What I wasn't prepared for was the sophistication of beautiful Kuala Lumpur. Yes, of course, I had heard of the Petronis Towers and I certainly wasn't disappointed when I saw them. They were so spectacular that I found myself taking dozens of photos of this magnificent structure - from all angles. And, at all times of the day and night.

I did not anticipate the city of Putrajaya, the new, thoroughly modern government center. I really got lucky and managed an invitation to the Merdeka Celebration 2005. This event marked the 48th anniversary of Malaysia's national independence.

Merdeka Celebration

Merdeka is a month long celebration and there are national flags hanging everywhere. The flag is red, white, blue and yellow. Red and white stripes with a blue field emblazoned with a crescent (representing Islam as the official religion) and a 14 point star (representing Malaysia's 13 states and one federal territory.) From a distance it appears much like the USA flag.

I stayed at the Putrajaya Shangri-La, 118 beautiful guest rooms and suites, restaurants, bars, meeting rooms, pools, great spa for their signature spa and massage treatments, WiFI, great service and complimentary shuttle to Kuala Lumpur City Center and even tour of Putrajaya if you don't feel like walking it.

Situated on a hilltop in the center of Putrajaya, it's within easy walking distance of everything in the city, including a shopping mall where there were ongoing events throughout the Merdeka celebration. They had fashion shows, exhibits, even a break dancing contest. This is thoroughly modern Malaysia.

Borneo

Malaysia is both a peninsula and an island. The Malay Peninsula extends south from Thailand on the north to the tiny island nation of Singapore on the south. The other major part of Malaysia in on the northern coast of the island of Borneo and is made up of the states of Sarawak and Sabah, with another tiny nation of Brunei sandwiched in between.

Kuching
My first stop on the island of Borneo was Kuching. I arrived there at the beginning of an annual regatta. Kuching is situated on a wide river that is used for local commerce and is typically busy with taxi boats ferrying people from one side to the other. On this day, the water taxis are busy, but they must make their passages between the numerous races. The regatta is an annual event that began many years before the country of Malaysia was formed.

Watching the paddlers is fascinating - they hardly seem to move in their seats. The strokes are short and shallow, but they must be powerful - the longboats are moving swiftly. To my surprise it turns out that there are paddlers from many other countries, including a group of women.

As the races continue throughout the day there is time to wander past the vendors along the banks of the Sarawak River. A market a few block upstream from the Kuching Hilton is busy and everything you could wish to buy is readily available.

I had already purchased a couple of replica Rolexes at a market in Kuala Lumpur and now settled in for some real shopping for gifts for relatives and friends. The Rolex watches were purchased as "gag" gifts, but they are so authentic looking and well made that I have already decided to keep one for myself.

Malaysian batik is a great buy, but I would recommend shopping in some of the batik workshops in Kuala Lumpur to get the real thing. And be prepared to bargain - I was told by locals to offer about half the starting price. You could probably go lower, but since you're getting a great deal anyway why not enjoy the exchange and settle for a price fair to both parties.

Kuching known as the Cat City is the gateway to Sarawak and this is where you jump off into the Borneo that I came looking for. This is not the right season for the spectacularly large rafflesia, the world's largest flower that can reach up to a meter in diameter. But there are ample opportunities to visit exotic longhouses which are typically homes to many families all sharing a common area with individual living quarters.

Sarawak Cultural Village and the Rain Forest
I toured the Sarawak Cultural Village about a half hour from Kuching to get an introduction to the many cultures of the region. There are seven authentic traditional buildings on 17 acres which are populated with members of different ethnic groups. They are engaged in their normal daily activities and are willing to stop and explain their activities to visitors. I learned to shoot a blowpipe, but I don't think I could hit a moving target.

But this is still not what I'm looking for. This is not quite "National Geographic" stuff. Next stop for me is the Hilton Batang Ai Longhouse Resort. A four hour drive from Kuching and then the road ends. Then a 10 minute boat ride across a lake and deep into the Sarawak rain forest. Now we're getting somewhere. From here there are high canopy walks through the forest and a river into the jungle that begs to be explored. Taking a long narrow dugout canoe down this tantalizing river became the highlight of this journey, not knowing what is ahead or even around the next bend.

We pass local tribes people going about everyday activities along the way. Some are bathing in the river, some are doing their laundry, some are fishing - all are "real." This is no longer a cultural village reproduction.

Finally, we arrive at a small village on the edge of the river and the guide lands our boat beside a rickety dock at the edge of the water. We climb out and explore the little Iban community and are invited to join the chief in his longhouse. The chief and an Iban youth perform a ceremonial welcome dance. In our conversations following we learn that he is in his mid-eighties and is a former headhunter. I am told that headhunting no longer exists in Borneo, but there are rumors . . . I did see some skulls that were very old, including some monkey skulls. It turns out that these headhunters did not shrink the heads. That's another culture in another country.

The long houses are built on stilts with stairs carved out of logs. I didn't ask but suspect there are several reasons for this. Partly for air circulation (it's hot and humid here) and partly for security. Once you pull up the stairway log it would be hard to get in. It takes some cautious climbing to maneuver the log ladder even when you're welcome.

Orang Utan Centre
I don't have room to tell you about the caves - you'll have to check them out for yourselves. But I can't leave out the Orang Utan Centre at Sepilok. Once you've made your way to the city of Kota Kinabalu, the state capitol of Sabah and visited the wonderful State Museum and explored the Mengkabong Water Village where the homes are built on stilts in the water and are connected by narrow plank walkways you must then take a short flight to Sandakan and visit the Sepilok sanctuary.

I walked along a trail through the jungle and arrived just as the naturalists were beginning to feed the orang utans. Most of the animals are either young and orphaned or older and injured. I guess you could call them semi-wild. They are free to go and come as they please. They are fed daily but allowed to roam in the forest and eventually learn to become self sufficient. Success is measured when they no longer come for the handouts. I don't know why or how but it seems to work. If you've visited national parks in the U.S. where all the signs say not to feed the animals for fear of reducing their fear of people and making them more dangerous it seems to be contrary to that philosophy. Here, though the interaction is limited to time and place and the young orang utans spend most of their time away from human contact.

To watch them come swinging along the rope trail into the feeding area is a joy. The carefree attitude and the sheer athleticism and strength of these creatures is a marvelous sight. And the antics are hilarious. Hanging upside down by one foot, or by both hands with feet overhead draped over the rope is sometimes comical. Watching two of them swinging in unison one behind the other is something you'll not likely see anywhere else - certainly not in a zoo.

There is so much to see and do in Kota Kinabalu and in all of Malaysia that I'll just have to come back and try again. I want to climb to the top of Mount Kinabalu and then relax at Poring Hot Springs and take another canopy walk in Kinabalu Park. And I definitely want to explore deeper in the Borneo wilderness. I want to see the proboscis monkeys and more Hornbills. And next time I'll hope to spot a barking deer, a sun bear and a civit cat in the wild.

And you can bet I'll be flying Malaysia airlines again. I'm tall and enjoy the legroom and comfort of their 747s. And I even kept a copy of the menu. Yes, folks, there is some very good airline food still being served.

When You Go:
General Information at Malaysia Tourism. They will answer any questions that you can't find the answers to on their website.

Hotels: Shangri-La Putrajaya
Kuching Hilton
Hyatt Regency Kinabalu

Tourist Resources: Sarawak Cultural Village
Borneo Eco Tours
Malaysia Airlines. Check out their Discover Malaysia Pass for US and the great US $24 Stopover plan.

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A former college professor, Robert Painter is author of one of the highest ranked Southwestern Art and Travel books on Amazon.com. He has traveled extensively throughout Indian country attending virtually every major American Indian art show in the Western U.S. and visiting Native American communities throughout the country. Robert has recently completed cruises on the Crown Odyssey, the Silver Cloud, the Silver Shadow, the Norwegian Dream, Seven Seas Navigator and the Windjammer S/V Mandalay. He has traveled to Italy, Greece, Barbados, Russia, Denmark and more countries than we have room to list.

© 2006

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