Reflections on Malaysia

Due to requests from quite a few people asking about what things were like in Malaysia, I am writing this blog post to just sort of reflect on my experience there and what I observed.

Let me preface by saying that while there I didn’t really see a lot of Malaysia, the beautiful beaches I read about on the plane will have to wait as I only really saw the airport and then the capitol of Kuala Lumpur, or KL as it is called by just about everyone.

Let’s say that overall I was taken back and extremely impressed by what I saw. For a country that in many ways still developing, the government appears to have their stuff together and the future it seems will be good to KL, and likely much of Southeast Asia. First in Los Angeles I was blessed with the excellent service that I received throughout my trip. In economy class on Malaysia Airlines I was treated to my own movie screen (typically standard) with tons of shows to watch and many movies that I had only heard about in Guatemala, but also, excellent vegetarian and vegan meals, free beer and wine, and feather pillows. I also had the good fortune to meet a nice young Indian engineer who I had a great conversation with for about two hours.

Arriving at the KL international airport, I could see why it has been voted the best international airport in the world. Clean, bright, and highly connected with public transit, we deboarded the plane, onto a light rail train to the ticket and baggage area of KLIA. Once there and with my new Indian friend, we met a Sri Lankan woman headed to the same conference as myself and took a Mercedes taxi to our hotels (courtesy of Texas Instruments, my friend’s company… thanks guys).

My hotel was a 4 star place with a beautiful gym and pool I took advantage of as much as I could. My room, simple but elegant, had a down comforter, four pillows, and a nice shower. It was very comfortable, clean, and a great place to stay. Located in the heart of the town and within walking distance of the famous twin towers, KLCC Suria five floor shopping mall, and the KL Conference Center where I would have my conference, it was the perfect headquarter for exploring the town.

Not having a lot of free time I headed out to see the sights, and not letting a warm and tropical rain shower stop me, I went shopping for a few local things at the Central Market where vendors sell their wares. Much cheaper than the United States, I picked up a few really nice things to bring back for Brittany including a hand sequined purse for…a good price. I also hit the food court where they conveniently had meals displayed with pictures since they didn’t speak English. Surprisingly enough, this was the ONLY place where I couldn’t speak English (or Spanish) in the country.

The next day after partaking in the breakfast buffet at the hotel where I gorged on delicious food every morning, I headed to the convention center where I would be for the next three days while attending the conference. The place was great for a conference such as this. Every corridor had flat screen TVs displaying room schedules and any changes, every room had a laptop and projector set up, and security was present to make everyone feel safe. The coffee breaks and lunch that were included were awesome with tea breaks including 2-3 local dishes that at times could have been a lunch itself. Lunch was a huge buffet in the dining hall with numerous waiters, cloth napkins, and TONS of delicious food. One night we even had a more formal five course meal with entertainment that was splendid as well.

From day one I was very pleased by the culture of service. Everywhere the staff members of businesses open doors, say “Welcome Back”, bow slightly, and get you anything you need. Although I heard one snooty woman say how much better the service was in Thailand, I was impressed and grateful.

One drawback of the town for me was that it really wasn’t designed for walking. Built around a system of advanced public transit, a simple walk to the famous KL Radio Tower became quite an adventure. Looming in the not so distance skyline I walked towards the tower one night in the humid air and what I thought might be a quick jaunt, turned into a 2 hour hike. The streets were built with numerous one ways and a surprisingly high number of circular routes which made it impossible to walk in a straight line. Once reaching the tower I looked and a map and found that there was only one road to the tower around a bigger circular road and I turned right instead of left, forcing me to walk entirely around the large circle. That being said, the public transit is pretty nice with bus systems, a monorail, and light rail, all connecting various parts of the city. The city planners also had the insight to put the airport outside of the town (unlike Guatemala) and one has to take a 20 minute train ride to get there. The train was very modern with CNN on flat screens and bathrooms inside as well.

Overall the town was very modern with all the latest shops, highly connected with internet and some amazing Asian food to top it off. I think Malaysia has the potential to be a big player in the global economy with the current mindset of the government embracing development and advancement.

Perhaps the neatest thing that I experienced in KL was that I wasn’t a foreigner, at least I didn’t feel like it. The town was such a mixing pot of culture with Thai, Malay, American, English, Australian, Indian, and Vietnamese cultures all widely visible. I would walk through the mall and hear 10 languages being spoken. I could speak English wherever I went as well. It was a pretty cool feeling being in another country, but not really feeling out of place.