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You are here: Home / Capture / Asia / First Impressions of Malaysia

First Impressions of Malaysia

March 3, 2014 By Vaughan McShane 5 Comments

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It’s been a whirlwind of a week since our Emirates powered aeroplane left rubber streaks across the runway of Kuala Lumpur’s International Airport and these last few days have given me just enough time to formulate a few (probably badly misguided) opinions about our new base country.

Rice Paddies near Air Papan

This is not our first time in Malaysia though; we have cycled along the streets of Georgetown, scuttled along the rapid transport rails of Kuala Lumpur and shopped till our allotted Ringgits dropped on previous visits.

Air Papan Beach

However this time we have come here to live out the next 21 months of our lives and instead of choosing a town peppered with foreigners we have chosen the small town of Mersing in the state of Johor.

Mersing Beach or Pantai Mersing

Food:

Mersing is, as any other Malaysian town, made up of three main ethnic groups Malay, Chinese and Indian. The town seems to be dominantly Malay followed by Chinese and lastly a small Indian population. Sadly there doesn’t seem to be enough Indians to warrant an entirely Indian cuisine restaurant (though most restaurants do have a small selection) but perhaps I just haven’t found one yet. We have however found an incredible Thai restaurant run by the one Thai in town. Happiness.

Tandoori Chicken and Roti Nan

Indian aside, the Malay food is wonderful, I have already eaten more than my fair share of Nasi Lemak, Popiah and Roti Canai and quite frankly I don’t intend to stop!  All round the food is a total win and best of all, it’s super cheap.  Edit: The restaurant food may be cheap but in the shops the western imported stuff (cheese, milk, some fruits and other normal stuff) is seriously pricey. Oh, alcohol isn’t big here (obviously) (Islamic state) but you can get it from Chinese cafes and certain grocery stores.

Satay, street food, Mersing

Language:

Bahasa Malaysia (Standard Malay) is the main language in Malaysia and everyone seems to speak it as well as being able to speak their own languages (for many it’s their 2nd language). English is also widely spoken as a second, third or even fourth language. We totally are keen to learn Malay and are hoping that because it shares the Roman alphabet and its sounds, it won’t be too difficult to pick up.

Mersing Shop Front, Chinese

Culture:

As I’ve already mentioned Malaysia is a melting pot of various ethnic groups, even the three main groups all have their own sub-groups and subcultures making it fairly similar to our own country of South Africa and at first glance we’ve really enjoyed the diversity. Of course the cultural differences have the ability to (and have previously) lead to conflict. In my personal conversations with people over the last two weeks it’s a definite ‘thing’ that certain groups find others less favourable but overall there seems to be a general attitude of peace and acceptance of each other.

The State of Johor's flag

Religion:

With Masjids (mosques) everywhere and the call to prayer never far from your ears it’s easy to see that Malaysia is an Islamic nation however, unlike certain Middle Eastern countries, the law protects people’s freedom to practise any religion. However, I would like them to stop my Chinese neighbour from creating a bonfire in his Spirit House every morning.

Mosque Near Endau

There is a lot of emphasis on “Satu Malaysia” (One Malaysia) and as soon as you set foot in this beautiful country you’ll notice signs and billboards promoting the slogan. It all seems to be about promoting national unity and is probably most similar to South Africa’s “Rainbow Nation” tagline.

Cycling seems to be big here.

So apart from the above, all that’s really left to talk about is the weather. It’s HOT & HUMID!  But here in Mersing we are located on the coast of the South China Sea & thankfully there is a consistent breeze flowing through the town and we’ve found the temperature fairly easy to handle thanks to this.

Mersing Beach or Pantai Mersing

So in summary:

Things we don’t love:

The abundance of mosquitoes (what can you do?), that people smoke freely in restaurants (although most are open-air) and that at times the town can be hot and smelly- think Asian “drainage”.The architecture isn’t spectacular by any means- our house seems to have been inspired by a corridor and the beach isn’t swimmable (though there is one, Air Papan, about ten minutes away that you can swim at).

Colourful Chinese Shop Fronts, Endau

Things we LOVE are: that smiles are as quick to flourish across the lips of young Muslim teenagers as they are upon the older, the colourful shop fronts, alley-like sidewalks, the outdoor gym-park and the fact that no less ten minutes from the centre of town you’ll find yourself driving through rice paddies, dense green forest, coconut palms and palm oil plantations. It is tropical paradise, and we haven’t even been to the islands yet (which are 1.5hrs away, by ferry). And no, the novelty of hearing the call to prayer from the Mosques hasn’t yet worn off, in fact, listening to Maghrib whilst the sun draws the day to an end has been a very special experience for us.

Outdoor Gym, Mersing

Rice Paddies near Air Papan

Rice Paddies near Air Papan

Islands off Endau

Selfie near Pulau Mawar

Pulau Mawar

Pulau Mawar

Filed Under: Asia, Malaysia, Travel Tagged With: Air Papan, Blog, chinese, East Coast Malaysia, Endau, First Impressions, First impressions of Malaysia, Indian, Johor Bahru, Malay, malaysia, mersing, Rice Paddies

About Vaughan McShane

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