Malaysia, long known to the ancient mariners as “the land where the winds meet” has lured travelers since the dawn of time. Seafaring Malays settled the seaboard and traded with the early Indian, Arab and Chinese traders who sailed to her shores with the monsoon winds in search of gold, spices and jungle exotica. In her infant years she was a wretched town. Of the 87 miner-prospectors who poled up to where the Klang and Gambok rivers meet, 70 died from fever and tiger attacks the first month. They called the settlement Kuala Lumpur, “muddy estuary.” It was an isolated outpost, surrounded by hostile jungle. But the mines produced and the town grew.
Malaysia today is a land of great variety with varied landscapes and areas of jungle. The Malay peninsula lies halfway between India and China. It is surmised that the early traders met and bartered goods in the sheltered places along the straits of Malacca. They brought their religion with them and their way of life thus Hinduism and Buddhism have left cultural traces which have become absorbed into the Malay life.
We took the bus in from our dock which was a ride of 1 ½ hours and they dropped us in the downtown area. It was a costly ride as we were charged $39 pp by the ship. We’ll never do that again! Barbara & David and Gary & I spent the day together in the city. The architecture here is awesome and they boast the tallest buildings (their twin towers) in the world, second only to the tower in Dubai. The bus was returning at 3:00 so we didn't have much time to go out of the city. The currency is "ringgit" and it's 3 to $1.00 U.S., population is about 25 million and the government is a Constitutional Monarchy. When we leave we will head northwesterly towards the Stratit of Malacca.
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