Why Not Malaysia?

So, I decided to start my journey in Malaysia. I know very little about Malaysia, but much more than I did a week ago, when I landed here--which was basically nothing.

I decided to come to Malaysia because it's was the cheapest ticket out of Osaka. Air Asia, a low cost carrier and godsend to backpackers all over South East Asia is a Malaysian company and has it's main hub in Kuala Lumpur. The flight from Osaka, all told cost me some $250 (CAD). Actually, that's a lot for Air Asia. More about that later.

Malaysia happens to be a pretty great place for a backpacker. It's clean, it's civilized and modern...but it's still cheap. I pay and average of about 10 MYR ($3.50) for a meal, and about twice that for a room in a guest house. You can go even lower than that, but I guess I'm addicted to the high life.


I've never been to a place quite like Malaysia. It's predominantly Muslim, but they don't lord it over everyone. People are free to practice whatever religion they want, and aren't forced to live by the rules of Islam. The people here, Muslim or otherwise are genuine and friendly. It's a very pleasant and easy-going country. This is evidenced by how absurdly easy it is to hitch hike here. There's really no reason to hire a taxi, if you're anywhere remotely rural.

I'm sure they is lots to do and see here (an assumption which is reinforced daily) but I have planned nothing, and continue to plan nothing. However, I always find myself sufficiently busy. I met three very nice young fellows at the guest house I was staying at in Kuala Lumpur who graciously invited me to tag along with them on their various outings, for example, to the Batu Caves (pictured below). 

After a few days in KL, I was ready to get on with my journey, so I accompanied one of them, a Danish lad named Simon to the Cameron Highlands, where we have been enjoying nature and the cool climate. This is predominantly a tourist area, but there are two main agricultural products: tea and strawberries. Both of which we have been enjoying abundantly. In addition, we've been hiking the glorious rain forest trails. Daily. They tend to be a bit challenging, so were getting good exercise. With some luck, I'll be fit and trim after a month of the backpacker lifestyle!

As pleasant as it is up here, I do feel like a bit of a shark these days; if stop moving surely I will die. So, two more sleeps, and I will be traveling with Simon once again, this time to a city called Georgetown, which is on a large island on the west coast called Penang. I assume I will bum around there for three or four days before moving on to Thailand. Then I'll have to make a decision, as to how to Phuket: whether by air or by land.


Air Asia, as I mentioned earlier is absurdly cheap. I can get ticket to Phuket from Georgetown, which happens to have an airport, to Phuket for under two hundred ringgits (divide by three to get the CAD amount). And if  you think that's good, if I were taking the flight direct out of KL, it would be less than one hundred ringgits!  The only problem is that I'll have to transfer in KL, and the journey by air, all told will take just less time than going over land. So, it's a matter of saving a few dollars or a few hours. Yeah, I know, it's a tough life.

Stay tuned: I'll be coming at you next, live from Georgetown. Until then, enjoy this monkey: