29 November - 5 December 2012
That was one jam packed six day whirlwind tour of Malaysia. I spent one day in Kuala Lumpur, four in Georgetown, and returned to KL for one day before departing for South Korea. Here's a rundown of my week!
Thursday - Kuala Lumpur
I arrived in KL early Thursday morning and went to my hostel where I was able to check in early. I spent the afternoon walking around city centre with no real sense of purpose. Petronas Twin Towers (has the highest two story skybridge in the world), KL Convention Center, the city park with a massive children's playground, a couple different shopping malls, and small streetside shops. In the evening, I met a former ETA and UNC alum for dinner. Great conversation ensured.
Friday - Penang
Friday morning I flew to Penang for the Third Annual Penang Hat tournament. This is where I met with some serious luck. I happened to be wearing my USA Ultimate Nationals shirt on the plane and that decision shaped my experience for the next four days. I was asked by the person sitting next to me if was going for the tournament so naturally we struck up more conversation which lasted the duration of the fifty minute flight. I was then going to catch the city bus into town and asked Dino if he knew which bus to take and where to catch it. Instead, he invited me to spend the day with his friends. Who knew such great friendships could come out of my decision to wear a certain shirt on a plane.
On Friday, there were nine of us once everyone arrived. We ended up going to Escape Adventure Park, a recently opened human-turn-monkey park. The main attraction was an aerial obstacle rope course. We had to navigate from platform to platform across wires, around wooden planks, over swinging stumps, and so much more. There was also rock climbing up trees, tubing down a huge hill, and wall scaling races.
On our way back into town for dinner, we stopped at Batu Feringgi, a small town known for its beaches and water sports. Naturally, we played a game of ultimate as the sun set over the hills.
Penang is well known for its food, most specially it's hawker food. Most of our meals were shared family style. We went to a hawker shack which is essentially an outdoor cafeteria with 20+ food stands where we walked around, ordered food, and had it delivered to our table. The group I was with were Chinese, so all of the dishes were eaten with chopsticks. I quickly remembered how to laugh at myself as I struggled to pick up the noodles and various other food items. If nothing else, I gave everyone a good laugh every once in a while.
Now on to ultimate - Penang Hat.
A few days earlier, I received an email from one of the tournament organizers asking if I would be willing to co-captain my hat team. Of course! Maroon Maori went 5-2 for the weekend, losing only to the top team in our pool and the ultimate champions. Nearly half of our team had roughly one year or less of playing experience but I could not be more impressed with their improvement throughout the weekend. Our MVP has only been playing since July of this year!! Only so much of our success can be attributed to the leadership of myself and Terence. Everyone was quick to learn new strategies and styles of play. And we had such great fun!
Despite our losses, we ended on a very high note as Pool B Champions, beating everyone in our Sunday bracket and receiving some awesome medals!
Monday - Penang
Even though the tournament was over and they had no obligation to me, my new friends continued to include me in their group by picking me up from my hostel before breakfast. This time, instead of eating Chinese food, we went to Little India and ate at an Indian restaurant. Now I was the teacher, showing them how to eat using only their right hand!
After brunch we walked to Fort Cornwallis, the first British establishment on the island. Dino had an afternoon flight so after we took him to the airport, the remaining five of us decided to go hiking. That was one steep hill! But the view at the top overlooking Georgetown was worth it.
As the sun had set by the time we returned to the car (a treacherous downhill hike in the dark that was), we took the opportunity to take the funicular train to the top of Penang Hill, the highest point on the island, to see the nighttime view. 390 meters up, the view was absolutely stunning. We were able to pick out some of the common landmarks from Georgetown and the surrounding area. We had good timing as well because shortly after we arrived, the hill was immersed in a big rain cloud!
Tuesday - Kuala Lumpur
I had an early morning flight back to KL. I spent the day relaxing and repacking for South Korea and the Philippines. I did some more exploring of the Bukit Bintang area, the section of town where my hostel is located. Did you know there is an entire IT mall? Only technology in the entire mall!
*****
I had an incredible first week in Malaysia. I totally attribute my enjoyment to my new friends and all of the ultimate players I met at the hat tournament. I now have friends and contacts all over the country! Can't wait to return in January!
