After arriving to Malaysia I started to hitchhiking to Penang Island. It was surprising the big change after Thailand. Everything quiet, not chaotic and peaceful. Malaysia the only Muslim country of the world, where Buddhist and Hindus can live peacefully together. The local people say: it is because the people here are more educated then in the rest of the Muslim word. The Muslims are open-minded, but the same time they think seriously their religion. At the Internet cafe the owner going five times for praying, but I could stay in his shop while he is out.
They trust to each other. The 52 % of the population are Muslim, and they use saria, the Muslim low, but it is applied only for the Muslim people. So if someone chooses the religion, the same time choose responsibility too. It is all right. Georgetown. (Penang Island)Walking on the streets I felt myself in south France where the good modernity where combined with the old architect. Most of the colonial buildings are empty, and bad condition but it gives the feeling 19th century. The streets has famous English people’s name. There is Chinese and Indian district, where they represent their culture in full colour. The most famous building the Eastern and Oriental Hotel, whose regular guest was Somerset Maugham. So there is a joke: Whose Malaysia aborigine race? The race of hotel rent people who live in the jungle of Penang and Singapore. JIn the Indian district I feel again a feeling of India, I had nostalgia. It was a great gastronomically meeting after South East Asia and I faced again that fact: Indian kitchen is the best. I had euphoria for two days and enjoyed the richness of tastes. The music shops are I Indian film music on the streets and are colourful temples. Are sari clothes sellers. The Indian community arrived with British colonisators, but talking these peoples all said they wants to live in India in the future. Another dominant settlers population are Chinese, and they keeping their cultural unity too. Adding this colourful multicultural mix, I heard a catholic choir with piano from the temple near to my guesthouse in the evening.
We can be sure that on the streets everything written on 2-3 languishes, but the English is the main communication connection. In the feet of the 58-storey Tower Plaza they advertising language courses: Serbo-Croatian, Polish, Wells, Island, Irish, etc. But where is the Hungarian language curse?And who are the Malays? Only 20 percent of the population most of them living in the mountains. Four hundred years ago most of them were converted into Islam.After finishing my 2 weeks vipassana meditation, I went out for a walk in the city. And I found the streets busy with people demonstrating with boards. I have just realised, that they repeated the same losung, so it was the first may demonstration. There was a group anarchist, who made apply about the local social situation, and after they make discussion about that issue. Next day there was a birthday of the prophet Mohamed with a big procession around the centre. They distributed food for people and selling books and traditional clothes. 3 of May is the biggest Buddhist holiday: the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha. There was a big procession for assisting by 34 Buddhist community and temple, and colourful coaches designed with flowers were going around the town. Free food and drink everywhere. I visited the Chinese cemetery near to town. There was 2 square km’s of graves. Huge. Backwards waiting for the bus (and not hitchhiking) there was a man from Pakistan who gives me a lift back to the town. Surprisingly we met him again in the evening in the town a restaurant and he promised me a CD with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan because in the afternoon I mentioned him I like this pakistanian qavalli singer very much. So Pakistan not only consists of terrorist and fanatics. In the town I visited a 50 year-old Australian pub, which is popular place for Australian soldiers. Yes, they have a military base on the island, which remained here from the time of Vietnam war (or earlier). The interior is posters, airplane models old Bakelite music-machine and the guestbook from 1951 year (11 of September only one note: boom.) In another pub, an old cowboy tried to sing in Tom Waits stile, but sometimes as a rest he song local hits. In this case the local people join to him, even they played on his guitar while he were resting and drinking. Old cowboy. 3 of May were Hindu holiday and they made (what a surprise) a procession, pierced their face making them suffering so this way reduce their karma.
But this day I moved to Cameron Highland The land of real aborigines. They had frizzy hair and dark skin, and all were very shy………………….
Singapore.I hitchhiked to Johor Baru and from there, I took bus no. 170. Every day 40 000 people are going to S-pore for work and back in the evening. Strange to crossing border with a local bus in Asia. It is Ok for Europe but in Asia? Yes true this two country are not really Asia. In the city-centre we met my nice friends, who I met in Laos. We stayed at his lovely Chinese family who are originally from Malaysia. The first day his parents asked us to choose a number for lottery. Virgin hand makes luck – so they won. All night the mother was singing in front of the TV with her sisters.We were shown around the city with love. Compare to Asia, Singapore is a well-organised and too much regulated country. Everywhere cameras and local people watching us and warn to keep the order. Drinking on subway 500$ penalty. But if I have gas balloon is 50.000 $. But I saw the local crossing on the red light spit on the street, the toilets not always clean, even if there is a sign saying: piss in the pisoare.The buses are like in London, double-decker, inside advertisement and TV for those who are not busy with their mobile or notebook. There is no traffic jams, buses goes frequently according to timetable and the system is clear and understandable. There are many green areas and the building shows the 80s economical boom. There is not anymore that we can by cheep electrical product. You should go for it to China. In the supermarket found some Hungarian wines.There are not so many skyscrapers as I accepted from the past. The city is not crowded just in the little India during weekend time when all Tamil people going out. There is a flee-market, which is a big contrast to the well-organised city. Old cassettes and players and used things. Yes, the flee-market shows what is behinds wall.They have well organised blockhouse lot of parks and sport complex, and culture houses. However what the Muslim women are doing with their scurf on their head during sport?Esplanade is one of my favourite building is remembers me the fruit duriam. Here is a concert hall and they just start the festival including the Hungarian festival orchestra too. Sentosa Island is the amusing Island which is busy in the weekends and you can spend an exciting day seeing a birds show, dolphin show, big aquarium, volcano, artist village and big park with lot of green
