Wandering Around Malaysia

However, as already mentioned, I started the trip in the capital again, which is in mainland Malaysia, on the Malay Peninsula. The capital Kuala Lumpur has everything – a small Chinatown, Indian Quarter called Little India, excellent transport links, beautiful mosques, many old buildings, and also fantastic modern architecture. First, I set out to see two major skyscrapers, from where I could get a better view of the magnificence of the capital. The first tower is the Petronas Towers double tower and the second is the Menara Tower.

The Petronas Twin Towers are among the most beautiful skyscrapers in the world. They were inspired by the five pillars of Islam and reach 452 meters high. At night, they are brightly lit, so that they’re recognizable far and wide. Of course, an evening photoshoot followed right next to them. The Petronas Twin Towers are connected by a bridge that is open to visitors. On the ground floor, the Petronas Twin Towers distribute a limited number of free tickets to visit the bridge each morning. It’s best to line up for the free tickets before nine in the morning. That was how I got my ticket.

The KL Menara is a television tower. It’s 421 meters high and may not seem special compared to the Petronas Twin Towers, but because it stands on Pineapple Hill (Bukit Nanas), it offers a panoramic view of Kuala Lumpur from its viewing platform, and from this slope it’s also higher than the Petronas Towers. It’s also the seventh largest freestanding tower in the world.

Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country and so I decided to visit one of the more important mosques. The visit to the Masjid Negara Mosque was interesting, as immediately upon arrival I was dressed in a long purple dress that reached almost to the floor, and of course I also had a hood, as you must be completely covered when entering the mosque according to Muslim rules. The mosque in my opinion wasn’t built classically, as it’s a giant beautiful blue and white mosque, built in a more modern way, without round bulges all around.

Kuala Lumpur has many architectural gems. The railway over the city was great for me as I could observe the whole city from the train, and Asian food is one of the best for me anyway, and the kindness of the Asian people is what makes travelling even more special.

After visiting the capital again, I headed further south, to the Taman Negara Park, where a boat ride into the rainforest and a long walk among the tall treetops awaited us. Taman Negara is one of the oldest tropical forests in the world, estimated to be 130 million years old. The walk between the treetops was a bit shaky and quite a thrill, as some trees are up to 45 meters tall. For about an hour more, the walk continued to the beautiful Bukit Teresek viewpoint. Taman Negara is extremely loud at night and when we slept in a village not far from the park’s entrance, we listened to the animals more than we slept.

After a few days in Taman Negara, I took a bus to Cameron Highlands, where I admired the BOH Tea plantations. BOH Tea was founded in 1929 and is one of the most famous tea brands in Malaysia. Here you can enjoy the lush green tea terraces and learn how tea is harvested and grown. The view of the plantation from the viewpoint of the tea shop are simply stunning.

There are also a lot of strawberry plantations in the Cameron Highlands. I visited Raaju’s Hill strawberry farm and enjoyed their juicy strawberries. Later, I went to see the beautiful flowers in Mrs. Robinson's Botanical Garden.

Rafflesia is the largest flower in the world, which can weigh up to ten kilograms. It’s found deep in the forests of Malaysia, southern Thailand, Sumatra, and Java in Indonesia. In this part of Malaysia, rafflesias are reddish in color, but yellow ones can also be found. The flower was named after naturalist Sir Stamford Raffles and Dr. Joseph Arnold, who discovered the flower in 1818. Its full name is Rafflesia arnoldii. Biologists say they don’t know how many different species of the flower there are, and so far, a total of seventeen have been discovered.

Its diameter is up to two meters. The flower inside is difficult to see, as rafflesia blooms only four to seven days a year, and the bud may remain dormant for a whole year or even more. When it blooms, it gives off a strong smell, as the flower had been closed in the bud for so long. We too were looking for it deep in the Malaysian jungle. From the Cameron Mountains, we drove for an hour with a group of enthusiastic travelers to the so-called Blue Valley. We walked for about two hours with a local guide who also had a machete with him as the flower grows in the overgrown forest. And we found two flowers. The bud on one was still closed and the other was already fully open. Of course, our enthusiasm was incredible. And then a photo shoot of the flowers followed.