Set sail for Malaysia ~ Where are the Jays

We embarked on the the 10th of May on Oceania’s Nautica with 487 fellow passengers. The ship just happens to be the same model of cruise ship that we sailed last summer, but a different cruise line. Restaurants have different names and the decor is more classical, but we have a sense of familiarity. With fair seas we head out for a short sail to our first port.

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia, like its island neighbor Singapore, is a multi ethnic and multi religious prosperous country that gained its independence from the UK in 1957. It’s part of the Commonwealth and is a Constitutional Monarchy. The capital, Kuala Lumpur is one of the fastest growing cities in Asia with magnificently designed sky scrapers.

We weren’t interested in any of the ships excursions. Fortunately we ran into 4 other like minded travelers and hired two cars to take us on a tour of the city which was over an hours drive away from Port Klang. Our first stop is the Petronius Twin Towers. At 88 stories/ 1,483 ft, they are the tallest twin towers in the world. After a quick photo stop, its off to KL (Kuala Lumpur) Tower for a panoramic view of the city. An elevator whisks us to the observation deck, where we have a 360 degree view of the city. You can see mainly new buildings.

Istana Negara, the official residence of the Yang Dipertuan Agong, the king of Malaysia
Modern railway
Landing area for select jumpers who jump from a crane on KL Tower
Second tallest building in the world, Merdeka at 118 stories

Petronius Twin Towers

KL Tower left, top right is landing area for people jumping from a crane on the tower

Merdeka, second tallest building in the world

Our next stop is the Central Market and China town to explore the stalls. The Central market was clothes, souvenirs and a restaurant. China town also had tourist shops, but also food and other shops for locals.

Peacock

Shrimp

I enjoyed Dragon Fruit onboard for breakfast. The inside is white with black seeds, the outside is where the name comes from

Penang (The Pearl of the Orient)

Penang is a large island on the NW coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It’s population of more than 1 million is 59% of Chinese descent, 32% Malay and 7% Indian. It has been a vacation destination for years because of its outstanding beaches and exotic sights.

Before the cruise, I made contact on Cruise Critic Roll Call with another couple looking to share an excursion. It turned out to be a great decision as we had a wonderful day which lead to future excursions. We started our day on a journey to the top of Penang Hill, where the British would reside to escape the heat. The old Funicular has been replace with a modern system that takes you up 2,700 ft in about 7 minutes. On our trip up, it took a little longer, as there are stations along the way to pick up residents who live on the very steep hillside. Besides great views of the island, there is both a Mosque and Sri Aruloli Thirumurugan Temple.

Local station on right for residents

View of Penang from 2,700 feet, only bridge to the mainland in the background

Sri Aruloli Thirumurugan Temple

Our nexts stop is Key Lok Si, a sprawling Buddhist temple built in the early 20th Century. We walk the steps up the multiple terraces that comprise the complex. Our first stop is the Pagoda of Ten Thousand Buddha's. It consists of three large Buddha’s like the one displayed below along with 10 thousand small Buddha’s on shelfs that cover the walls of the shrine. You can see a few on either side of the image below.

Pagoda of 10 thousand Buddah’s

As we continue up the hill from one terrace to another, we encounter many different Pagoda’s, each with one or more Buddha shrines. The architecture is gorgeous, and reflects 3 different cultures; Burmese, Chinese and Thai.

Picture below illustrates each religions influence

Before boarding the bus, we stop to admire the Sacred Turtles of Liberation Pond. It reminds us of the many turtles in the ponds at our home that flock to people in hopes of being fed.

Back aboard and ready for dinner

Sailing off into the sunset

Langkawi

Langkawi is both an Island and a archipelago of the same name that dates back to the early 15th Century. In 2007 it was given a World Geopark status by UNESCO with three conservation areas. Our first Oceania excursion experience is going to take us on a boat ride in the Rhu Mangrove Forrest and to a mountain top for the view. Boy was that an understatement.

With 21 other people including our new friends, we set off by bus for the Rhu Mangrove boat ride. All of us comfortably fit on the fast moving boat. We navigate past tall rock cliffs and Mangrove Forrest’s as we journey upstream. We pass villages, floating restaurants and other tour boats as we make our way to our first stop to see the Eagles.

One of many cliff faced islands

Mangrove Forrest

The adrenaline builds as we fear crashing into the walls

A little more excitement as we travel through under the towering rock

When we arrive, there are eagles and brown McCaws everywhere and quite a few tour boats like ours. The drivers are using their boats engine props to bring fish to the surface for the Eagles to feast upon.

Eagle

Click on the arrow below to watch this brief video of the Eagles and Brown McCaws feeding on fish

Our second stop is to visit with the Long Tailed Macaque who have learned that boats of tourists means free food. There are several boats of tourists as we pull up. You can hear screams from young women who aren’t comfortable with their boat being boarded by this raiding hoard of small primates. I wonder how the monkeys survived when the tourists disappeared during the Pandemic. While they are much larger, they remind me of George, the monkey my mother had for over twenty years.

Leader of the pack

Mother and Child

Keeping a close eye out, as his wounds suggest you can’t trust the other clans

Click on video below to see those that boarded our boat

Our next stop is a cave formed in the limestone. It’s also has a bat colony in residence that you can hear their sounds above you.

Bats hanging from above

Stalactites

You can see the impact of the tides in the Mangrove Forrest behind us

Our journey back took us out in the ocean for some Dolphin watching. I wasn’t fast enough to get a picture of the pink dolphin, but below is both a photo and a video of a pod of dolphins that resembled what we see at home. Upon our return to the dock, its back on the bus and off to our next activity.

The afternoon’s activity is a Cable Car to the top of Mount Chin Chang. Our ticket entitles us to a car with a glass floor. Some of our party didn’t value that feature. We did enjoy the view of our 1.4 mile journey to the top. The Sky Bridge below was constructed to enhance the view, complete with sporadic glass floors. The view was tremendous as was the cooler temperatures. I forgot to mention, that it feels like St Louis in July, Hot and Humid.