Malaysia - KL Rocks and Sarawak Swings!

There are some fellows in Sarawak, Malaysia that would love to see the gleaming skyscrapers in the country's capital, Kuala Lumpur. I'm sure they'd particularly enjoy the PETRONAS Twin Towers, the tallest twin structures in the world. In fact they'd probably be so taken with the buildings that they'd want to climb all over them! But it'll never happen because these fellows are in fact orangutans and they're quite content with their own version of skyscrapers---the treetop canopies in which they live.

Most visits to exotic Malaysia begin in Kuala Lumpur because that's where international flights arrive. KL, as the city is nicknamed, is a place of contrasts and first-time visitors will in all likelihood be surprised by the city's modernity. An efficient express train whisks travelers from the airport to downtown KL in about twenty minutes, and then the real fun begins! KL is vast but if you pick a hotel in the part of the city that's within sight of the twin towers you'll have plenty to explore in that immediate area and you'll get a good idea of what Malaysia is all about. 

The main ethnic groups in Malaysia are Malay, Chinese and Indian and you can mingle with all these vibrant cultures over the course of a day's adventure. KL's streets are very safe and English is widely spoken so there's no reason not to take a stroll to see Indian temples decorated with ornate sculptures outside and filled with sensual incense smoke inside or look for bargains in busy Chinatown. Street food is safe here too and cool fruit drinks are always on offer and there's a local pastry called a Malaysian pancake that you can buy from street vendors---it's peanut-buttery and absolutely delicious. A KL must-do is a visit to the "sky bridge" on the 41st floor of the PETRONAS Towers where you can take in an amazing view of the city; another panoramic view can be had from the observation platform at the nearby Menara Alor Star communications tower, commonly referred to as the KL Tower. The area right around the PETRONAS Towers is called the Kuala Lumpur City Center, or KLCC, and this is where you'll find lots of upscale shopping including at the always-packed six-level shopping mall called Suria KLCC. This is a great place for tourists but it's also where the locals come to shop, dine and see and be seen. Music lovers will find lots of places to buy CDs in the giant shopping center including at one of the few Tower Records stores still in existence. Malaysia has its own music industry; EMI, Warner Bros. and all the other big companies manufacture here so you can buy locally-made copies of CDs by international acts---a CD from your favorite band that's made in Malaysia makes for a pretty cool souvenir. There's also a thriving rock and pop music scene in Malaysia and you'll find plenty of homegrown music represented on CD; grunge act Search, metal band Mau, proggy hard rock group Amuk and mellow alt-rockers Flop Poppy are just a few of the Malaysian acts signed to major labels. A very wide selection of traditional Malaysian music is available on CD too. To see a live performance of traditional Malaysian music and dance head to Saloma Bistro, right next door to the Malaysia Tourism Centre and within sight of the twin towers. Saloma presents a wonderful cultural program featuring dancers in colorful traditional costumes and the show happens while you're being served a bountiful Malaysian supper. The exotic sights, sounds and tastes you'll experience at Saloma are a very good representation of the treats you'll find everyday throughout Malaysia. Now you know that Kuala Lumpur really rocks but wait until you see how Sarawak swings!

Malaysia is geographically separated into two pieces; Kuala Lumpur is on "peninsular Malaysia," the giant thumb of land that extends down from Thailand and culminates at Singapore while part of the country lies across the South China Sea on the island of Borneo. That's where the Malaysian state of Sarawak (pronounced Sara-wah) is and also the place to find the treetop-swinging "wild men of Borneo." Sarawak is everything you'd expect from such a fabled place as Borneo; the world's largest rainforest is here and it's filled with a cast of critters that include gibbons, macaques, deer, and plenty of unusual insects like giant beetles and foot-long millipedes. But people come from the world over to see one of the rarest species of all; the orangutan! 

The seaside city of Kuching is a good place to headquarter while you're in Sarawak and you can book tours to the outlying areas from here. Your best bet at seeing orangutans is with a visit to the Semenggoh Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre; part of what they do there is to care for injured and sickly orangutans. You won't see those, but you will see a bunch of others at either of two daily feeding times when the center puts out a supply of bananas, coconuts, and the like for the local orangutan population. And they know when its time to eat! Special platforms are arranged in the trees as are numerous ropes and it is quite something to see whole families of orangutans come swinging in for a meal. Usually the big daddy of them all, the group's patriarch, will sit off to himself and quietly feast while the youngsters leap and dance around and act like clowns on the ropes. When you see a mother orangutan cuddle her infant it is a reminder that these animals are indeed our not-so-distant relatives. While there are limitations on how close you can get to the orangutans you can definitely get close enough to get good pictures and for sure a trip to Semenggoh provides a memory that will last a lifetime. 

Another fun thing to do in Sarawak is to visit the Sarawak Cultural Village that's about a forty-minute drive from Kuching. Here you'll find an extensive re-creation of a traditional Sarawakian village where you can explore "long houses" and witness various aspects of daily life like grain being ground for bread, fabrics being woven and utensils being made. You can try your hand (or should I say lungs) at using a blow-gun and if you're a musician you'll thoroughly enjoy the sape-playing demonstration. If you think you can reel off a few Hendrix riffs on the electrified string instrument just ask and they'll let you try. Plan on spending a full afternoon at the Sarawak Cultural Village---there is so much to do here that you get a "passport" upon entry that you're supposed to have stamped at every activity so you can make sure not to miss anything.

Malaysia Airlines has direct flights from Los Angeles to friendly and beautiful Malaysia. For more information go to www.tourismmalaysia.gov.my

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