Lovely Langkawi and Precious Penang

Staying in Langkawi was a nice and quiet transmission from the Western world to the Eastern. As it was a place with loads of tourists, we got the feeling that we were on holiday and we got a fairly easy start.


On Cenang Beach in Langkawi, were we stayed. Take a look at Margrethes blog for more photos of this.

Dancing Limbo on the beach

Mamma – you said it didn't look like I was studying, but here you are! We read when he get the opportunity! ;)

Learning to dance Merengue , Salsa and Bachatka from a German guy. Great fun!
The shops don't only sell small bikinis, they also sell swimming costumes for Muslims, that ensures that all “critical” parts of the body are covered. Margrethe was wondering whether she should start the same trend for non-muslims.

Now that we have come to Penang, the second largest city in Malaysia (Number 1 is Kuala Lumpur, the capital), we finally get the feeling that we're on a different continent.

A man selling sweets etc by the restaurants
The salesman was happy to pose for the camera
A proud young girl helping her parents out in the restaurant.

A big food court where we could get all kinds of food

Lots of food
Man walking around with his helmet.
Woman selling newspapers and magazines.
The view from the 19th floor where we have our lectures in Penang


As mentioned earlier, Malaysia is a Muslim country, and the majority of the population are Muslims. Today we were lectured by a Malaysian Hindu, who is ethnic Indian, but has a Malaysian nationality.

Our Hindu teacher

To be called Malay, one has to be a Muslim. Consequently this is a big dilemma here in Malaysia, since there is a large number of people from China and India who also feel they are Malay... In the Malaysian constitution it says that the Malay people (only the Muslims) get special treatment. Only they have the right to get a scholarship at universities, they get a bigger loan when they buy a new house etc. Our Hindu lecturer had quite strong feelings about this, but the only thing the minorities can do, is to accept it. The alternative is to convert to Islam, but then it is almost impossible to convert back, and they have to follow very strict rules...
Sitting on the boat to Penang with my Nugatti (Norwegian chocolate spread) under my arm, with a Sikh next to me.
Lunch. Tandori chicken which is completely red! Delicious!

Here in Penang the majority is either Buddhist or belongs to the Chinese religions. After lunch today we went around in Penang to get a look at the city and to visit Buddhist and Hindu temples. Photos of this will come soon. :)