Saturday, February 27, 2010

Malaysia Photos

The last stop on our vacation, Malaysia was full of wonderful surprises. We went first to Melaka, a town along the west coast of peninsular Malaysia. Melaka has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage City for its historical architecture and beautifully preserved buildings. It was the perfect town for strolling around, both along the riverfront and through its colorful, winding streets. It has shared Dutch, Portuguese, Indian, Chinese, and Malay history and its people, food, buildings, and religious institutions attribute to that. On one street, nicknamed "Harmony Street," there is a Christian church, Buddhist temple, and mosque all within a couple of blocks of each other.

We were there over Chinese New Year, so were able to watch a lion dance at a local restaurant. Most businesses welcome the lions in to give them prosperity for the coming year. It was interesting to watch. The show started with fireworks, then drumming and dancing. Then, the lions "ate" fruit that had been left out, which took several minutes, as they were actually peeling and rearranging the fruit. When they got back up, they'd made characters representing prosperity.

From Melaka, we took a bus up to Kuala Lumpur, where we headed to the Petronas Towers, until 2004 the world's tallest buildings and still the world's tallest set of towers. We joined the hordes of people taking photos and then found a little curry restaurant from which we could look up at them. Not a bad last night of our trip.

More pictures here: http://hsinchina.shutterfly.com/3613.

2 comments:

  1. The buildings in Melaka have a different feel--all that white, with colors added. My favorite pictures are the ones of the Petronas Towers. You got some great shots! Carrie, did you buy a new "sweater"? And is your back recovered from carrying around that backpack?

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  2. I did buy a new sweater - right in the main train station. We'll see how long it lasts... And, the backpack was more comfortable than it looks.

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