My Trip to Hong Kong/Malaysia

Monkeys seen in Penang Island

Hi readers! So far, I've had a fairly packed summer, but the highlight HAS to be my trip to Hong Kong and Malaysia. 

This July, my great-grandmother (Mama) turned 100 (Yes, triple digits!!), so my whole extended family gathered in Hong Kong to celebrate with her. This included distant aunties, uncles, cousins, spouses, and significant others. We all gathered for a 4-hour lunch in celebration of the woman who sparked a whole family tree. For days beforehand, my grandmother had been making me learn a saying: Saang jat faai lok oh hi Hong Lum  Ling. This basically means “Happy birthday from Hong Lum Ling” (my Cantonese name). Although I had practiced for a long time just for Mama to look through me a little and smile without a sense of recognition, it felt nice to participate in a part of my heritage (Though embarrassing to do it in front of all my cousins who actually spoke Cantonese fluently). 

We spent 4 nights in Hong Kong, where we shopped, ate, went to Disneyland, and avoided the terrible weather. On the fifth day, we (being my mom and dad, my aunt and uncle, my two cousins, and my brother and I) packed up our bags and boarded a plane to Kuala Lumpur. We spent 4 more nights in Kuala Lumpur. We spent the first day at the famous Batu caves, where we climbed the rainbow steps and all made sure to cover our knees and shoulders out of respect to the religious site. The Batu Caves had lots and lots of monkeys that didn’t seem to be scared of humans at all and were so playful! Inside the caves was a beautiful opening at the top that streamed down sunlight. I loved how this sight was a mix of Kuala Lumpur’s natural terrain and the religious culture of the majority of the citizens. The next day in Kuala Lumpur, we walked around the famous Central Market, and looked around at all the Batik and jewelry shops, as well as sampling Durayan soft serve. On our third and final day, we walked around at a bird park (and saw more monkeys) before heading back to the pool at the Grand Hyatt. The next morning, we loaded our suitcases into the car and drove 8 hours to the island of Penang. 

We spent our 4 final nights in Penang, which was definitely the most relaxing leg of our trip. The first two days, we did excursions in the morning, and afternoons at the pool and beach. On Day 1, we wandered around Georgetown (Penang, not DC) and saw the various murals painted along the walls. We then stopped at a ramen shop, and my brother and cousin ordered a ginormous bowl of ramen meant for 5 people for just the two of them. They did not finish. The ramen shop was right next to one of the oldest on-water housing arrangements in Malaysia, and we got to see people still living in them today, which was very interesting. The next day, we got up at 5:30 to watch the sunrise. We took a funicular up the mountain and walked around above the clouds, then hiked to the Golden Buddha statue, which was 30 minutes away. On our final day in Malaysia, we took it easy and just relaxed. 

Now, writing this on the plane ride home (getting home took 36 straight hours of travel), I would 100% recommend visiting Malaysia. The food, the culture, the art, the nature, everything was so beautiful and unique to the country. However, Hong Kong holds a special place in my heart, and if I could only tell you to visit one, it would be Hong Kong.