Malaysia 2010, 2011, 2013

I have so many hundreds of photos of Malaysia and all things Malaysian: people, food, places, sites, random pictures of stray cats. Here I’ve picked some of my favorites from the past three trips there. They’re from all over Malaysia, some from Penang, some from Melaka, one from Pahang when I was in Kuantan. And of course, Kuala Lumpur.

I visited these places in multiple capacities, as a tourist, as a local, as an anthropologist, as a student, as a photographer. Most of the photos are “found”, none of them were posed or premeditated.

Most of these photos were taken using a really cheap-O point and shoot, or my iPhone 4.

Here’s a Chinese “folk religion” temple on the island of Penang, where some people are praying to the deity “housed” here. The temple has an open court yard to allow the incense to waft up and out into the sky.

Bukit Bintang is the center for shopping, nightlife and modern fun in Kuala Lumpur. All the best and worst hotels/motels/B&Bs are here. In the background is the KLCC tower, once the world’s tallest building.

Walking around late one night in Melaka I came across a pig butchering operation. Malaysia is a plural society, so while there are muslims who refrain from porcine products, there are also Chinese and Indians (and many others) who do not live under the same religious or legal restrictions.

While in Pahang I got to visit a keropok lekor factory. Keropok Lekor is a fried fish snack, which I find super, super tasty. It was a small operation, maybe 10 people in all, in a non-airconditioned, sheet metal roofed and walled building. It smelled a bit fishy, as you can imagine, but it was fascinating.

This was one of the heritage styled hotels in Melaka. They’ve kept up the nyonya/Straits Chinese architectural style, here illuminated wonderfully by the modern neon lights. Modern meets traditional is always a favorite theme of mine in Malaysia.

Up on the hill in Melaka, there’s an old Portuguese/Dutch church ruin and through its many windows and doorways you can get a panoramic view of modern, downtown Melaka. Here you can see one of the sprawling shopping centers in the not-so-far-off distance. Modern meets Traditional.

I got my first tattoo in Borneo in 2010, and the following year when I went back I got a 2nd one. Both were done traditionally, using a hammer. Perhaps it was placement, but both of these hurt far less than the machined one I got later. They also healed super quickly, taking about a week to scab.

Here’s a Hindu deity sculpture on the exterior wall of a Hindu kuil in Penang, in the Little India section of Georgetown.

Here’s a Hindu deity sculpture on the exterior wall of a Hindu kuil in Penang, in the Little India section of Georgetown.

Here’s a Hindu deity sculpture on the exterior wall of a Hindu kuil in Penang, in the Little India section of Georgetown.

Around Historic Georgetown in Penang, tourists get around by taking rickshaws, powered by bicycle by these men. When I spoke to them they said they were having a hard time finding young people to start doing this work. At the same time, they were glad that young people had other, better opportunities, as rickshaw driving is very physically strenuous. These guys are taking a break on the sidewalk, playing checkers with bottle caps and one man is having his take-away mixed rice lunch. Hawker stalls here wrap up lunch for you in plastic and brown paper, then rubber-band it.