Malaysia Quick Trip

I was in Malaysia the past 3 days for a quick business meeting. On paper, it was supposed to be 3 days 2 nights. But I was actually only there for 1 day. I arrived around 10 PM tuesday, had a meeting the whole wednesday, and went back to Manila on a 12 noon flight on Thursday.

Consdering the 3.5 hour flight and all the airport lags. Wasted 2 whole days just on travel and transits.

Anyway, here are the things that caught my attention in the short span of time that I was there.

1. Beautiful Airport. I would say on par with the Hongkong one. Yep, all the countries I have visited in Asia already have state of the art and modernized airports. Tayo na lang yata ang sputtering along on the decaying Terminal 1. I can imagine the dismay and disappointment of foreigners/investors when they arrive in our airport. We have to get our act together and at least try to get Terminal 3 open. Terminal 2 for PAL flights is OK, but Terminal 1 has to be torn down and rebuilt ASAP.

2. Cultural Diversity. Here you can actually see a good mix of Malays, Chinese and Indians living harmoniously together. They've sort of achieved a balance. So when you go to the mall, you'll see a chinese girl in a short mini-skirt and a moslem lady covered up from head to toe with only her eyes showing walking side by side talking animatedly.

3. Pic attached is the facade of the Sunway Lagoon Resort Hotel where I stayed. Really nice. Has a shopping mall right beside it, a theme park and if I'm not mistaken some sort of small animal sanctuary. And the hotel rate considering that its peak season was very reasonable.

4. Malaysia will be celebrating 50 years of independence from the British this coming Aug 31. So Kuala Lumpur, the capital, is really geared up for this big celebration. You can see Malaysian flags flying everywhere. The hotels and malls are decorated with all sorts of designs and they have all sorts of gimmicks and sales.

Overall, I would say a good place to visit. English is widely understood and spoken by everyone. Certainly cheaper prices than Singapore for everything from food to gas to shopping stuff. Traffic in the streets is OK. The flight schedule is erratic for Malaysian Airlines but if you're on a budget, go to Clark and take Air Asia.

I always get a nostalgic feeling of sadness when I take these trips and see our Asian neighbors and realize how far they have progressed. Sobrang layo na rin ng Malaysia sa Pinas. In terms of natural resources naman, we're at par with these countries, so its not that they have some kind of advantage. All the people i've spoken to agree on one thing. Philippines has the potential. We just need discipline from the people and a strong leader.

Oh well.... back to poker. Heheh ....