7 Melaka, Malaysia

In Melaka we finally found the quaint, charming southeast Asian town we'd been looking for. The streets were full of colonial character, with narrow alleys and colorful shutters on the aging mansions and clan houses. We found a place in the heart of Chinatown, the Chong Hoe Hotel, that met all our feng shui requirements from an open courtyard to let the water in to potted plants marking the heart of the building. Plus our room had AC, hot water, and wifi--bonus!

The Chang Hoe is located on "Harmony Street", so called because of the three different houses of worship that live happily side by side. The mosque was intriguingly pagoda-like and Cheng Hoon Teng was another fantastically ornate Buddhist specimen. Just one block over is Jonker Street, famous for its antique stores and bustling nightmarket. In the evening we elbowed our way through the crowds and chose from heaping piles of dumplings, rice balls, fried chicken, pineapple tarts, and other hawker treats to fill our bellies. At night was also an opportunity to catch a glimpse of Malaysian home life as many families open up the doors wide, probably as an attempt to seek refuge from the overwhelming humidity.

Nothing is very far in Melaka and a few minutes walk over the river is the central town square and colonial district full of museums telling the story of the city's sordid history. Control of Melaka changed hands five times between the 16th century up until the 1950s starting with the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch and British, then the Japanese occupation during WWII and lastly the British again just before Malaysia gained independence in 1957. There is a full-size reconstruction of the wooden, nail-free Melaka Sultanate Palace filled with dozens of Malaysians' favorite--the diorama. The large Stadthuys, also complete with costumed mannequins, is in its original form from when the Dutch built it in the 17th Century. We hopped from the hillside ruins of St. Paul's Church and the Porta de Santiago (the only two remaining structures from the Portuguese rule of the town in the 1500s) down to Muzium Raykat and it's beauty exhibit full of haunting pictures of scarring, lip plates, and feet binding.

One thing we just missed in Melaka was the 45th Annual Bowling World Cup--the opening competition was set to begin a few days after our departure. We hope the international bowlers enjoyed some great pineapple tarts and antique shopping.

View more pictures from Melaka here.

2 Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

Imagine a Boston summer day. Then imagine donning a winter coat and jeans and going for a one mile jog along the Esplanade. Follow that up with pouring a bucket of warm maple syrup over your head and then hopping on a jam packed green line train only to get stuck between Arlington and Copley. That would be about half as hot, sticky, and uncomfortable as walking outside for five minutes in Malaysia. Ok, maybe that is a little bit of an exaggeration, but there is a reason that cool mountain retreats are much appreciated in this country a few degrees north of the equator. We didn't realize just how much until we got to the Cameron Highlands.What we expected to be an idyllic collection of quaint towns perched in the hills was actually an oozing resort destination with highrise chalet-style hotels, golf courses, and even a Starbucks. Our visions of leisurely sipping tea on the plantations for which the region is known were quickly dashed when we realized we'd have to share those small verandas with hundreds of other visitors.

While geographically the area is quite small, the weaving mountain roads make it difficult to get from place to place. So we decided to join a half day tour that would take us around to many of the local farms. We enjoyed the best strawberry milkshake and strawberry tart at a strawberry farm, navigated through "Malaysia's largest indoor maze" at a bee farm, strolled through a rose garden, and stopped at an outdoor market. We even got to taste some tea at the Boh Estate and Factory; the setting was more commercial than we'd hoped, but the sweeping views of the rolling hills and the surprisingly strong, refreshing aroma of the tea plants that covered them made it a pleasant place to spend the morning nonetheless.

In the afternoon we headed out on our own to do a "jungle walk" up Gunung Brinchang. The trail was steep, muddy, and somewhat treacherous--but certainly atmospheric. The best part was that we didn't see another soul on the trail: finally the peace and quiet we had hoped for from the high hills of Malaysia. There are in total 14 trails in the area, varying in both length and difficulty. Back in town, we quenched the hunger we'd worked up with a steamboat--the make-your-own-soup meal that is offered at every Cameron Highlands restaurant. Think fondue, but instead of dipping delicious bread in bubbling cheese we had fish balls and jellyfish to cook in broth. Definitely an experience, but not one we are probably looking to recreate soon.

View more pictures from the Cameron Highlands here.

5 Penang, Malaysia

After a week and a half of rest and relaxation on Thailand's beaches, we were ready to pack away our swim trunks for a bit and put our sightseeing pants back on. Our first attempt was to visit a "typical" Thai town on our way south. Trang was typical, alright, with car part businesses greeting us as we disembarked our bus instead of tourist offices. Unfortunately we were more in the market for cooking classes than a new muffler and our search was not aided by the fact that unlike in the beach towns, the majority of locals did not speak English. It didn't take long for us to figure out that there wasn't much for visitors to do in Trang--save for slurp a bowl of noodles and join in some Thai karaoke--and we were back on the road the next morning.

A stop-happy bus, smelly van, expeditious border crossing, and another van (this time of the karaoke variety) later we were in Penang, Malaysia. The differences between Malaysia and Thailand were apparent shortly after clearing customs, certainly not night and day...maybe more like mid-morning and dusk. The four lane toll highway south, equipped with a Malaysian version of EZ pass, was a prime example of the country's modernity and the fresh, cookie cutter housing developments plopped in swampy marshland just off the road made it feel more like driving through southeast Orlando than southeast Asia. The other difference from Thailand that struck us upon arrival in Penang was the multiethnic makeup of the population, with Malays, Chinese, and Indians living and working in distinct enclaves that together created a unique urban tapestry.

One of the great byproducts of this patchwork of cultures is the diverse cuisine available, in many cases in hybrid form. And better yet cheap dishes were never more than arms length thanks to Penang's abundance of delicious food stalls. The elevator in our hotel even had a guy selling noodles! Okay, that isn't true. Our favorite spot to chow down was Red Garden Food Paradise, an upscale, open-air food court down the street from our hotel where we could pick and choose from dozens of different vendors who would prepare and deliver the selections to our table. By far the weirdest thing we ate was the popular ABC Special available all over town: shaved ice topped with bubble gum flavored syrup, a scoop of ice cream, nuts, corn, beans, tapioca, jello pieces, and who knows what else. About as delicious as it sounds, which is not delicious at all.

Penang's multiculturalism is further reflected in its unique and beautiful buildings. It was not uncommon to come across a mosque, Hindu temple, Buddhist temple and church within Adhan distance of each other. Must make for interesting block parties where alot of those "bar" jokes are told--you know, "An imam, a priest, and a monk walk into a bar..." The worn streets of Colonial Penang, the historic heart of town, are great for wandering, and Khoo Kongsi is the highlight. This Chinese clan house celebrates the lineage of hundreds years of Khoos in Penang's Hokkien Chinese community and to this day members' academic degrees are ceremoniously displayed in its halls. The lavish details in reds and golds were stunning.

Over in Chinatown, its a vibrant indigo that attracts visitors to another Chinese landmark, the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion. At night the mansion looks like something out of Cinderella and by day it is open for guided tours. Our energetic host related the original owner's rags to riches story and told us more than once that he was known as the "Rockefeller of the East". Even more interesting to us was the crash course in Feng Shui with the 38 room mansion as text book. We are fully prepared to set up our next home in Boston with good ch'i.

On the outskirts of town, Penang Hill is a celebrated retreat from the heat and bustle of the city. We took a crowded funicular to the top and were excited to see the much lauded views, but instead found ourselves stuck in the clouds. As advertised, though, it was a few degrees cooler. A short taxi ride away is the sprawling kaleidescope of Kek Lok Si, the largest Buddhist complex in southeast Asia. The Laughing Buddhas were joined by congenial animal statues, and with more gift shops than places for prayer it felt like how Disney might do temple. That being said, the colorful palette and impressive seven-story Pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas certainly made it a sight worth seeing in our sightseeing comeback.

View more pictures from Penang here.