Pictures from Malaysia and Singapore
Today was a busy one as we tried to get off to a good start. After a great hotel breakfast, with both western and Malay food options, we met for a short class to talk about some schedule changes and a few other issues. Some went shopping and money changing and others caught up on emails and calls to home. At about 12:45 we headed to Bukit Jalil National Sports Complex to watch the National Secondary School Track and Field Championships. We discovered that there were lots of things going on at the complex in addtion to the track competition. we watched a youth martial arts competition for awhile. There are is a movie of one form, Silambam, which is largely practiced by the Indian population here in Malaysia. The video shows the orchestrated stick fighting routine. We also watched Wushu, a Chinese martial art form, and Silat a Malay martial art.
After the unexpected martial arts competition and some liquid refreshment, we tried to find our way into the stadium for the track competition. After meeting a friend of mine from Malaysia, who helped us find some seats, we watched the competition and closing ceremonies. I have a video of one of the marching bands from a school here. The unique feature is the row of bag pipes in the last row of band nenbers, The band had a very unique sound.
Tomorrow we visit the capital city of Malaysia, Putrajaya, and will also climb the 272 steps to the Batu Caves, a Hindu shrine. The cricket match was changed to next week, so we had to make some last minute changes.
This was one of our tour days. We visited the administrative capital of Malaysia, Putrajaya in the morning. Putrajaya is a newly designed and constructed city, with construction beginning in 1995. Most of the government buildings are in use, while construction is still underway on some parts of the city. The caves are at the top of a 272 step staircase, 272 letters in the Tamil alphabet. We all made it up to the top and back down, but it was a challenge. After coming down we went to a local Indian restaurant and had roti canai and banana leaf rice with curried chicken and vegetables. The students did very well with the food. We also visited the Royal Selangor Pewter factory. After that we returned the hotel for a brief rest or catching up on emails before going to the Petronas Twin Towers for dinner. It was a great day and we all learned a lot about our visits due to our excellent guide
Today was a very special day, as we made three very exciting and memorable visits, with none better than the first. We started the day by visiting a primary school, where our host is on the PTA. The school was very happy to have visitiors from the US stop by to interact with the children. You can tell by the pictures that everyone was enjoying themselves. We then proceeded to the National Sports complex where we toured the various facilities. The picture with some students sitting was taken in the royal suite where the Malaysian King and Queen Elizabeth viewed the Commonwealth Games a few years back. After lunch in the Olympic training center cafeteria, we spent the afternoon at the Bukit Jalil Sports School, where students are promising athletes trying to prepare to be national level athletes for Malaysia. We had an excellent presentation and discussion with the vice-principal and then toured the school and watched a demonstration of netball. Tomorrow we visit the University of Malaya.
Another wonderful day in Malaysia. We visited the University of Malaya today which is located in a suburb of KL. We used the monorail to KL Sentral and then another train to the station near the university where we were picked up with university van. The trains were very crowded since this was rush hour with everyone going to work. During the morning and early afternoon we heard presentations about sports at the university and then toured the campus, which is very large and includes a large section of rainforest and a botanical garden. As always we had plenty of food, with a roti canai breakfast waiting for us and then a lunch chicken rice, both very traditional Malaysian dishes.
After lunch the real action started as the students "attempted" to play sepak takraw, a traditional Malaysian game that resembles volleyball with your feet. We did get better as the day went along, but we never quite reached the standard of the national level players helping us. Following that the students went to one of the soceer fields and played American football. That was our contribution to the sharing experience. A very dynamic game of touch football went on for about an hour. This was one of those situations that we are looking for with this experience, a chance to get to know each other and share. As you can see from the group picture at the end, everyone was hot and tired and happy to have had the opportunity to have some fun with their counterparts from UM.
Tomorrow we visit the University Kebangsaan Malaysia in Bangi. We will have a longer train ride to the campus which is outside of KL about 40 km.
Another interesting day, although much lighter than that past few. We rode the monorail and then a commuter train 25 miles out into the countryside to the University Kebangsaan Malayisa (National University of Malaysia). After a delay in the arrival of the train, we finally reached UKM and had morning tea waiting for us, which could always pass for another meal. The food is wonderful!!
At UKM we met a friend of mine who was in Iowa last year and set up our visit as well as the deputy registrar who is an Iowa State alum. He enjoyed sharing stories and memories of this years at ISU. After a presentation related to their recreational sports programs we toured their very large and very beautiful campus. We were on our way home by about 2 pm and then had a few hours to rest and relax. We headed to the Central Market for dinner and shopping be finish off the evening.
Today we had a later start to the morning and headed down the street to the headquarters of the Malaysian Basketball Association (MABA), where we watched a coaching clinic for a few minutes before getting a tour of their facility. The men's and women's junior (under 18) and senior National teams live at this facility and train year round. We had a presentation by the National coach Mr. Sim and then went to the Pik Wah Restaurant as the guests of MABA. An American coach who is employed by the International Basketball Federation was conducting the coaching clinic, and he joined us for lunch. This is one of the best Chinese restaurants I have eaten at in Malaysia and it lived up to its reputation. Dish after dish was brought to our tables to share. Another wonderful meal!
We then walked up the street to the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) were we were given a tour of the facility and visited the office of the sport of Wushu. They showed us some of the implements used in the competions, which is similar in nature to gymnastics. The performer does a routine with or without a sword or other implement and is judged based upon their movements. We then proceeded to the Museum and Hall of Fame where we met Mr. Haridas, the General Manager of the OCM. He has been very important to our visit by helping set up much of our local schedule. He has visited Iowa on two occasions with our exchange programs. The picture of us with the flags overhead shows the importance of our Iowa connectins, as the state flag of Iowa is hanging in their Museum. We are working very hard to keep these exchanges vibrant for both countries.
In the evening we went to the Menara KL or KL Tower for a buffet dinner. We traveled up to the revolving restaurant, the Seri Ankasa for another truly great meal. There were buffet tables with western and Asian food as well as a massive dessert layout, which some of students severely challenged. The views from the restaurant were phenomenal. Since we arrived just before dark, we were able to have the best of both daylight and darkness to view KL. The last pictures are with and without flash. Without the flash you can see the Twin Towers in the background. We are heading for the towers in 10 minutes to go up to the bridge connecting the two and pretend we are Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones in Entrapment. Pictures tomorrow.
Shopping, dinner at Hardrock Cafe, and a trip to the Petronas Twin Towers Skybridge were the activities of today. I went to the towers at 7 am to stand in line for tickets to go up to the skybridge. About 9 am I finally got 11 tickets for the 3:45 time slot. We went to the Malaysian Craft Complex at 11 am to do some shopping with the intention of doing some touring after. However, after shopping we had too much to carry around for the rest of the day so we went back to the hotel for a couple hours of rest and relaxation and then went to the towers for our trip to the skybridge. There are 120 groups per day allowed to go to the bridge between the towers, so you only get about 10 minutes on the bridge itself. Just enough time to get some good pictures of KL. After the bridge tour the students went to the Hard Rock Cafe. Tomorrow we go to a cricket match.
Today was a late start day, as we did not leave for cricket until 11 am, which was probably a bit too early, as we had a tired group today. We have had a rather hectic schedule this week, so the time in Terengganu over the next three days should be a good break. We arrived at cricket at about 11:45 am and were welcomed as guests of honor as with all the other visits. Everyone here has been so very kind and helpful. A couple of the cricket association officials helped the students understand the game and even allowed us to go to the batting cages and bowl and hit a few balls during the lunch break. I am sure they can explain it all to you when they get home. As we were leaving the cricket match we did get to meet the president of the Olympic Council of Malaysia.
After cricket we stopped briefly at the Asian under 19 boys volleyball championships and watched Sri Lanka and Thailand for awhile. It was interesting to watch a very American sport being played here and by boys. The tournament was very well organized and had a few things that were a little different from our tournaments.
Tonight we are going to Merdeka (Independence) Square to see the festivities associated with the Manchester United--Chelsea football (soccer) match. It is going to be displayed on a huge screen in this sports field where England handed over independence to the Malaysians in 1957. Although we know little of the importance of the match, it is likely to be a fun and culturally enriching experience.
Tomorrow at 6:15 an we head for Iowa's sister state of Terengganu. This state is about 95% Malay ethnically and is a lot more conservative. We are looking forward to more shopping and some beach and rainforest tours. We also are likely to get to visit another school, perhaps one in a rural area.
We arrived back in KL on Tuesday night at about 11:30 pm after our three days in Terengganu. Today was a free day for everyone and lots of shopping was done by all. Our visit to Terengganu was very interesting in so many ways. We were taken on a tour of the city area on Sunday after our arrival. We visited the state museum, the city market area that included both clothing, material, fruits and vegetables, and fish and poultry. It is quite a busy place with many shoppers there for all types of products. We also took a water taxi to a fishing village across the bay from the main city area. We saw how the fisherman dry fish and how they also make kerepok, a fish sausage of sorts.
On Monday we did the two tours, with four of us going on an adventure down the Berang River through the rainforest, and the others going to Kapas Island for some snorkeling and beach time. The Kapas Island group did a little snorkeling and a lot of beach time. The ride to Kapas Island from the mainland was about 20 minutes by speedboat.
After driving for an hour into the countryside, we finally found the river bridge where we were going to begin our journey. There was an elderly Chinese man waiting there for us. After seeing the boat I was not sure anyone was going to get on it, however it turned out to be a very comfortable and sea-worthy vessel. There was little to worry about as the river was not more than a few feet deep. The trip lasted for about 2 hours during which we saw many monkeys, wild boar, monitor lizards of all sizes, water buffalo, and many birds. On the way back home we had to wait for our ride at the house of the tour operator, where we were provided with hot tea and freshly baked rolls.
On the last day we did beach time, shopping at the Noor Arfa Batik Factory and visited the Sultan Sulaiman Secondary School. At 7:30 pm we headed for the airport and the trip back to KL.
Tomorrow is our last day in KL. The group is going to the National Museum and Botanical Garden in the morning. The afternoon is free for final shopping and packing and then we will have a group dinner at a nice Malay restaurant, Madam Kwan's, at the Petronas Towers Mall. Then on Friday morning (your Thursday night) we are off to three days in Singapore.
We are now in Singapore and it is our last day in Southeast Asia. Tomorrow morning at 7:15 am local time (6:15 pm in Iowa) we leave for home. The last few days have provided lots of free time to all to finish off last minute shopping and do the final touring.
In KL on the 24th the group went to the National Museum and Botanical Gardens in the morning and then had the afternoon free for packing and other things. We had our final dinner in KL at the KLCC Petronas Towers area and then headed back to the hotel to get ready for Singapore.
Our first day in Singapore was not as expected as there have been many changes in the past two years to some of the harbor area, and we were not able to get to the Cheng Ho cruise on time. It always pays to double check on locations and directions to things! We did have a good afternoon and did do a tour of the Singapore River on a bum boat. The group walked around central Singapore on route back to the hotel.
On Saturday, 26 May the students went to Sentosa Island for some beach and recreation time. There trip there was very efficient, however on the way back the bus had to complete a looong loop before getting to the hotel, so they finally had to get off and take taxis back so we could get to our dinner on time. Everything worked out and they did get to see a lot of Singapore from the top of a double decker bus. We had a great buffet dinner at the Ulu Ulu Restaurant and then proceeded to the Night Safari. It was very interesting to walk around the rain forest paths in the dark with minimal illumination and observe the animals. A very unique zoo concept.
Today we hope to go the morning cruise on the Cheng Ho. I traversed the route yesterday to be sure I could find it this morning. It should be a fun time as the Chinese ship sails out to Kusu Island for a short stop and then returns. The group is going to visit Chinatown, Little India, and a few other locations today before our last group dinner for the trip.
We will all be seeing you very soon in Iowa, Illinois, or Minnesota!