Penang --Pearl of the Orient ---Malaysia
 |
| Panang Harbor, Malaysia |
Crossing the Bay of Bengal from India, passing by the mysterious and remote Andaman Islands, we reached the island province of Penang in Malaysia. A massive bridge connects Penang to the Malaysian mainland.
Malaysia, one of the amazingly prosperous "Asian Tiger" economies,
burgeoned during 1980s and 1990s when it diversified its largely
agricultural economy with new manufacturing and industrialization. A
very a Muslim country, Malaysia welcomes the diversity of tourism and
international business as long as it is not outwardly promoting Evangelical
Christianity,
In Georgetown we watched craftspeople hand color their famous silk and cotton batik cloth.
On the way from Penang to the beautiful Cameron Highlands, we crossed from Georgetown to the mainland on a twelve mile bridge and then traveled on well constructed roadways with signage like ours in the US and passed new industries specializing in manufacturing and palm oil production. And in the Cameron Highlands with its unique ecosystem, I saw where those extra long stemmed( 2- 3ft) flowers are grown just for us and the profitable export market and, of course, witnessed the beauty of the spectacular tea plantations all over the lush green highland mountains.
The rapid expansion of the Malaysian palm oil industry which has generated controversy over its social and environmental effects is a good example of a common problem that has developed with rapid globalization and the new consumer economies in many of countries we have visited. We saw it in Ghana as well.
On one side, much of the palm oil fruit is grown by small landholders who are able to stay on their land by selling the produce to the newly developed commercial processing plants. This allows these farmers to collect the necessary cash to support life. But the overpowering monoculture provides a significant environmental threat. We have seen this happen in the US as well. Think about corn production.
 |
| Indigenous rainforest peoples' homes |
Penang is known for its great food which blends traditions from the Malay people with Indian, Chinese and SE Asian cooking to produce a fabulous cuisine. I loved all Malaysian food – spicy and delicious! Then, of course, there is durian---the smelly fruit that tastes something like parsley and green onions and is banned on all public buses because of its odor. We found some at a roadside fruit stand and had to eat it there so as not to smell up our transport.
The Cameron Highlands are beautiful beyond belief --the famous place where Jim Thompson often escaped the heat of Bangkok and is thought to have disappeared after a walk ....forever. A nice place to leave from--- I might say.
The steep mountainsides often covered with mist come to life when the sun highlights endless colors of green---from forest to chartreuse--- on the velvet-like strips of the tea bushes trimmed and cultivated with great care climbing in horizontal rows high up the iridescent hillsides. Today, many of the tea farms are still owned by Brits who brought the tea to Malaysia during colonial times.
 |
| Tea plantations, Cameron Highlands |
 |
| Gorgeous tea bushes |
 |
| Tea plantation worker, sorting the tea leaves |
With just a taste of Malaysia---- we're off to Singapore through the famed Straits of Mallaca and perhaps another opportunity for pirates before we can fill up again with gas. But beautiful Malaysia is a place I would love to come back to.
 |
| Singapore's skyline |
