Monday, November 30, 2009
Malaysia: a neighbour and friend
An immersion trip, 9D "vacation" to Malaysia brought me through their culture, heritage and education system by engaging in an exchange programme with the best girls' school in Malaysia, Tunku Kurshiah College. We did not immediately venture forth to the school on our first day, rather we took to sightseeing in Melaka as our first stop of the trip.
Melaka, being the cultural and traditional state that it is, really opened our eyes to the history and lifestyles of the people there. Upon arriving at site, we were introduced to the various religious places of worship found along jonker street and its vicinity. We were surprised how similar singapore was with Melaka, in a sense that a hindu temple, chinese temple and church could all be found of the same street, serving as evidence that the two countries are indeed open to various religions and therefore live harmoniously as multi-religious countries.
The tour consisted of visits to:
Tranquerah Mosque
where we had the chance to catch a glimpse of Sultan Hussein's tomb, covered with royal yellow cloth, signifying his status and power in the Malaysian community and royalty.
Our next destination was supposed to be Bukit Cina but due to the unpredictable weather, the sudden downpour hindered us from carrying out the rest of our itinerary, causing us to be "trapped" in St. Paul's Church to seek shelter and observe a lizard. Despite the rain, I still had to confess that the first day was interesting in its own way: the vivid descriptions of the stories behind the murals, decorations and paintings in the temples and churches were an eye-opener to me and my RSPmates.
DaY 2
we gather for breakfast in the hotel cafe and set off for the chitty village. These people living in the chitty village are not the common folk whom you spot everywhere in Melaka, rather this is a special group of people - the chittys are actually Indian traders who, during the period where spice trade was at its peak, travelled from the Southern parts of India to Melaka, where they married the local women. Although they accepted the Malay cultures as their own, they still managed to maintain their religion, which was hinduism, within that community.
It was very interesting how the chitty was an example of not a clash, but a beautiful mix of culture where everything ranging from festivals to traditional costumes seem so exotic. One of the Chitty villagers demonstrated how to string flower buds to form a delicate flower garland, but unfortunately, our butter fingers were not able to accomplish that tall order given to us :D
We visited the Chitty museum as well, which showcased the cooking utensils, things needed during a typical Chitty wedding ceremony, and other symbolic accessories or decorations.
After experiencing the cultural side of Malaysia, we abruptly shift to adapt to the metropolitan area of Malaysia, the administrative capital of Malaysia, Putrajaya. To be able to observe the stark contrast of two totally different areas of Malaysia in one single day was certainly unforgettable. Putrajaya looks as if it was modeled after a city from a science fiction novel, having larger than life buildings with amazing architecture, the sheer size of them would surely WOW you. Along with the unconventional streetlamps and traffic lights,the futuristic feel of Putrajaya is a city like none other. (I'm starting to sound like a tourism advertisement) Certainly, it's a trip which I would never forget. I guess the setting up of Putrajaya brings Malaysia one step closer to fulfilling their dream of "wawasan 2020", refering to the vision of Malaysia becoming a developed country by the year 2020.
Shopping is not exactly the most interesting tale one can find in a blog, so since im skipping the details on that, it has come to the end of Day 2! Tomorrow? It's really the start of the school immersion programme with Tunku Kurshiah College. :D
6:36 AM
