Thailand-Malaysia 2023
Day 11: Wednesday 11 January 2023
Georgetown, Pilau Penang – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Building across the road from our hotel in the Historical Centre of George Town, Penang.
Street mini-temple in George Town
Microwave in hotel: Halal food only
Halal is an Arabic word meaning ‘permissible’. It is contrasted with haram, meaning ‘forbidden’.
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Halal is applied in the teachings of Islam to food, finance, clothing and behaviour. Its strictures are derived from the Quran and the Sunnah (the teachings and practices of the Prophet Muhammad). Islamic jurisprudence is called fiqh.
Global industries can obtain Halal certification to ensure their products and services comply to the requisite standards. It dictates ethical considerations in matters of social justice, the treatment of animals, and exclusion of interest (riba) in finance. There is now a large halal economy, not just in Muslim-dominated countries, but to cater for the growing Muslim populations everywhere.
Pork is the only meat forbidden by haram. But this prohibition also covers any food not in a state of purity (e.g. processed by machinery not cleaned according to Islamic Law). Muslims may not use cosmetics or pharmaceuticals which have been prepared using prohibited animal products. Muslims may also not consume blood or intoxicants, such as alcohol. An exception is made, however, if no halal food is available, and the Muslim is at risk of starving to death.
Clerics and scholars are divided in their opinion of the status of GMO (genetically modified organisms). Okay because they benefit humanity, not okay because mankind does not have the right to intervene in God’s perfect creation. Opposition also raises suspicions that some GMO foods were produced using genes from pigs.
The humane, swift and painless slaughter of animals is a rule within Halal. The head of the animal must be aligned in the direction of prayer (qiblah), and the action must be performed by a muslim, accompanied by the Islamic prayer, Bismillah, Allahu Akbar (In the name of God, God is greatest).
Food service in First Class compartment, on the train to Kuala Lumpur
Petronas Twin Towers, in a reflective mood
Petronas Twin Towers
Petronas Twin Towers
Fountain light show at Lake Symphony, a 10,000 square metre artificial lake, at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC). The main fountain can shoot water as high as 280m.
Petronas Twin Towers
Fountain light show behind the Petronas Twin Towers
Travel Diary
We take a taxi, a real car this time, driven by an Indian to the ferry dock. The large ocean liners have gone, to be replaced by a largish island ferry. We board the streamlined straits ferry in good time. It is only a 10 min ride.
At Butterworth there is a 3-storey complex which was not there in 1986. It connects by an AC tunnel walkway to the station. We wait next to children’s claw machines, rows of them, advertising their games to the near empty hall with non-stop, loud and garish music which quickly gets on our nerves.
Downstairs we try our first nasi goreng in a popular restaurant before leaving the station and find the train already there. We have first class tickets which means that our wagon has AC, comfortable large seats and two airline type meals. Sean watches ‘Glass Onion’ on his computer, the sequel to ‘Knives Out’ that we watched on his computer in Surat Thani and on the tv screen attached by HOMI cable to his compuer in Penang. Cindy spent the whole 4-hour trip writing text messages. I began reading ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife,’ a copy of which we found in a ‘bibliocabine’ in Penang, and was up to page 80 by KL, with an hour nap somewhere in there.
The scenery was of tropical zone trees, and rubber plantations, the Cameroon Highlands. KL comes on us suddenly and immediatedly awes us with its many very high skycrapers. We reach KL Sentral, and find a very large modern railway station complex, all AC, which contrasted sharply to Bangkok’s antiquated old airline hangar style stations. We find the monorail, buy the same tokens as used in Bkk’s MRT, and ride the 7 stops through high-rises to KLCC, Kuala Lumpur City Centre, and walk 200-300m along an intensely trafficked peak hour road to our hotel. For Fr. 32/night per room (we take 2) it is a steal, for we have AC (over-working as usual) and tip-top quality, with a view of one of the Petronas Twin Towers, a car park and a cemetery!
After a little rest we collect Sean to walk the short distance to be awed by the Petronas (our guess: National Petroleum?) Twin Towers, flood-lit and enormous, stretching way up towards the heavy clouds. It sprinkled a little, but nothing more. The tower spires are so high their light actually reflected off the clouds.
Uninterested in the expensive shopping mall, and finding the towers closed to sightseers till morning, we exit the south side to find an artificial lake with a water-spout and coloured light display. The park has joggers along a special running track and an extensive children’s playground. Walled in by high-rises we do a loop and come back to the front of the Petronas, before finding an inexpensive and excellent Indian, outdoor restaurant with a friendly staff. Service right through Thailand and Malaysia has been fun, polite, enthusiastic, and thankful for tips, without ever being demanding. The people are an inspiration for their hard-working stamina and demeanor. We found a job advert in Butterworth, offering Fr. 300-600 a week we presume as Basic to managerial positions in KFC. This puts prices in persepctive. Our trip to KL from Penang was Fr. 30 a head in first class, the meal just Fr. 5 a head (25RM).
KL is a town now as modern as Singapore, and perhaps even more so. Traffic congestion is the most obvious problem, but the public transport system seems to compensate courageously. We do not feel overwhelmed by pollution. It is humid and warm but not uncomfortably so.