Located across two main land masses in tropical Souteast Asia, Malaysia is far from just a tropical paradise that is easily confused with Indonesia. Malays, Chinese, Indians, and Orang Asli are just a few of the people groups that live in the country. I was in its capital, Kuala Lumpur, Read more…
Isn’t it every child’s dream to visit Legoland? It was mine. Even though I lived in Berlin for a year, I didn’t have the opportunity to visit Legoland in Germany, which is where the toy originated. I had to wait until much later before I had an opportunity to visit Read more…
The circumstances that led to me taking a photograph with the son of the reigning monarch of a Malaysian state were peculiar. He’s also the libertarian Malaysian think tank Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs. I was having dinner with the other delegates at the 2018 Harvard Project for Asian Read more…
The twin Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur were the tallest buildings in the world until Taipei 101 was completed in 2004. When they were completed in 1998, the 451-metre tall towers surpassed World Trade Centres 1 and 2 in New York City as the tallest twin towers in the world. Read more…
Located near the town of Ipoh in Malaysia, Kellie’s Castle is the unfinished home built by a Scottish settler which was later left to ruin. The property is mainly built in Victorian architectural style using darker materials with elements of Indian colonial building features. The owner, William Kellie Smith, died Read more…
In the northern area of West Malaysia and near the Thai border, Georgetown is just 2 hours away from Ipoh and 4 hours from Kuala Lumpur by train to Butterworth. Georgetown has a lot of traditional southeast Asian cuisine such as glass noodles, rice noodles, honey glazed pork jerky, fried Read more…
This small town consisting of just a handful of streets lined with two to three storey buildings is undoubtedly the best place to have curry chicken bread in Malaysia. This town is out of the way and feels a little like what a cowboy would find in western movies from Read more…
Halfway between Kuala Lumpur and the Thai border, Ipoh is a relaxing town in the middle of the Malaysian jungle. The narrow streets are difficult to navigate but really make you slow down and enjoy the charming local shops and colonial architecture. The best way to explore this town is Read more…
In contrast to Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya is a vast, well-planned city that houses many government buildings. It’s exclusive function seems to serve as a grid full of federal department headquarters. The city is impressive to say the least, the huge Putra Mosque and the office of the Prime Minister rests Read more…
In HPAIR’s 2018 Asia conference I had the privilege of participating in a workshop with the World Bank in Malaysia to come up with a tentative policy proposal for providing internet access for rural Malaysia. The key issues are spotty and inconsistent internet coverage across Malaysia as well as slow Read more…