Day Trip to Malacca

Malacca is a wonderful example of an old city that has undergone hundreds of years of transition and come out more vibrant despite the challenges and change.  The city is a beautiful representation of the art and architecture from cultures that have come here from all over the world.  You can walk from forts built in European styles, to old Chinese homesteads, and then suddenly realize that you are still in Malaysia over the course of a few kilometers.  

This is our adventure to and from Malacca, and me trying to understand just how sunburned I can get over the course of about 8 hours.  

Note to anyone visiting Malacca - buy sunscreen.  

I absolutely love the canals and waterways that ring Malacca, with the various forts and different strong areas that were set up hundreds of years ago to secure these places.  The different cultural powers of the times used Malacca as a hub of trade and power, making the city both cosmopolitan and and making the areas distinct and somewhat thematic.   

Just to show the drastic difference, The following photos were taken only about a kilometer apart.

The old fort and church on the top of the hill is quite the hike up, (Malaysia loves stairs), but is well worth the walk.  Not only do you get an awesome view of parts of the city, but you also get the chance to get some time in the shade.   

Sadly, I did not take my own advice and ended up looking a bit like a lobster when I was done with this adventure.  After living in Hawaii for about a decade, and then in Thailand for about eight months, I still surprise myself at just how burned I can get when I am careless.  

The Ultra-Modern World that is Malaysia

I am sure that the content of this post will be both naive and wishful due to the fact that I only was able to spend three days in Malaysia, but in spite of that lack of time, I can honestly say that this is one of the most pleasant countries that I have ever visited. 

We traded in the orange robed monks of Thailand and went for a Saturday-to-Monday trip to various locations in Malaysia. I must first admit before writing more that this is my first experience in a Muslim majority country, and as such I honestly did not know what to expect. I have many friends who are Muslim, but this would be my first experience in a country where it is more normal for a woman to wear a head covering than not. 

As I sit here in Starbucks, gleaning off their free WiFi, I am able to look around the store and count about twenty women with head coverings of some kind, and two without, one of which is my wife. 

The west tends to view the headscarf as a sort of oppression, but in all honesty, I think that they are extremely far from the truth. I realize that my knowledge of equality and privilege are skewed, but in Malaysia, these women seem to use these head-scarfs as a sign of individuality. Aside from the more formal solid colors, the fabric is all individual and comes in all colors of the rainbow. They seem to be a culturally appropriate way to represent the individual. 

We in the West tend to over-simplify things to make it easier to stomach.  Yes, cultures are quite different, but in order to rationalize this difference we tend to just lump that culture in as being evil or bad in regards to our "true" religious beliefs and our more "civilized" culture.

Examples:

Muslims - Bad!

Women wearing some form of covering - Oppressive!

Etc.

I was openly invited into many different mosques, met Muslims who lived by many different interpretations of their own culture and code, and had the opportunity to listen many times to the truly beautiful call to prayer.

I am by no means trying to say that the whole world is quite like this, nor am I saying that all of the Islamic world is as peaceful as Malaysia appears to be, but I am saying that the average person seeks peace far more than they seek any sort of divisive nature. 

I have long been a proponent of befriending people outside of ones own culture for this sole purpose. 

One of my friends that I used to work with said it the best - "The laughter of children sounds the same anywhere in the world."

The only difference between this Starbucks in Putrajaya, Malaysia, and any other in the world is that I am paying in Ringgits, and that the food they serve is halal. 

A coffee is a coffee, and free WiFi brings people inside regardless of the color of their skin or their choice to wear a hijab. 

Moral of the story - everyone loves coffee, and just perhaps free WiFi is the route to more peaceful interactions across cultures. 

Also, Starbucks cannot spell your name right anywhere in the world.