April 24, 2006

DeRosaDaily - A Little Bit About Malaysia

I decided to go early because while I will be covering every second of the World Cup, I wanted to also have time to discover Malaysia, which you never can do when there is a competition going on. Tourism Malaysia has arranged a variety of things and so I’ll be visiting a couple of Breeding facilities and learning about the culture and history on some guided tours.

So now I’m trying to get to know the country I will be visiting. So far I’ve discovered that all I need is a passport and no vaccination is necessary. The official language is Bahasa Malaysia but English is widely spoken (thank goodness since that’s a lingo I really don’t know). Malaysia Ringgit is the currency and the exchange rate is MYR3.80 to 1 U.S. dollar. Traveler’s Checks are handy but they encourage you to also carry around some cash. Although there is a service charge added to restaurant and hotel bills, tipping is not expected. The weather ranges between 70 degrees to 90 degrees fahrenheit and the humidity is about 80%. Clothing can be informal but since this is mostly a Muslim country they encourage you to dress in acceptable wear and your arms and head should be covered when going into places of worship.

There is a racial mix of Malay, Chinese and Indian and so the food is a blend of these cultures and tap water is considered okay to drink. The electricity in Malaysia, like in Europe, is 220-240 so I’ll be bringing my converters. Their plugs are generally the three-square-pin type as opposed to round pins. As far as souvenirs, batik is the traditional fabric and comes in lots of different colors and designs. Malaysian pewter is also quite good. There is a rail service as well as the typical taxis, buses and car rentals.