Peninsular Malaysia: Singapore to Kuala Lumpur

1) Experiencing the multi-racial, multi-cultural society of Malaysia - a veritable mini Asia. 2) The vibrant hustle and bustle of downtown Johore Bahru 3) The historical city of Malacca - "where it all began" - with the advent of the European colonial powers. 4) The ultra modern capital city of Kuala Lumpur with its tall buildings - Telekom Tower, Petronas Towers, contrasting with its congested Chinatown and Central Market 5) Landscaped motorways through tropical jungles

Quick Tips:

If you can't stand the heat don't go to Malaysia - it's HOT. Avoid becoming dehydrated - tap water is safe to drink - buying bottled water is unnecessary and expensive. Travel light.

Check required vaccinations at least 6-8 weeks before visit. Try to learn some of the different customs to avoid giving unintentional offence and some Malaysian language.

Look out for major holidays such as Hari Raya at Ramadam and the Chinese New Year - banks and shops shut, hotels full, travelling problems.

Best Way To Get Around:

There is an excellent network of long distance bus services with inexpensive fares. Usually advisable to book in advance. The bus stations however can be chaotic.

Watch out for ticket touts - it is generally advisable to buy tickets at the counter however touts can be useful to avoid standing in queues or if tickets are sold out at counter.

Local bus services enable short distance trips out of town. Metred taxis are convenient and inexpensive for journeys within city centres.

Most of the major sights in Johore Bahru, Malacca and Kuala Lumpur are within walking distance of the city centre.

Access to the rooms, as with many Chinese hotels, is via the bar which can be congested making it awkward if you are carrying a bulky backpack. The rooms are basic with a minimum of furniture and rather gloomy with dark, wood-panelled walls.

While the rooms are provided with running water and washhand basins the showers and toilets are shared ones at the end of the corridor. Single or double rooms are available but are few in number so early arrival or advance booking is advisable.

If full the adjacent Tivoli or Rex hotels, are possible alterrnatives although somewhat more basic / rundown ( and cheaper )than the Coliseum. Well situated ensuring all major sights and places of interest are within walking distance.

Front rooms are noisy but give a fine viewpoint over the crowds thronging the Saturday street markets. Dining in the renowned "tea-planter" restaurant is a recommended experience ( see journal entry ).

The old colonial style restaurant with its period , wood-panelled walls is a popular dining centre for locals, ex-pats and tourists. A large restaurant it can however sometimes be difficult to get a table. The extensive menu ( and cooking ) is plain old-fashioned, British - soup is served with two thick slices of bread ( door-stoppers ) - vegetables tend to be overcooked. The sizzling steaks are a speciality - diners are dressed with protective bibs before serving.

Service is efficient and fast like a military operation - the chinese waiters are uniformly dressed in white jackets and orders are taken promptly by the "Captain". Tables are just as quickly cleared and cleaned as soon as you have finished eating - a heavy hint to move on and vacate the table for the next customers.

With its powerful air-conditioning system the Central Market makes an ideal refuge to temporarily escape the overpowering heat of Kuala Lumpur. The multi-level building is crammed with stalls selling all kinds of interesting handicrafts and art work. It is a good place for purchasing holiday souvenirs.

Artists will sketch your portrait or draw enlargements from photographs. Occasionally culture shows and traditional dancing displays take place in the main, ground-floor hall.

Food stalls and restaurants on the upper level provide sustenance and resting places to help recuperate from the stress of shopping sprees.

1) Bukit China, the vast chinese graveyard surrounding a hillside, provides a fine outlook over the town and the surrounding countryside.

2) In the Old City the bright red Christ Church is the focus of attention amid the adjacent stolid Stadthuys buildings painted in a more sombre shade of pink.

3) From the ruins of St.Paul's Church perched on a hilltop another fine view is gained over the seafront and the reclaimed land complete with new shopping complex.

4) At the foot of St.Paul's a replica traditional-style palace houses the Muzium Budaya cultural museum surrounded by a picturesque flower garden.

5) A somewhat longer walk or bicycle ride out of town is required to view the magnificent new Malacca Mosque.

Singapore:

" You only stay one day in Singapore? ", queried the immigration officer. Most travellers spend at least a few days in this prosperous, ultra-modern, clinically-clean but relatively expensive Chinese city with its strict laws and harsh punishments. However the 'Lion City ' holds little attraction for me compared to the greater delights and lower costs of peninsular Malaysia. From Changi International Airport only two short rides by local bus are needed to cross the island and the 1000metre causeway to reach Johore Bahru on the southern tip of the mainland.

Peninsular Malaysia: 1. Johore Bahru to Kuala Lumpur

Johore Bahru:

The congested, claustrophobic, cosmopolitan streets of downtown Johore Bahru typify the rich diversity of multi-cultural, multi-racial Malaysian society with its potentially explosive cocktail of Moslem Malays ( the Bumiputra - ' the sons of the soil ', forming approx 50% of the population ), Buddhist Chinese ( approx. 35% ) and Hindu Indians ( approx 15% ) - a microcosm of Asia and a minefield of different protocols for western visitors.

Despite the multiplicity of languages and alphabets there is however little problem with communication as English is widely used and remains the lingua franca although Bahasa Malaysia has been imposed as the national language to try to foster a sense of national identity.

Escaping from the vibrant hustle and bustle I wandered around the spacious, tranquil gardens of the nearby Istana Besar ( royal palace ) with views back across the Straits of Johore to the skyscrapers of Singapore.

Melaka ( Malacca ):

Insulated from the searing tropical heat in an air-conditioned coach it is only a few hours northwards along the landscaped motorway through extensive plantations of pineapples, oil palms and rubber trees to the sea-front town of Melaka.

From the bus terminal one of the dwindling band of elderly bicycle-rickshaw drivers drove me the short distance into the historical town ' where it all began ' with the first invasion of Europeans.

Starting at the eye-catching, bright-red Christ Church I climbed above the Stadthuys, a cluster of massive, square, pink-painted buildings, ( a legacy of the Dutch ), to the ruins of St.Paul's Church, ( a legacy of the Portuguese ), on top of a small hill to gain a splendid outlook over the Straits of Malacca. The original landing site of the Portuguese is now well inland being part of the reclaimed mangrove swamps occupied by a huge, modern shopping and leisure complex. Moored at the waterfront near the Stadthuys I could see the hydrofoils for the ferry service to Dumai across the Straits in Sumatra.

In the cool of the evening I joined the keep-fit enthusiasts on top of Bukit China - a vast Chinese graveyard with over 12,000 graves some dating back to the Ming dynasty. Chinese graveyards are commonly built on hillsides to shield the graves from evil winds and to provide the spirits with a good view of what their descendants are up to down below.

On another day I strolled round the old part of Melaka searching for treasures of the East in the numerous antique shops and exploring the many mosques, temples and clan houses squeeezed into the compact area.

Kuala Lumpur:

A short journey up the motorway soon brought into view the high-rise sky-line of the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur ( or, more usually just KL, similarly JB for Johore Bahru - there is a predilection for abbreviations in Malaysia ).

There is also a penchant for tall buildings. From the observation platform on the 421metre Telekom Tower, the world's fourth highest, I had a superb, bird's-eye view over the sprawling city.

Clearly visible was the foundation site of the city where the early tin prospectors landed at the confluence of the sluggish, brown waters ( kuala - estuary, lumpur - muddy ) of the Klang and Gombak rivers. However the beautiful Masjid Jame ( the 'Friday Mosque' ) with its onion domes perched on elegant, red-and-white striped minarets, in a grove of palm trees at the junction of the rivers, is almost totally obscured by one of the stations for the recently constructed overhead railway snaking through the city centre.

Also prominent was the vivid, green rectangle of the Padang, a legacy of colonial days but where cricket still takes place, and the adjoining Merdeka ( Independence ) Square with its huge flag on a 95metre high flagpole. Only slightly further afield is the wide green belt containing the extensive Lake Gardens - an oasis of peace and tranquility amidst the noise and bedlam of the traffic-jammed expressways.

Immediately adjacent, dwarfing the other high-rise buildings, like some gigantic rocketship awaiting take-off, were the twin Petronas Towers - temporarily the highest building in the world and a symbol of Vision 2020 - Malaysia's long term plan to become a fully developed nation by the year 2020.

A half day walk took me round most of the places of interest. Directly opposite Merdeka Square the historic, Moorish-style, buildings are spectacularly illuminated in the evenings. Not far off is the fantastic, Railway Station with its amazing array of spires, minarets, towers, cupolas and arches. In Chinatown the air-conditioned Central Market provided welcome relief from the torrid, teeming street markets to browse through the handicrafts and artwork.

At least once on every visit I dine at the renowned Coliseum Hotel - a nostalgic reminder of the tea-planter days and a favourite haunt of ex-pats.

Late in the evenings the 'lady-boys', unbelievably effeminate, emerge to promenade in search of their clients.

Reference: "High Adventure around the World"

Part II: Peninsular Malaysia: 2. From Kuala Lumpu via the East Coast to Penang and the Thai border.

Part III: Southern Thailand: From the Malaysian border via the SW Coast to Bangkok.

Part IV: Northern Thailand: From Bangkok to the Golden Triangle. ( To be posted )

Accounts and photographs of an overland journey by public bus from Singapore via Peninsular Malaysia and through Thailand to the Golden Triangle on the three-way border junction with Burma (Myanmar) and Laos.

Part I: Peninsular Malaysia: 1. From Singapore via Johore Bahru and Malacca to Kuala Lumpu

Part II: Peninsular Malaysia: 2. From Kuala Lumpu via the East Coast to Penang and the Thai border

Part III: Southern Thailand: From the Malaysian border via the SW Coast to Bangkok.

Part IV: Northern Thailand: From Bangkok to the Golden Triangle