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Time Out: Malaysia
Posted by archifCLICarchive from National - Published on 05/10/2009 at 00:00
Five University of Glamorgan Business School students spent the summer in Kuala Lumpur, as part of the Time Out initiative of the University. They kept a diary for us...
First Impressions
When we arrived we were greeted by Fazli, a little Malaysian man. He soon became our most frequent associate from the University of Malaya (UM). We were all tired, but it was officially 'Sam's Time', so Fazli took us for some breakfast. For those who don't know, 'Sam's Time' is any random time of the day when Sam becomes hungry. This can occur up to 6 times a day!
In the breakfast place we came face to face with the girls' worst nightmare!
Duh duh duhhhhhh: A hole in the floor as a toilet, without toilet roll but with a hose, oh no!
Charlotte and Linzi took the first trip. They came out, white as a sheet! From that moment on, we all learned our first 2 valuable lessons about Malaysia:
1. Always carry an ample supply of toilet roll.
2. Do not drink too much as you may get caught short!
We eventually got to our new home for the month: the top floor of a block of flats with no lift! Brilliant! We all started to lug our suitcases up the stairs. At least we had something to keep us fit after all the Nasi Lemak we would soon be eating. This, translated, is "fat rice". Sam absolutely loved it until the very moment he heard the translation. He hasn't eaten it since.
The flat itself was exactly like the pictures: really nice. After a quick sleep we were ready to rock and roll! Across the road from our flat was a complex with restaurants, massage, bars and a supermarket, which soon became our local haunt.
Week 1
Week 1 consisted of a tour around the university, meeting UM students and visits in and around Kuala Lumpur. We also attended our first lot of lectures. We decided to catch a service bus to the university. As we approached the business faculty we soon realised that the place was empty. Everyone had gone home. After a 45 minute wait we gave up and caught the bus back home. Turns out we had gone to the wrong campus!
We made it to our next lecture, Marketing Management, where we met a British lecturer, Michael Dent, who taught us more about the local cuisine than Marketing.
Wednesday consisted of visits to the National Planetarium, Islamic Arts Museum and the National Mosque. At the National Mosque we were met by a lady who showed us around. Before entering, we removed our shoes and the girls covered their heads with scarves as a mark of respect. The mosque is the largest in Kuala Lumpur, with a unique star shaped dome that represents the 13 states of Malaysia and the 5 pillars of Islam. It was an interesting visit. Fazli and Halim (our driver) did not seem to think so; they went to sleep in the car.
On Thursday, we visited the Malaysian Parliament. We were met by a friendly man who showed us around the building. He was knowledgeable and talked us through the process of election and showed us the rooms where the debates take place. Inside the house, there was a grand staircase which is only open one day a year, for the King of Malaysia.
On Friday our industrial visit was cancelled, so we were taken to Putrajaya, where we attended a flora exhibition and went to the wetland. The exhibition was where we were first introduced to the "King of Fruits" Durian.
Durian is seasonal fruit which has a very strong smell. Of course, Sam had to try it, while Kayleigh and Charlotte were trying hard not to vomit. After this experience, we were escorted to the Wetland where we hired pedal boats to see the lake. We were all having a lot of fun until Sam and Kayleigh's pedal boat broke and they had to be rescued by the owner in a speedboat... We had plenty of laughs.
Week 2
Next was the event we had all been waiting for; the graduation dinner. We had bought traditional Malaysian attire for the occasion, including extravagant, colourful dresses and a type of headwear called a 'Songkok'. This is a boat-shaped hat that is worn by males. At the dinner, University staff involved in the graduation of the students made speeches, and an award was given to the best dressed male and female.
After admiring the Petronas Twin Towers, we finally got a chance to experience the views from the famous Skybridge. This is a bridge that is situated half way up the towers and can be used to go from one tower to the other. The towers are now the tallest twin-towers in the world and are an incredible tourist attraction.
Towards the end of the week we visited the Batu Caves. In order to enter the caves you must first go up 273 stairs which sounds easier than it is! Various religious rituals are performed inside the caves, and there are many beautiful statues to admire. Also, monkeys came into the cave and began to steal people's food. You must be careful, as Sabine found out: one of the monkeys attacked her and stole her nuts!
Week 3
Now we were really getting into the swing of the Malaysian lifestyle and were relaxed. Another week, another driver.
Our week began with a trip to Kuala Lumpur Menara (KL Tower). We were given an intro and history presentation on how the telecommunications tower was created. We then went up to the observation deck, where the views are unexplainable; you could see all of Kuala Lumpur.
Thursday was another eventful day as Kayleigh had her long awaited tax exam. The rest of us set off to an adventure park for a bike ride. We saw more monkeys, a lot of scenery and had a relaxing swim in a pool. Later, we headed to a Japanese restaurant and we experienced, yet again, something new to our palates.
Friday morning we all set off to Penang for some sunshine. After an hour long flight and an hour car ride, we arrived at our hotel. We hit the pool and caught some rays. Some caught more than others, i.e. Charlotte....
The next day, we did go to the night market and spent more than we should have. We then made for the airport in order to fly back to sunny Kuala Lumpur.
Week 4
The week started with a visit to Royal Selangor Pewter. Here, pewter is made and transformed into different items including jewellery, tankards, photo frames and other objects. During our visit we had the chance to take part in the School of Hard Knocks. We were provided with our own station where we made pewter bowls from scratch. We were able to decorate our bowls as desired and were awarded with a certificate at the end. We thoroughly enjoyed this experience.
Friday was a lovely sunny day which we spent at the Lake Gardens. It was a very peaceful place where we strolled around the garden, fed the fish and just relaxed for a while. Fazli and June escorted us back to the flat where we spent the night packing and getting things ready for our weekend trip to Singapore.
Singapore was amazing. We went on a river cruise, a bus tour and went on the Singapore Flyer, which is a big wheel that stands at 163 meters. During the evening we went on a night safari where we took a tram through the animal sanctuary in the dark.
Round up
All in all, we have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Kuala Lumpur. It would've been a real shame to have missed it and it has been a great experience. To live in such a culturally diverse country has been interesting, especially trying some of the local delicacies and learning about Islamic customs. We have also learned that Malaysian people are very kind and accommodating and a real pleasure to be with!
Further information
You can also read the full blog kept by Time Out students on Blogger.
If you are a University of Glamorgan student and interested in taking part in a Time Out project, keep an eye out for news items, flyers and posters on campus in the spring term.
This feature was written by Kayleigh Hughes (and friends), and first published on Glamlife.
