White sands, towering skyscapers, green tea-leaf carpeted hills and luminous fireflies. In ten days we sampled some of the amazing diversity of mainland Malaysia.
Eight years and one currency crisis have passed since we last visited Malaysia. The country is charging into the 21st century. Kuala Lumpur is no longer a Singapore wannabe but a legitimate contender. Malaysia plans to be a major world economic force by 2020. It appears to be almost there...way ahead of schedule. Watch out.
Date(s): August 2007. Album by David Kohl. Photos by David Kohl & Ross Rosenberg. 1 - 36 of 36 Total. 4850 Visits.
Harry Potter - July 21 Special edition bags for the first few sales of the latest Harry Potter book at the Kuala Lumpur airport bookstore. We arrived the morning the books went on sale worldwide.
Satisfied customer
Aerial view of Gem Island Gem Island lies off the east coast of Malaysia - just a 10 minute boat ride from the town of Marang.
Beach view at Gem Island Gem Island is only a little over a 1/2 mile long. This is one of three sand beaches on this rocky island.
View from room at Gem Island There is only one hotel on the island - Gem Island Resort. Each of the 52 rooms has its own private porch complete with swing.
Gem Island Resort Most of the rooms are constructed on stilts over the water. The only restaurant on the island is the resort's own dining hall.
Turtle conservation at Gem Island The resort has its own conservation center for the breeding of turtles.
Turtle egg hatchery
Turtle eggs
Pool for baby turtles
Feeding time for the turtles
Beach view from Gem Island View of nearby Kapas Island from the main beach at Gem Island.
Gem Island jetty Boats take visitors from Gem to Kapas or directly to Marang on the mainland.
Spider web Spider web outside our room at Gem Island.
Spider close-up We were told that this type of spider is harmless. We didn't want to get close enough to find out.
Cameron Highlands About 4 to 5 hours (by bus) north of the capital of Kuala Lumpur is the main tea-growing area of Malaysia - the Cameron Highlands.
Cameron Highlands At an altitude of about 4,000 to 5,000 feet, the Highlands enjoy a refreshingly cool climate year-round.
Scorpion At a tour stop in the Cameron Highlands, visitors were allowed to "sample" the local insects.
Leaf insect Not a leaf - but an insect that looks like a leaf.
Millipede
Walking stick insect
Chinatown area of Melaka Once a Portugese port, then a Dutch trading center and finally dominated by the British, Melaka (also known as Malacca) is one of the few Malaysian cities that has retained all three influences.
Tri-shaw in Melaka Competition is keen among tri-shaw drivers in Melaka. Each tri-shaw is individually decorated - often with garlands of flowers, flags and even flashing lights.
Chinese temple in Melaka Melaka's Cheng Hoon Teng Temple was awarded the UNESCO award for outstanding architectural restoration in 2003. It is dedicated to the Buddhist Goddess of Compassion.
Temple close-up Details of carvings above the entry. They depict mythical dragons, lions and other beasts as well as legendary heroic figures.
Memorial in Cheng Hoon Teng Temple
Main square in Melaka The Stadthuys is the restored red town hall and governor's residence that surround the fountain in the main square of Melaka.
Baba House exterior Located in a restored Peranakan shophouse, the Baba House - one of the long-established hotels in the heart of Chinatown - was where we stayed in Melaka. Our room was about $28US a night including breakfast.
Lantern detail Close-up of a typical hand-crafted lantern that hung outside our hotel.
Chinatown entrance On Friday and Saturday nights, one of the main streets of Chinatown becomes a night market -complete with food stalls, vendors and karaoke competitions.
Silver leaf monkey and her baby Atop Bukit Malawati in Kuala Selangor, there are the remains of an old fort. But the main attraction is the numerous silver-leaf monkeys that flock to be fed by tourists.
Baby close-up The adult is identified by its dark, silver-tipped fur and its dark-skinned face; the infants, however are a startling bright orange.
Firefly Park A few miles east of Kuala Selangor is the internationally known Firefly Park. Visitors take boat rides along the river to witness the nightly synchronized flashing displays of the thousands of fireflies that inhabit the park.
Kuala Lumpur skyline View from our hotel - the Crown Princess - of the Petronas Towers. The 88-story Pertonas Towers was opened in 1988. Unfortunately the highest point you can visit in the towers is the 41-story skybridge.
Kuala Lumpur skyline At the time the Petronas Towers opened in 1988 they were the tallest buildings in the world. They lost that distinction in October of 2003 when the Taipei 101 opened in Taiwan.
Twilight skyline The Menara KL Tower can be seen between the Petronas Towers and the Citibank building. It is the fifth tallest building in the world. Its viewing deck, though, is higher than the observation deck of the Petronas Towers.
