Medan to Malaysia

Sitting in Voyager Cafe, Melaka, we contemplate our impending express bus trip to Singapore. Having left Bukit Lawang, we made it to Medan before flying to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and then busing down to Melaka.

Below I discuss how we got to Melaka.

Medan

We arrived in Medan, buzzing from our brush with hairy orange / ginge orang-utans and eager to jump across the Straights of Melaka to Malaysia later the next day. The Residence looked after us that night—the eve of Chinese New Year. Surprising, Medan had no formal celebrations, despite its large Chinese population.

Rested, we walked the 5 kms to the Sun Plasa to kill some time—our flight was not until 9:30pm and there is only so much you can do in Medan. Finding little in the way of entertainment, we returned to the Residence to collect our bags, have a bit to eat, and head to Medan’s international airport, 1.5 hours earlier than necessary.

A little known fact about Claire is that, when it comes to flying, she is overly punctual. Rather than risk missing a flight, she would easily have us sitting next to a check-in counter an hour before it opens. Curiously, this ‘punctuality’ is confined mostly to flights—and international flights in particular.

Arriving at the airport, we quickly mastered AirAsia’s electronic check-in then waited for the bag drop counter to open. Although we only have carry-on sized bags, we carry items that are not permitted as carry-on, such as a pocket knife, a lighter, and assorted liquids. These items are checked in with one of our bags as part of a well-established routine.

After passing immigration, we were left with a challenge: how to spend our last 100,000 rupiah, roughly AUD11 or NZD14. Settling on postcards, water and some sweets, we set about devouring a raspberry log, brought with our remaining rupiah—airy in texture, strangely sweet, and sized for a family of four and a dog, it was hard going and, in hindsight, a bit of an error.

Final boarding call made, passengers seated after some debate, and safety briefings completed in both Malay and English, AirAsia—a budget airline—left on time for the 50 minute flight to Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur.

Welcome to Malaysia

Similar to Indonesia in many ways, Malaysia is still unique.

• · Transport is efficient, punctual, and, for the most part, non-smoking.
• · Roads are maintained and lack the distinctive feel of pot holes—primarily because of the large number of toll ways.
• · Streets are clean, touting is minimal, and signs are large and helpful—being in both Malay and English.

Malaysian society is more ordered than Indonesia’s, but its natural beauty remains surprisingly similar. Palm oil and rubber plantations still dot the landscape and lush national parks, white-sand beaches, and a treasure-trove of exotic animals are waiting to be found.

The official language—Bhasa Malay—is almost identical to Bhasa Indonesia, save a few variations owing to differences with their respective English and Dutch colonial histories. Helpfully this means that the little Indonesian that I learnt earlier was not entirely wasted. Primarily focusing on numbers, learning some language is useful for two reasons: it lets you:

• · negotiate prices in the local language—which is helpful when locals struggle with English
• · detect whether locals are trying to rip you off by price fixing with other touters—which was common in Indonesia but, as of yet, nonexistent in Malaysia.

With a population of about 28 million, Malaysia is a mix of three main ethnicities: Malay (50.4%), Chinese (23.7%), and Indian (7.1%). A ‘Chinatown’ and ‘little India’ grace most cities and offer a chance to enjoy these cultures—including, to our salivating delight, food.

Offering all of this in a tourist friendly country, we were keen to explore Malaysia.

Kuala Lumpur

After jumping across the Straights of Melaka, our AirAsia flight arrived early in Kuala Lumpa just before 11pm. Passing quickly though immigration and customs, we took AirAsia’s skybus to KL Sentral—the transport hub of central Kuala Lumpur.

A taxi man helped us find the Red Dragon hostel in Chinatown—an old cinema converted to a hostel with several dorm rooms, a large number of windowless single and double rooms, free wifi, and a range of TV options. Although infested with cockroaches and a little too industrial for my liking, the staff were friendly and the location perfect. We stayed three nights—giving us two full days to explore the city on foot.

Day one: starting in Chinatown, we walked north east through little India to the Petronas Towers—Malaysia’s tallest buildings—the Suria KLCC shopping complex, and the city centre. Stopping for a late lunch, we returned to Chinatown via the Kuala Lumpur Tower and the Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve—literally ‘pineapple hill’. AJ Hacket had erected a system of flying foxes around the outside of the tower, but unfortunately no one was using it.

Day two: we headed west to the Lake Gardens. Missing the bird sanctuary, we stumbled across a large tropical and surprisingly educational butterfly sanctuary, Malaysia’s national monument, a chocolate shop, several lakes, and a small mousedeer enclosure. That night we dined on Thai with hawkers in Jalan Alor on the outskirts of the golden triangle—Kuala Lumpur’s CBD.

After our two days of walking, we were off to Melaka—an old city steeped in colonial history; a world heritage city in fact. Hearing great things about Malaysia’s buses, we were eager to endure the two hour express, non-smoking bus trip to Melaka. It was a painless experience.

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Claire will update you later on Melaka and our trip to Singapore. We will upload more pictures at the same time.

Peace out,