Malaysia: Colonialism - Rain Forest - Antonias Broken Arm

Our itinerary through (West-) Malaysia

(28/02/2016 - 31/03/2016; 1600 km)

Malaysia welcomes us with easy border procedures and a visa on arrival for 90 days. Very nice. We drive on big highways and on the first parking area with food court we decide to book an AirBnB apartment in Georgetown. Georgetown is an old colonial foundation on the island of Penang on the west coast of Malaysia. British founded the place to enlarge the network of coastal cities for their trade in Southeast Asia. To get there we have to pass a 14 km long bridge with an impressive view on the 100.000-people-city.

Crossing the bridge to Penang-Island.

We find our apartment on floor 20 in building three of six huge concrete monsters. The view from above is impressive and after doing some calculations Johann sums up that some 40 000 people must life on this tiny space between highway, ocean and downtown Georgetown. The apartment is equipped “by Ikea”, something we will find again and again in AirBnB rented places on our way to Singapore. The owner has sent explanations to Torsten on how to find the key and when we arrive we walk on a sort long open balcony hallway towards the entrance door, Torsten slides the window of the kitchen open and grabs the key from the kitchen table. Aha. ;-)

The balcony hallway makes the place really special, for a couple of days we live among normal Malaysians. Usually doors are open and we can have glimpses into the places where people live. The neighborhood is not the richest one, apartments are very small and noises from people living around us are very present. People we meet in the elevator greet us very friendly, but most of them wonder, why we are here and not in one of the big hotels…

Georgetown: Our first AirBnB-Stay.
A huge apartment building shows
everyday life of the people.

Georgetown: Breakfast in our apartment.

Georgetown: Pauli enjoys jumping
sessions on the beds.

Georgetown: View from our apartment.

Georgetown: View from our apartment.

Georgetown: View from our apartment.

Georgetown: Homework time.

Georgetown: Pauli loves the long hallways.

Georgetown: View to the inner court.

Georgetown: View from our apartment.
Altar next to clothes.

Georgetown: Impressions
from our apartment.

Georgetown: Impressions 
from our apartment.

Georgetown: Our AirBnB-stay from outside.

In the evening we have dinner in the street, where little street stalls sell food to the inhabitants of our little cite, very very good and cheap. Torsten loves these places, the rest of us calls these places “where the eyes don’t always like to eat”… ;-)

Georgetown: Great street food between apartment buildings
outside of old town.

The food is basic, but delicious!

Pauli loves noodles.

Georgetown: When I parked the car the street was empty, ...

... now has some company.

Three big groups of people live in Malaysia together: Malay (mostly Muslims), Chinese (some are Buddhist, some follow Chinese religions, the typical Chinese mixture) and Indians (mostly Hindu). In our place they all live together, from what we see and smell from the kitchens. The overall picture in the country doesn’t seem to be that peaceful though, from what we read. Malay seem to stand above the other two groups in the hierarchy and that of course can cause problems. The different regions of Malaysia are ruled by Sultans and one of them is always elected King of the country for a couple of years. Even considering these problems and difficult structures in society, Malaysia is by far the wealthiest and best organized countries on our way so far, topping Thailand. This is not the chaotic, noisy, dusty and crowded South East Asia we have seen before. Here we find air-conditioned malls and restaurants, well organized public transport, regular waste pick up etc everywhere… Malaysia is Asia light, I’d say, maybe a good starting place for someone coming for the first time to the region.

Georgetown was founded 1786 and has a wonderful old town with lots of old colonial style houses and places from its founding period. Since 2008 it is together with the city of Malacca, further south listed as UNESCO world heritage. We really like the place, it has magic with all these old places.

At the harbor area we visit so called ‘clan jetties’: Chinese families living together in settlements of wooden houses on poles in the water, all equipped with temples and public spaces named after each clan living here. Chewy jetty seems to be the biggest one offering all kinds of shops for tourists.

Georgetown: Visiting the clan jetties.

Georgetown: Visiting the clan jetties.

Georgetown: Visiting the clan jetties.

Georgetown: Shrine at a pier of a clan jetty.

Georgetown: The dwellings of the clan jetties
are rather basic.

Georgetown: Johann lightning a stick in a temple
of one of the clan jetties.

Georgetown: Shrine built around a tree
at the entrance of a clan jetty.

We love the food here, especially what we can get in the food courts. That is really something I dream of ‘bringing home’! Imagine we would have a big food court on Place Luxembourg in Brussels: one food stall next to the other, tables for everyone to sit in the middle and fresh and delicious food. It would probably take months until one has tried every dish from every food stall… And with Malaysia being so multicultural Chinese noodle soups are served next to Indian dal or Malay Nasi Lemak (rice cooked in coconut, put into a banana leaf to serve). The heat keeps sweat running and we enjoy one fruit shake, smoothie and juice with ice after the other…

Georgetown: Food courts become a great stop for
reasonable priced snacks and drinks. 

Georegtown: Wrapping the spicy rice in banana leaves.
The food is called Nasi Lemak and...

... this is how it looks like when it's done.

And it’s not only the food where we can meet the three different cultures of Malaysia. On the Street of Harmony the Chinese Mercy of goddess temple and the St. George’s church stand next to the Sri Maha Mariamman Hindu temple and the Kapitan Keling mosque. All faiths united in one street. I really like this place. At the Museum of Penang we learn about the history of the island; a visit on the Christian cemetery also lets us think of the harsh living conditions Europeans had to try to survive some hundred years ago, or didn’t, as the graves of very young people show us.

Georgetown: Buddhist Temple in the
street of 'Street of Harmony'.Four religions living next to each other
for hundreds of years: 
Muslims, Buddhists, Christians & Hindu.

Street of Harmony@Georgetown:
Swastika welcoming us in the Hindu part. 

Street of Harmony@Georgetown:
Flowers sold for the Hindu worship services.

Here they are made.

Our 20th-floor-cité-apartment was only free for a couple of days, but we are still not done with seeing all the things in Georgetown so we decide to move to another place. This time a bit closer to the old town. And we rent one of the best places we have stayed in so far: an old colonial two-floor-house in a row of old houses. They are all lovely renovated and it’s a real time-machine-feeling! On the ground floor there is a big living room with a door to the little court in the back, where we find the outside kitchen and bathroom. Upstairs on wooden planks there are the sleeping rooms. The house doesn’t have any glass windows, just wooden window blinds that let air stream into the house. What an experience!

The next couple of days we hang out in our wonderful house, do homework, write for our blog, buy souvenirs and enjoy great food. We really enjoy our time in Georgetown. Torsten even manages to get an insurance for our car, which is since Thailand a pretty difficult task, but driving without is not only illegal, but also to insecure… Our house is being rented by a very nice young couple, that welcomes us very warmly and even helps us to give dusty Emma a wash… J And while we wash a Canadian family also visiting Georgetown comes along and tells us that they have been doing the same tour as we did, from London to Singapore in a 60 year old Landrover! Wow, we are very impressed. They travel with three teenager kids. The car is so loud when they drive, that they have to carry earmuffs… Compared to this old timer our Emma is pure luxury! :)

Georgetown: Pauli discovering our new
AirBnB-stay in downtown.

Georgetown: While cleaning Emma a bit, ...

... a Canadian-Singapore family also with three kids came
around the corner ...

 ...They did almost the same itinerary

starting from London, but in Land Rover from the 60ies.

Chapeau! Facebook.

Georgetown: Photo shooting in our historical stay downtown ...

... Great place, great memories.

Georgetown: Famous for street art many of them by the
Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic.

Georgetown: Pauli defeated by the heat.

Georgetown: Visiting the clanhouse of Khoo Kongshi.
At the time when the house was built they risked consequences
by the Chinese emporer since it appeared to be
more beautiful than his pallace.

Clanhouse of Khoo Kongshi@Georgetown:
Impressions.

Clanhouse of Khoo Kongshi@Georgetown:
Impressions.

Clanhouse of Khoo Kongshi@Georgetown:
Impressions.

Clanhouse of Khoo Kongshi@Georgetown:
Wall of clan members indicating their profession.

Clanhouse of Khoo Kongshi@Georgetown:
Impressions.

Clanhouse of Khoo Kongshi@Georgetown:
Impressions.

Clanhouse of Khoo Kongshi@Georgetown:
Impressions.

Clanhouse of Khoo Kongshi@Georgetown:
Impressions.

Clanhouse of Khoo Kongshi@Georgetown:
Impressions.

Georgetown: More street art by the
Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic.

Georgetown: More street art by the 
Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic.

Georgetown: We did not expect to come
across Art Deco architecture.

Georgetown: Huge incense sticks infront of a temple

Georgetown: ;)

Georgetown: Green facade.

Georgetown: Johann looking
for some distance ...

... before ordering another fruit shake ;)

Pauli got it already.

Georgetown: City Hall.

Pauli not interested and opts for a nap ;)

Georgetown: Visiting Penang Museum to find out about
the history of the island.

Georgetown: Impressions.

Georgetown: Typical historical houses in downtown.

Georgetown: Street Art.

Georgetown: Street Art.

Georgetown: Street Art.

Georgetown: Temple impressions.

Georgetown: Antonia finds her lookalike
in Little India.

Little India@Georgetown:
Check out this picture. Pauli is obvious, but do find Johann, me
and the camera taking the picture? ;)

Little India@Georgetown: Impressions.

Georgetown: Playtime.
Pauli missed. Not too many playgrounds around.

Georgetown: Clock Tower.

Georgetown: Stop at the food court. The manager starts a chat
with us and shares recommendations which of the food stalls
provide the best food.

Georgetown: Kids days. We visit the interactive museum
'Made in Penang'.

Made in Penang@Georgetown: The beginning of a lot of fun ;)

Made in Penang@Georgetown: Pauli needs some help. 

Made in Penang@Georgetown:
Of course the Indian Teh Tarik is
also there. Quite famous
in Little India@Georgetown

Made in Penang@Georgetown:
Look at teh monkey at top of the picture.

Made in Penang@Georgetown:
Not sure what Johann tries to hit.

Made in Penang@Georgetown: I ain't have any problems
to imagine this scene in reality ;)

Made in Penang@Georgetown: ;)

Made in Penang@Georgetown: ;))

They tried every single scene, ...

... believe me there were a lot!

Made in Penang@Georgetown: Ending the visit
with a great shake. This one was really good!

Georgetown: Visiting the tiny Sun Yat Sen Museum
(He was the founder of Kuomintang and the Republic of China,
the forerunner of the Peoples Republic of China).

Georgetown: Enjoying great Malaysian food.
This time vegetarian.

Georgetown: Typical historical houses in downtown.
We love the colors.

Georgetown: Visiting the Protestant Cemetery.

Protestant Cemetery@Georgetown:
Island of silence in the middle of
the city ...

... it's somewhat ...

... magical!

Protestant Cemetery@Georgetown: Last funeral 1892.
Today, one of the main city's heritages 

Protestant Cemetery@Georgetown:
We really enjoyed the visit.

Georgetown: Gigantic street art.

Our next stop is the middle of the Malay Peninsula and it is a cool place! By ‘cool’ I mean, really cool temperatures! J We drive up to the Cameron Highlands, a mountain range at a height of 1500 m, where inhabitants grow tea. The area was “discovered” in 1885 by William Cameron, a colonial land measurer who probably could not believe his luck, when he found out that not far from the coastal cities there is a cool place where they all could flee tropical heat for a while. A lot of English villas can be found up here, where tea and cake with strawberries and cream are served, just like on a sunny day in southern England. ;) Today there are not only the English villas, but also huge housing areas, clawed to the steep mountains everywhere. It seems as if Malaysians like the cool air too… Construction works have quite some impact on the environment: landslides, ground water contamination and the loss of good soil are just some of them. There is one road that curls across the mountain range and left and right to that road live almost 40 000 people…

Tanah Rata@Cameron Highlands: Escaping the heat
and ordering hot pot ;)

The area is perfect for hiking. And it is so cool at night that we park in the little town called Tanah Ratah and move back into our car for the night! The last time on our trip, as we will see later. We visit a huge tea farm and hike along the tea fields that crawl across the hills. BOH (Best of Highlands) Tea Estate is one of the oldest tea farms in the area and we can see how the tea is fermented and dried to make it the black tea for our cups as we know it, in the local tea factory. Very interesting! There are a lot of Malay tourists on the farm, but even with that many people around there is no stress in the air. People are very kind, friendly and relaxed. We meet a lot of Chinese Malay and get a total new picture of Chinese people: everyone here speaks perfect English, is very helpful and friendly, really nice! We have a great day hiking up the Bukit Bindang. Counting at the end of the day, we see that we have walked 16 km!

Cameron Highlands: Starting a long
hike through the tea plantations
(18 mountainous kilometers).
Look at these gigantic ferns.

Cameron Highlands: Tea plantations.

Cameron Highlands: A favorite scenery for photo shootings.

Cameron Highlands: Pauli loves to walk
through the bushes,
which are about as high as he is.

Cameron Highlands: Beauty of man-made
landscapes vs. destruction of nature.

;)

Cameron Highlands: Observing tea processing.
Step 1: wilting
Step 2: bruising ...

... step 3: fermentation
step 4: rolling
step 5: drying

Cameron Highlands: Look at his eyes.

Cameron Highlands: Special training.

Cameron Highlands: Reaching the hill top with its 
'Mossy Forest' @2000m

Cameron Highlands: Time for some lunch.

Cameron Highlands: Kids examining the dead body of a snake.

Cameron Highlands: Selfie on our way back
(after 15km hiking, some more to go ;))

Cameron Highlands: Fantastic green!

Cameron Highlands: On our way back we give a ride to some
worn out hitchhikers. Apparently it is much appreciated.

We stay in rural areas and drive on small routes through the country side towards our next destination called: Taman Negara. That is the name for a more than 100 million year old rain forest, today a national park in Malaysia. If we take into consideration that human beings appeared on earth around 500 000 years ago, this a very impressive age… Leaving Cameron Highlands and visiting the rain forest brings us back to high temperatures and humidity.

While driving there we pass hundreds of palm oil farms. A lot of rain forest has been cut and burned down to make place for the palm trees. We see lots of huge cut stumps of trees with buttress roots on our way. Palm oil that is won from the palm seeds is actually used for almost every processed food. Maybe we don’t realize it, but every one of us eats palm oil every day: it is in sweets, cakes, margarines, ice cream even in lip sticks and shampoos. Its consistency makes it a great ingredient: at room temperature the oil is solid, but melts at temperatures of around 37 degrees. So when we enjoy this wonderful chocolate bar that melts on our tongue, it is surely made with palm oil.

The park entrance is at the little village called Kuala Tahan, where we find a little bungalow to stay at. When I had taken a look on the map before going there, I thought we would be driving a small road through the forest and at some point there would appear the little village with the entrance gates of the park. But when we go there we find out, that actually up to the entrance of the park trees have been cut and palm oil farms do their business; so stubbed land right up to the entrance of the National Park.

The rain forest is an amazing place! It is hot and humid, something we expected. But what we didn’t expect was the noise! The sheer noise of the cicadas blows our ears off. One cicada can make noise of around 90 decibel that is the sound of a jack-hammer working right next to you. One time I stand next to a little tree where the noise is the loudest and I decide to start shaking the tree and ha, the noise stops, the cicada now makes noise as if she was mortally offended… :-)

The night hike is something really special. We don’t see any tigers, leopards or other night active cats though… ;-) But we see real big spiders and a scorpion that turns into wonderful green when the light of our lamps points at him.

Taman Negara: Boat Trip to a night hike, to explore
life in the dark of the rain forest.

Only few pictures turned out OK. Like this spiderhunter ...

... noisy cicadas ...

... spiders ...

... or of a tapir.

Taman Negara: Having breakfast before taking off
into the woods.

Taman Negara: Look at these roots.

Taman Negara: View from an nature observation tower.

Not far from Kuala Tahan there is a canopy walkway. High up in the trees we walk across small swinging rope-ways and have a great view on the forest. The time we stay here we enjoy the rain forest from all different sides: from above in the canopy walk way, by hiking through it, also at night, from the river by taking a boat and swimming: feel it with all senses. We get to see an impressing fast monitor lizard and to scare the hell out of Antonia a long brown snake next to our trail! A curious Tapir comes to visit the Park Office every evening.

Taman Negara: Canopy walk.

The place we like most is a little beach called Lubok Simpon at the river Sungai Tahan, just a ten minutes’ walk from the park entrance. Huge trees, thick forest, lianas, the river with rocks and rapids: It is the real jungle feeling! 

Taman Negara: Little beach at a river in the rain forest.

To see some more of the jungle we take a boat ride further north to a place called Lata Berkoh. After an hour in the wooden boat we hike another 20 minutes to a place the guide described as a Jacuzzi-pool. J Big rocks and rapids that form pools to swim in: what a great place in the middle of the jungle.

We have a great time in the rain forest and stay longer. Our bungalow is very simple, but has air co and we are happy.

Taman Negara: Experiencing great nature
while going on a boat ...

... through the rain forest.

Taman Negara: Pauli enjoys the boat ride.

Taman Negara: Every river turn ...

... provides new impressions. Water is incredibly clear.

Taman Negara: Nice reflections on
the water surface.

Taman Negara: At other places gigantic logs span over the river.

Taman Negara: After arriving at a shallow river bank,
we take a 30 min. walk before arriving at a waterfall.

Taman Negara: It's so much fun and ...

... feels like paradise. Almost no people around.

Taman Negara:
Pauli posing with a giant leave, ...

... which is bigger than he is..

We can't stop enjoying the bathtubs.

Taman Negara: Often the water is not deeper than hand's width.
Two very experience boatmen take us back ... 

... to the village.

Taman Negara: All hungry,
we enjoy the great food at the riverside.

Our next stop is back in civilization: Malacca at the West Coast. We circle around Kuala Lumpur and go further south. The heat is almost unbearable, we are in the meantime totally used to walking around in wet sweated clothes. On our way we pick up Kevin and Claudia from the US and Canada. Both hitchhike through South East Asia and we have a great time together discussing American politics.

Malacca: The master of fruit shakes prepares
an awesome mix.

Malacca: Not yet awake.

In Malacca we stay again in an old colonial house in a lovely room in the house of Joti, a wonderful host! The house has the typical structure of a colonial times family home of the 19th century: an entrance hall, the private space behind with access to a small courtyard, behind again a room with the stairs to the first floor. Wooden beams and red roof tiles, make the design perfect.

Malacca: Our AirBnB-Stay @Joti in downtown. 
Simply awesome! Pauli tries to make friends with Joti's dog.

Joti is a great host.
We really enjoyed chatting with him.

Our 'home' has an inner court, which architecture wise really
great, but at the same time a gateway for (Dengue-) Mosquitoes.

Even so we sleep under Mosquito nets the kids keep having
new bites every morning. We love the place, but are bit worried.

Malacca: Impressions from our apartment.

Malacca: Look at thee eyes! No wonder, that half
south-east Asia wants to cuddle this guy!
Paulis reaktion: 'Diese(r) Mann/Frau ehhhhh!'

We take time to walk the town and see some out of the long list of museums.

One is really special and a great new thing to learn about: It is the former house of Zheng He, a Chinese national hero that we have never heard of before. He sailed the Asian seas 100 years before Columbus and went as far as northern Africa. He sailed in the name of the Chinese emperor carrying around ship loads of presents and goods to give to foreign kings and leaders and to impress them with Chinas glory. His fleet is sad to have consisted of around 320 ships and 28 000 crewmen! The ships were as long as 120 m! (Columbus Santa Maria had the length of 24 m, but even Columbus had noted in his diary that the ship was too small and too heavy to make an excursion to the end of the world…. ;-)

Zheng He managed to establish a big trade network in the region during his seven sailing expeditions. Strange enough the following Chinese emperors decided to stop this expansion and apparently even destroyed archives and maps about the journeys. Today Zheng He is a national hero in China, the day of him and his fleet leaving the harbor for the first time on the 11th of July 1405 is celebrated as Maritime Day. Traces of Zheng He can be found everywhere at the coasts in South East Asia. We will meet him again on our journey further south. Malacca in Malaysia used to be one of the storage points for the journeys, from here the expedition awaited the right Monsoons, filled up stocks and had a home harbor. A large population of Chinese still lives in town today. The museum shows across several floors a replica of one of the ships, where Zheng He even brought a Giraffe home to show to the Chinese emperor. It’s a fascinating visit, a whole new world opens up.

Malacca: Visiting the Zheng He Museum.
All lining up to take a picture.

Zheng He Museum@Malacca: Look at the crew.

Zheng He Museum@Malacca: All of us on the roof top.

Zheng He Museum@Malacca:
Impressed by the model of the fleet.

The heat, humidity and mosquitoes scratch on our nerves though and sometimes we have a hard time keeping up the good spirit. Malaysia is Dengue area and though we haven’t seen any mosquito in the rain forest (hard to believe, but it is because of the dry season), in Malacca it is really bad. And when a body is sweating in the heat usually all older stitches get ‘activated’ again and give us a hard time. We use sprays to avoid getting bitten all the time, but if not applied right or maybe washed off by some water they don’t help anymore. Once Antonia gets 13 stitches in one foot, because the spray apparently came off… :(

We still enjoy sightseeing in Malacca though. There is a Sultans palace to be visited, a historical museum called Stadhuys (!) showing the Portuguese, Dutch, British and Japanese influences on the town. There are many things to see. In the Maritime museum we go on board of an old Portuguese sailing ship.

Malacca: Armored vehicles used during
Proclamation Of Independence Memorial

Malacca: Throne at the Sultanate Palace Museum

Malacca: Theme rickshaws lined up in front of the
Proclamation Of Independence Memorial.
If you choose to take a ride with them you have to  cope with
loud music of Frozen or any other movie-song.

Malacca: Entering St. Paul's hill
via the remnants of the Portuguese gate 

Malacca: Tower of St. Paul's Cathedral

Malacca: St. Paul's Cathedral

Malacca: Visiting the Stadthuys from the Dutch time,
which shows a lot of history from the last centuries.

Nice vipe spread the Malacca river,
which runs through the city center.

Malacca: Pauli not happy. View from inside the shake bar (!).
What else can you do?

Malacca: Famous for its street art.

Here some more. I really like it!

Malacca: Time for a coffee. The Calanthe Art Cafe offers
special coffees  from all 13 Malaysian states.
I spent there an unforgettable afternoon ;)

Malacca: Traditional paper cutting
motive painted on a wall.

Malacca: Impressions from downtown.

Malacca: Impressions from downtown.

Malacca: Impressions from downtown.

Malacca: Impressions from downtown.

Malacca: Impressions from downtown.

Malacca: Enjoying dinner at the riverside.

Malacca: Great ambiance on our way home.

Malacca: We love the Chinese-style lanterns by night.

Malacca: Johann admiring an old Daimler at the
Malacca Museum.

What a beauty!

Malacca: Visit of the Maritime Museum..

Except the ship, it was not too impressive.

Malacca: Johann 'enjoying' the massage chair.
Antonia apparently happy that her legs are not long enough, I guess.

We enjoy some time on a play ground after lunch one day and are about to leave, when Antonia does a last jump from one of the climbing structures. She slips, falls and screams and we know something is really wrong. When we look at her left arm we immediately see that it is broken, the bone is dislocated and pushes through the skin. So it is time again for emergency mode. Torsten grabs her and we walk quickly towards a police station next door to ask for a hospital, meanwhile I have found one on maps me. Mahkota Medical Centre, a private hospital is about a 10 minute walk and at the emergency entrance we are treated very fast and friendly. Antonia gets medication against the pain and we wait for the x-ray that shows one hour later the big fracture. After some first discussions with a doctor we know that she needs to have a surgery and that it will be expensive. Torsten and Johann walk home to Joti to get all our insurance information and to get in contact with them. Early in the evening everything is settled and the surgery can take place. Via life x-ray they put the broken bones together and fix it with a sort nail. The nail has to stay for six weeks, so further on our journey we have to find a hospital again. Everything goes well, but she has to stay in the hospital for one night. Torsten stays with her, while Johann, Paul and me we go home. We meet Joti on our way who has come to have a look how Antonia is doing. He is really kind, he even cooks for us the next day: spaghetti and tomato sauce, everyone happy! ;-)

Malacca: Does not look like much,
but falling caused ...

... a complex fracture at Antonia left arm.

Pauli worried about his sister.

Bones need to be puzzled together in a surgery and ...

... fixated by some nails.

Antonia & me need to stay at the hospital for the night.

Everywhere in town there are special rickshaws and every rickshaw is different, with music boxes and colorful decoration. On our way home from the hospital we take on, since now we are only three and all fit in one… ;-)

Meanwhile the rest of the crew takes a Rickshaw
to the place where we stay.

The next day Antonia is allowed to leave, but Torsten has to stay almost the whole day to get the insurance and payments settled. In the meantime there are some problems, because the hospital only allows guarantees from certain local insurances that our insurance doesn’t have contacts with. So via phone calls back and forth a solution is found at the end, but it takes a whole day.

Next morning it's time to go home.
Look at the spelling of the room planing ;)

Pauli like the screen paintings in the hospital.

Malacca: Cheng Hoon Teng Temple.

Cheng Hoon Teng Temple@Malacca: Place of silence.

In the evening we say good bye to Joti and Malacca and hit the road for our very last trip with Emma and drive to Kuala Lumpur. It is a two hour drive on fast highways. We have booked an apartment in a big condominium complex on the 24th floor and a wonderful infinity pool on the 37th floor with a great view on the Petronas towers and skyline. The apartment is nice and has a good view on the roads and houses down town, it feels a bit like being on a miniature train: far below there are cars and trains and people. Paul loves to sit at the window to watch it all.

Kuala Lumpur: Time for a shave!

The Tamil Barber takes care of it. He told me
most of his life. 

Work in progress ...

Pauli had to pay with a hug for my shave.

Kuala Lumpur: A new level of luxury! Infinity pool with view
to the Petronas Towers.

Antonia has to watch out for her arm, but ...

... cannot resist to jump into the pool.

Neither can I.

Scenery at night!

Kuala Lumpur: View down in the inner court of
the apartment building complex.

Kuala Lumpur: In the meantime we got used
to the concept of condominiums.
But this was something special.
Surreal, bubble-like, luxurious.

Kuala Lumpur: Tightening the Windows to reduce street noise.
Pauli had to lent a building bloc to make the construction work.
Very efficient!

Kuala Lumpur: Not all the dishes on the
microwave menu are known to us.

Altogether we will stay almost three weeks in Kuala Lumpur. It feels a bit like real life. J We do home work and some administrative stuff. And we find a solution for Emma, who will from here on no longer be our travel companion. It has become too hot to sleep in the car and overlanding is no longer possible, we would have to ship the car anyway from here. Our first option is to ship the car home to Europe from Port Klang not far from Kuala Lumpur. Torsten takes a day to negotiate with shipping companies at Port Klang and comes home with all kinds of offers and ideas. But all this needs time. Several times we change the apartment in the building, because it is booked by other guests and we need more time. So once we live on the 24th floor, once on the 26nd, then again in another building on the 19th floor, very interesting. In between all the negotiations with the shipping companies we all get sick from a heavy flue. I am the first one, but don’t get fever, but Antonia and Paul get pretty high fever. After two days we decide to go to the hospital for a checkup, since we are in a Dengue hot spot. Interestingly Dengue is most active in big cities, because the mosquitoes carrying the virus can survive in little water spots, or even clean swimming pools. We find statistics that tell us that in the region of Kuala Lumpur 144 people get sick from Dengue every day, 220 000 people fell ill in 2015 in whole Malaysia. The General hospital is not far from our house. We see a doctor and all have a quick blood test. When we get back to the doctor he takes a short look on our papers and immediately declares that Antonia and Paul have Dengue: “I am 99 percent sure, Madame, this is Dengue!” We are pretty shocked to be honest. Dengue is also called “bone breaker fever” and there is nothing you can do, once you have it, only drinking and resting. We knew we would be taking a risk by travelling to this area and have always tried to avoid mosquito bites, by wearing special mosquito clothes and sprays. But as I said in Malacca for example we were bitten quite often despite all the measures we took. We had agreed that if anyone of us would ever get Dengue this would be the end of travelling through South East Asia, because a second infection of Dengue can kill. The doctor keeps talking and talking, but most of our questions he cannot answer, contradictions of what he says occur. We understand that his diagnosis is based on two measures of the blood result. Since we have some experience in reading blood results we get suspicious, we know that viruses in general can change these blood measures. But all this thinking starts only after we have left the hospital. We get prescriptions for all kinds of medication that is handed over at the hospitals’ pharmacy for free. We are told to come back the next day for another checkup.

I feel very bad when we come home and very sorry, that apparently the two little ones of our crew got hit by this terrible fever. We also send the results to Leuven to check with the doctors and get their opinion, bad blood tests are nothing to make fun with.

That night I don’t sleep well and I control fever of the two sleeping kids every three hours and ha! Amazing, in the middle of the night both kids don’t have fever anymore. Hm? Bone breaker fever? I consult descriptions on the internet again: Dengue comes with heavy head ache, bone pain, muscle pain etc… None of this seems to happen in our case. Luckily. The next day we discuss what to do and decide to change hospital for the second check. The kids are fine, no fever anymore, but running noses and a heavy cough. We take a big known private hospital and by now we are pretty sure that the doctor we saw knows only Dengue and nothing else. Who knows how many people walk out there with a Dengue diagnosis in their hands. I start to wonder how Dengue statistics are made in Malaysia… In the meantime we have received an answer from our doctors in Leuven, they see a flue in the blood results. And that is what the other hospital tells us at the end of the day: we have a heavy flue. Maybe we have caught it at the hospital in Malacca, maybe the super cold malls and restaurants, that we walk in wet sweated have brought it, no one knows.

Kuala Lumpur: 1st Malaysian hospital experience at the
fiver unit. Antonia & Pauli are diagnosed with Dengue.
Mistakenly. Luckily.

Kuala Lumpur: Antonia working for school ...

... estimating and measuring. She does very well!

Kuala Lumpur: Johann & Pauli doing
shopping. by racing through the super market.

But the false alarm has given us some time to think and reconsider risks and fun of our journey. We have long talks together about what we would like to do now and where to head to next. We all agree that the heat and humidity is something we are fed up with. We had actually planned to go to Vietnam after Malaysia, then Myanmar and Indonesia, all of which are in the Dengue and Malaria range and in the heat belt that gives us a hard time. Malaysia has shown us, that even when taking all security measures against mosquito bites, with three kids it is almost impossible to make it really safe.

So we take a map and reconsider. And this is the new plan: We will go to Singapore for a couple of days after leaving Malaysia, because we have a nice invitation from friends of Benny’s friends in Thailand whom we met in Bangkok. ;) Then we will fly to Vietnam to see the north and some places further south. We will stay there for two weeks, because that is possible without a visa since last year. Then we will take a flight to Seoul and see South Korea (leaving Dengue area) for about four weeks, then take a boat to Japan and stay there another four weeks, before taking a flight to Canada to enjoy the last seven weeks of our journey. Ha! and that makes a real around-the-world-trip at the end!!! That is the plan.

In the meantime the flue has reached Torsten and gives him a hard time too, only Johann leaves the scene without a scratch. ;) When everyone feels better we enjoy some sightseeing in Kuala Lumpur. The Petronas towers are of course on our list and the view from the 86th floor is very impressive. Inside the towers is a huge kids science center, that we visit one day and have great fun exploring. The old quarter is quite nice, but by now we have seen so many great Asian old towns that Kuala Lumpur doesn’t leave a long lasting impression. In a mall we get to see the new Batmobile of the new superman-against-batman-movie. ;) And we enjoy great food: in Kuala Lumpur as everywhere in Malaysia there is this wonderful mix of cultures and therefore also foods, really really lekker!

Kuala Lumpur:
Petronas Towers in the twilight.

Kuala Lumpur: Stunning view from the top
of the Petronas Towers.

Petronas Towers@Kuala Lumpur

Petronas Towers@Kuala Lumpur

Petronas Towers@Kuala Lumpur:
Fun Pictures in the mirror.

Kuala Lumpur: In a cafe we meet two people from Yemen,
who prepare themselves for German Language courses
at the Goethe Institute. Their goal: Studying in Germany.
All the best for them!!!!

Meanwhile, Pauli opts for a break.

Kuala Lumpur: Little is left of downtown.
We visit the view remnants like the market.

Central Market@Kuala Lumpur: Nice handcraft.
Susanne can't resist.

Central Market@Kuala Lumpur:
Fruit boxes.

Kuala Lumpur: Visiting the Hindu Temple
Sri Mahamariamman.

Feels very different than anything before.

Preparing the ceremony.

Colored powders used during worship services.

They 'band' gets ready to play ...

... liturgical sounds. Pauli not amused.

Kuala Lumpur: Antonia eats ...

... all the ginger fish, which is available on the menu;

Kuala Lumpur: Inside the KLCC shopping mall.

KLCC shopping mall@Kuala Lumpur: Ideal Place to promote
new products to potential consumers. 

Kuala Lumpur: No Durians (stinky fruit) allowed!

Kuala Lumpur: Visiting Little India and enjoying the food!

Kids cannot stop eating.

I cannot stop ordering!

For little money we had a great culinary experience..

Kuala Lumpur: Since we fulfill a lot of criteria,
we are entitled to use these seat. Check out the signs ;)

Kuala Lupur: Most subways ride without a driver.

Kuala Lumpur: Great playground in the center of the city.
We are defeated by the heat after a while.

Kuala Lumpur: Aic Kacang, a shaved ice with sweet toppings.

Johann's photography experiments.

Kuala Lumpur: Johann at the Tamil Barber.
How it's his turn. Not too amused.

Kuala Lumpur: Time for their school reports.

It was pretty good. Johann relieved.

@Johann: lots of good stuff.
Only few attention points.

@Antonia: No attention points.
Pure overachiever!

Kuala Lumpur: Kids looking down to ...

... the exhibited Bat-Mobil. Although quickly identified
as a fake vehicle it was pretty impressive.

Kuala Lumpur: Visiting Petrosaints, a sort of discovery center
around physics and energy resources.
Their was enough content for many days, but ...

... Pauli was happy with building blocs
right behind the entrance.

So was Susanne ;)

Petrosaints@Kuala Lumpur: Model of a Drilling Platform,
with opportunity to try a rescue escape chute.

Johann goes for it.

As a main sponsors of Formula 1 racing Petronas also
installed a driving simulator. Johann appreciates it a lot.

Experiences with slides and friction.
Kids had quite some fun ...

... got the message

Petrosaints@Kuala Lumpur:
Johann experimenting with electricity.

One of these days we read about the terror attacks in Brussel and life stands still for a moment. For years we knew that this could happen one day. Actually this has been my nightmare: I sit in the metro in the morning and suddenly there is an explosion. And now it is reality. We are very happy that none of our friends got hurt, but we are worried what these incidents will do to Brussels. What will be the effect on living together in this wonderful mix of cultures and religions? We really hope the best, Bruxelles ma belle! We miss you all and look forward to come home in the summer.

Even with the flue our negotiations with shipping companies are still going on and we get closer to sign a contract and tow Emma to a rack to get her shipped to Europe. But then another option appears on our screens. Leif a friend of a good friend from Germany contacts us and lets us know that he would be interested to take over Emma in June to travel for another year and bring her back in 2017. First we are not very convinced, suddenly all kinds of obstacles appear on our minds and the shipping seems to be doable in the meantime, we are close to signing a contract and get things done. But Leif keeps writing and at the end convinces us to say ‘yes’. This starts a whole series of activities that keep us busy for the next couple of days, but also puts a final date on our stay in Kuala Lumpur. We empty and clean the car inside. Torsten and Johann make all kinds of Videos to explain how Emma wants to be treated. One day we visit Ikea and buy moving boxes for the stuff we have to send home, everything we don’t want to carry along or that can’t stay in the car for another year. At the end we fill nine (!) boxes and send them home with a shipping company. Torsten has visited the local SAP office and a colleague is so kind to agree to take over Emmas keys and papers to hand them over to Leif, when he comes in June to Kuala Lumpur to pick her up. At a big book store we get new lonely planets for Korea, Japan and Canada and then one day we are ready. Everything is sorted, shipped or put in the waste and the new bags are ready. We can start into our backpacking adventure! Singapore is our next destination.

Kuala Lumpur: Visiting the SAP Office ...

... with its feel-good-space.

Next to SAP-Office@Kuala Lumpur:
Mosque in corporate design with
the Head Quarter of the
Malaysian hajj pilgrims fund board.

Kuala Lumpur: Packing Boxes. 

Everything we can spare,
we decided to send home.

Here is what is left and needs to fit in the backpacks.

'Are that your shoes, Pauli?'

Kuala Lumpur: 'God bye my lover'. We all say farewell
to our beloved Emma. Not a the funniest moment on our trip.

***

Slowly but surely travel items begin to reach their end of life-span. Here a selection

Susanne's watch.

My beloved sandals.

Pauli's water shoes:
Too small and bleached out.

Pauli's child seat.
Three kids have done their work.