I REALLY thought my first trip to India would be this Fall and, in fact, I’d booked the trip. But then . . . well, I saw a different itinerary that would give me the chance to see orangutans (among other beasts, but – really – I thought it was all about the orangutans), so cancelled India and re-booked for Malaysia. India will have to wait.
Depending upon who’s counting, there are 11 or 12 countries in Southeast Asia – eleven if you only include the members of ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) but twelve if you also include Papua New Guinea, which – really – is part of the region if not a part of the Association. So – Malaysia would be my sixth of the twelve countries to visit. Prior to my trip to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, I’d spent time listening to a multi-episode (currently 138!!!) podcast about the history of the region. I barely remembered all I listened to, but absorbed enough of it to know there was a long, rich, multi-cultural history.
Malaysia itself is a combination of the peninsula where Kuala Lumpur is located as well as two states located on a large portion of the island of Borneo (itself, the third largest island in the world, divided among Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei); this Borneo portion is referred to as East Malaysia or Malaysian Borneo. My journey would start out in Kuala Lumpur for three full days before heading out to the Borneo State of Sabah.
Human habitation of Malaysia goes back 40,000 years, with strong Indian and Chinese influences from the first century on. It was part of the Malacca Sultanate, and later was conquered by Portugal. Then, in the 18th century, it became part of the British Empire, it was occupied by Japan for three years of the Second World War, and then gained initial independence from Britain in 1957, then – in 1963 – it was combined with British Borneo, Singapore, and Sarawak (a Borneo state), and – finally – in 1965, it became its own nation with the borders it has today, including the two Borneo states of Sabah and Sarawak.
It’s a nation of close to 35m people, of which roughly 67% are ethnic Malay and 25% Chinese; Islam is the official religion, though many others are practiced; Malay is the official language but English is taught in schools, and it’s government is modeled on the British parliamentary system.
Phew! OK – with all that out of the way, on to my journey. At its heart, this was to be a wildlife adventure in the tropical rainforests of Borneo, with the potential to see animals (primarily primates, but others as well), birds (they have over 600 species), and insects (anti-malaria meds packed!). Temps in the “hot to wicked hot with humidity,” the potential for rain – torrential at times, and – oh yeah – don’t forget to pack your “leech socks” (which I admittedly forgot to pack).
But first, after 25 hours of travel from home in DC to Kuala Lumpur, I’d get to spend three days and three there before moving on to Borneo.
And, oh yeah, Borneo is the home of durian! I happened to arrive in Kuala Lumpur during its annual multi-month Durian Festival.
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