Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur

Arrived in Kuala Lumpur, we settled in the guesthouse “Le Village”. The ambience at “Le Village” was great; nice guests and the owner a crazy artist who decorated the whole accommodation with his own paintings. Above all, very central, which allowed us to explore a lot on foot. The highlight and trademark of Kuala Lumpur are, of course, the world-famous Petronas Towers. At 452m high, it is the third tallest building in the world. The height on the one hand, the special architecture on the other, impressed us. The city also invites you to linger; beautiful parks with man-made lakes and animal parks, Central Market and Chinatown – a cosy Asian metropolitan hustle and bustle. In addition, we were finally able to have our underwater camera repaired thanks to an Olympus branch – and even under guarantee within 24 hours.

Penang

A visit to Penang Island was next on the agenda – but we never thought that it would be a real highlight. Different cultures, religions, traditions and the best of Asian cuisine – the island offers enormous diversity. The capital Georgetown is vibrant, modern and also reminiscent of the British colonial era with its buildings and sights.

This international mix as well as the mixture of history and modernity offers a very cosy ambience. We were particularly taken with the cuisine: street stalls one after the other: Indian, Chinese, Malay, Vietnamese, Thai or Laotian specialities – there really is everything, and for CHF 1.00 – CHF 2.00 per meal. Sufficient time should also be planned for the numerous temples and sights. We visited four Buddhist temples and the Snake Temple. All worth a visit, even though we have already visited a few.

We explored the rest of the island on a motorbike. For us, Georgetown is and remains the most exciting part of Penang. The well-known beach, Batu Feringghi, can be left out of our view – unless you are into jet skiing, hoarse riding, parasailing and quad biking on the beach. For us, it was a bit too much commercialism – so we went on our way again after a good hour. Thanks to an Indonesian embassy in Georgetown, we were also able to organise our visa so that we no longer have to go back to Kuala Lumpur.

Cameron Highlands

From Butterworth we travelled via Ipoh to the Cameron Highlands. The bus ride alone to the mountain range at 1’500m was very beautiful. Arriving in Tanah Rata, the main village of the Cameron Highlands, we quickly realised that we were a bit higher up. It was much cooler. We stayed at Daniel’s Lodge, a cosy guesthouse a bit off the beaten track. A nice room and a public sofa corner, where you can also have a beer and philosophise with other Travellers, made the stay very pleasant for us. But the best thing was: hot water. After comparing prices for different tours, we quickly came to the conclusion that we would explore the area on our own. Travelling in a pack has never been our thing either. Exploring the area on your own is fine – you don’t need a guide, just a lot of time. We spent over a week in the Cameron Highlands. The highlight is tea plantations – this is also the reason why the region is so famous.

We strolled through the tea plantations, looked at the production in the factory and marvelled at the strawberry plantations, vegetables, cactuses, flowers, butterfly and bee farms. In addition, the Cameron Highlands are a trekking paradise. Es gibt ca. 10 Trails, die alle durch den Regenwald in die Berge hochführen.

After a week we did all the trails and were out for several hours every day. Our favourite trail was No. 1, which leads to the highest point of the Highlands, Gunung Brinchang at 2’030m. A great experience was also the encounters with locals, some of whom approached with curiosity, while others seemed somewhat unhappy about the disturbance caused by tourists. We had a very nice time here and enjoyed the mountain air once again.

Now it’s on to Indonesia and once again some diving.