A 9-day trip to Malaysia
Malaysia had long been on my travel list, but I didn’t get to plan it even though I had visited neighboring countries like Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia. April 9 was a holiday on account of the Indo-Aryan New Year (Ugadi) and so was April 11, on account of Eid Ul Fitr. That meant if I took 3 days vacation during that week, I could get April 5th evening to April 14th night, well over nine days to travel to Malaysia. The reason I really wanted to visit Malaysia was to get a closer look at an important trading post city on the trade route from China to India and Europe, and how that had influenced human civilization. The entire country has a population of about 28 million people, comparable to Mumbai metro (26 million). Demographically, Malaysia has 68% Bumiputeras/Malays, about 27% Chinese, and 7% Indians. The KLIA Express from the Airport to the city travels at 125 kmph, and reaches the city in an hour. An awesome way to get to Kuala Lumpur City! To the left and right are lifts that ...