Today was a big day for the Malaysia group! We started bright and early at 7:30 a.m., greeted with a delicious buffet breakfast of fried rice, noodles, and paratha, followed by a tour of the local Saint Mary’s Church.
Exploring Malaysia’s diverse heritage, we continued on to the National Mosque. Its striking architectural style, especially the modern dome, reflects the country’s aspirations for a distinctive future. At the mosque, the girls were given bright purple robes that covered them from head to toe, while the guys could wear what they had on, as long as they were wearing long pants. By this point, we were sweating from head to toe in places we didn’t know could produce sweat.
After the mosque, we made our way to the Islamic Museum and dove into a fun, competitive treasure hunt for different artifacts across the museum’s four stories. Along the way, we saw traditional clothing, metalwork, and pottery, which opened our eyes to new cultural experiences and a rich heritage.
After leaving the comfort of the museum, our tour guide, Muru, took us on the Monorail to Lot 10, a food court, for lunch. On the Monorail, we saw female-only cars: they were pink, of course (lol). At Lot 10, we were set free in a maze of Chinese Malaysian cuisine stalls lining the halls. After eating, we stepped outside to explore the Bukit Bintang area, which resembled Times Square in NYC. Since it was the hottest part of the day, we headed back to the hotel for a brief rest.
Later in the afternoon, we hopped on the train to a fruit market, where we tried longan, mangosteen, lychee, snake fruit, and rambutan. The snake fruit really felt like snake skin, while the mangosteen was the group favorite. After the market, we set off in search of roti at a well-known spot. After an hour of waiting, we finally got to make our own roti and sample it. We then walked to dinner at Nasi Lemak Warung, where we ate nasi lemak and had mango smoothies.
Our last stop of the day was a visit to the Petronas Towers, some of the tallest buildings in the world. At night, they looked stunning against the dark sky. We sat by the nearby fountains to watch a light show accompanied by music. After enjoying the view for a while, we realized the train closed a half hour earlier than expected, so we quickly rushed back and caught the last one of the night. And now here we are, writing this blog, getting ready for bed, and facing the next adventure. See you in seven hours for breakfast and the bus ride to the National Park!
-Leotei and Benjamin
