of Malaysian coffee available. Malaysia's majority populations are ethnic Malay, Chinese and Indian, with many other sub-populations from around Asia. We have sampled the coffee and food options from many cultures. Traditionally, Malaysian style "black" coffee roast (also known as Hainanese coffee) is produced by roasting the beans with sugar and margarine. "White" coffee is produced with only margarine. So far we like traditional sweetened "white coffee" the best. It's delicious. No more Starbucks from here on in.
After breakfast we all piled in the car with Rina and Thomas to start our road trip to Ipoh, Malaysia. That's right. Road Trip Malaysia 2006 consists of the following people: Baktiar (a.k.a. Daddy or Bat) and Jean-Pierre (a.k.a. Papa) are the fathers of Diane (pronounced Dee-an), the most adorable and precocious 5 year old Malay girl in the world. She speaks like 5 languages too. Aunty Rinalia (Rina) and her boyf Thomas, who moved from Germany, "Uncles" Steve and Chris are college buddies of Bat Rina and Stacey, Mari's sister. Finally, we have us. They called us "The Lesbians" until they learned that Corey is s straight girl. Now they don't know what to do. So it's "Corey and the Lesbians"
So we headed north to Ipoh, a town that made its fortune with tin mines throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. Lonely Planet said that Ipoh is a seedy town with a huge prostitution problem. (We didn't read that until the next morning). Daddy (everyone calls Bat Daddy) had booked the Hotel Majestic, an old railway station that had turned into a hotel. It's a beautiful structure built, majestically, by the colonial Brits on the high ground of the town. It features the longest verandah in Malaysia, where we ate our breakfast after a nearly sleepless night. Why a nearly sleepless night, you ask? In such a seemingly nice historic building? Let's just say that Tara and Mari had to move into Stacey and Corey's room after the unpleasant discovery that their room had been rented out at the "day rate" perhaps several times before they moved in. It was gross. It involved curly hairs and sticky stuff. So they moved in with us and we giggled all night and rose in the morning with mysterious bites all over us and tried not to touch anything after that.
Aside from the "Majestic", the town of Ipoh is interesting and some of the "old town" architecture varies from beautiful to downright strange. We took a walking tour with a Mr. Hong, a representative from the Ipoh Heritage Society. Let's talk about walking tours, shall we? We've never been big on them in the States. Except that scene in Pee-Wee's Big Adventure in The Alamo. Now the Malaysian Heritage Societies are gangsta. They preserve the rapidly disappearing architecture and culture of all Malaysian ethnic groups. In the face of globalization, the unchecked growth of Asian economy and MAD corporate development, they are a force to be reckoned with. Mr. Hong knew just about everything about every building, street, vendor, doorway and brick in Ipoh. We learned so much and he brought pomelos to our hotel for breakfast. Unfortunately he couldn't help us with our ghetto accommodations.
But that all changed when we got to Penang..........Oh! Cliffhanger!
Rina (Stacey's bff from college) and Thomas (Rina's boyf) came to pick us up at the Starbucks outside of the KL Sentral Staion. More about Starbucks later.
Before showers and sleep we had THE MOST DELICIOUS chicken satay at a big hawker stall. tons of families and locals. WHAT? Mari eats chicken?? That's right. She ate it and loved it. NOTE : you can tear up your roti bread with your left hand...but that's it - eat the rest with your right. Mari kept feeling bad that she would almost eat with her left hand, so she sat on it instead. mmm.
Next morning, we had breakfast and coffee at the Starbucks in the mall beneath the twin towers. What? Starbucks? That's right. The KL locals be lovin Starbucks. Cause central KL is about high end shopping malls and the global consumer standard. As we've traveled on, we've learned about the many many kinds of Malaysian coffee available. Malaysia's majority populations are ethnic Malay, Chinese and Indian, with many other sub-populations from around Asia. We have sampled the coffee and food options from many cultures. Traditionally, Malaysian style "black" coffee roast (also known as Hainanese coffee) is produced by roasting the beans with sugar and margarine. "White" coffee is produced with only margarine. So far we like traditional sweetened "white coffee" the best. It's delicious. No more Starbucks from here on in.
After breakfast we all piled in the car with Rina and Thomas to start our road trip to Ipoh, Malaysia. That's right. Road Trip Malaysia 2006 consists of the following people: Baktiar (a.k.a. Daddy or Bat) and Jean-Pierre (a.k.a. Papa) are the fathers of Diane (pronounced Dee-an), the most adorable and precocious 5 year old Malay girl in the world. She speaks like 5 languages too. Aunty Rinalia (Rina) and her boyf Thomas, who moved from Germany, "Uncles" Steve and Chris are college buddies of Bat Rina and Stacey, Mari's sister. Finally, we have us. They called us "The Lesbians" until they learned that Corey is s straight girl. Now they don't know what to do. So it's "Corey and the Lesbians"
So we headed north to Ipoh, a town that made its fortune with tin mines throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. Lonely Planet said that Ipoh is a seedy town with a huge prostitution problem. (We didn't read that until the next morning). Daddy (everyone calls Bat Daddy) had booked the Hotel Majestic, an old railway station that had turned into a hotel. It's a beautiful structure built, majestically, by the colonial Brits on the high ground of the town. It features the longest verandah in Malaysia, where we ate our breakfast after a nearly sleepless night. Why a nearly sleepless night, you ask? In such a seemingly nice historic building? Let's just say that Tara and Mari had to move into Stacey and Corey's room after the unpleasant discovery that their room had been rented out at the "day rate" perhaps several times before they moved in. It was gross. It involved curly hairs and sticky stuff. So they moved in with us and we giggled all night and rose in the morning with mysterious bites all over us and tried not to touch anything after that.
Aside from the "Majestic", the town of Ipoh is interesting and some of the "old town" architecture varies from beautiful to downright strange. We took a walking tour with a Mr. Hong, a representative from the Ipoh Heritage Society. Let's talk about walking tours, shall we? We've never been big on them in the States. Except that scene in Pee-Wee's Big Adventure in The Alamo. Now the Malaysian Heritage Societies are gangsta. They preserve the rapidly disappearing architecture and culture of all Malaysian ethnic groups. In the face of globalization, the unchecked growth of Asian economy and MAD corporate development, they are a force to be reckoned with. Mr. Hong knew just about everything about every building, street, vendor, doorway and brick in Ipoh. We learned so much and he brought pomelos to our hotel for breakfast. Unfortunately he couldn't help us with our ghetto accommodations.
But that all changed when we got to Penang..........Oh! Cliffhanger!
posted by MaTaCo dot com at 5:14 AM
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