Category Archives: Malaysia

A year after visiting Malaysia

Hard to believe a year has passed since my visit. We visited during the 50th anniversary of Malaysia’s independence from the British.

Despite all the brouhaha then, our visit was low-key. The last time I visited was around 11 years ago. Penang, my birthplace, is so different from what I remember.

Due to the traffic congestion, many of the streets have been made one-way.

We stopped in on the usual tourist hotspots like Penang’s Snake Temple. For different reasons my wife and kids found this to be hair-raising, terrifying yet memorable. Watch my short video clip then tell me if my wife’s terror was justified.


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Exotic Malaysian Bay Owls which I had never seen

Three Bay Owls chained to their perch in Penang Bird Park

The 8-inch Bay Owl didn’t even flinch as I approached it. Big face. Huge black eyes.

These creatures were placed prominently by the entrance as you enter the Penang Bird Park.

According to their website, the Penang Bird Park opened in 1988. I was long gone from Penang, by then.

Located on the mainland in Peninsula Malaysia in Seberang Jaya, this bird park was a lot of fun for us first-time visitors and even my nephew who’s been there and lives in Penang.

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The Search for the Proboscis Monkey

As I stood on this boardwalk watching this sunset in Borneo, I wondered if they were all like this one every evening. This is the pathway to the jetty where we boarded the tiny boats on the Garama River to seek out a very unusual reclusive creature. 1/250 sec f5.6 ISO 200. 17mm lens. Canon 20D.

Time flies. It’s almost been a year ago since I was in Borneo. Around this time last year we were in Kota Kinabalu, a city in Sabah, a state in East Malaysia. Specifically where is this? Well, see this map of the island of Borneo.

This was probably the highlight of our trip to Malaysia. It was my very first time to KK or Kota Kinabalu. The pace was much slower than on Peninsula Malaysia.

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Sarah Montague BBC vs. Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar

Enough time has passed since Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar’s interview with BBC’s Sarah Montague aired.I’m hoping the dust has settled somewhat. I was outraged by what I heard. But thankfully I’ve had time to let my nerves calm down.

Every fair-minded Malaysian on the planet having seen the interview must have been disgusted. A quick search on Google with keywords “Malaysia Foreign Minister BBC interview” yielded all sorts of relevant results.
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