We can learn a lot about another country from books, but we don’t get to experience it for ourselves. Every city and every country has its own individual character and style. It is only when you are really there that you can feel the connotations of a city and understand the world of a city. During the National Day, I took advantage of my school’s study tour to Malaysia, and I walked around the country, meeting a lot of people, gaining a lot of insight and leaving a different story behind.
How can you go on the road without a helmet
Our first stop in Malaysia was the University of Malaya. From the international airport in Kuala Lumpur to the University of Malaya, I experienced extraordinary things along the way, and felt the shock and emotion that Malaysia brought to me.
When I entered the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, I immediately ran into the bathroom and there was a door open in the bathroom, so I immediately ran over to it and before I could step inside, I heard “Miss, can you line up please?”
Not knowing what was happening, I looked back and there was a long queue behind me, and I was skipping straight through the conspicuous queue to the door of the toilet. In that instant, my face immediately became hot and I wanted to find a hole in the ground and curl up and not come out. But there was no hole to go into, so I had to slink back to the end of the queue. I watched as the orderly scene in the bathroom, one person in, one person out, was restored once again. I was ashamed of myself for what I had just done, but at the same time it made me more curious about Malaysia as a country.
Walking out of the airport, we met up with Mr Wong who received us. We boarded the University of Malaysia’s school bus. On the bus, I looked around with curiosity about the city. The road was lined with lush palm trees and sometimes some unknown flowers could be seen to accent the few splashes of green.
There were quite a few people on motorbikes on the road, all wearing helmets. Surprisingly, I did not find a single person on the road who was not wearing a helmet, not even those who were riding on electric bikes.
In the car, I was bored and placed a bottle of mineral water on the edge of the window (it was about the same width as the diameter of the floor of the mineral water) and after nearly two hours we arrived at the University of Malaya, my bottle of water never left its place and didn’t even shake strongly. Yes, it’s just a bottle, but I have to say that what this bottle tells us is that this country takes traffic rules seriously and takes life seriously.
I thought that things like using the bathroom in a neat and orderly manner, wearing a helmet on the road and driving safely and smoothly would only happen on certain occasions. But in the time that followed, what I saw proved me wrong. When I went shopping at the mall, the bathrooms were still orderly, people on the staircase lifts stood as far to the left as possible, leaving the right seat as an emergency lane; when I took a taxi, I queued up in an orderly manner and waited for my ride in a specific seat; when I used Malaysian currency, I never had to worry about a vendor giving me fake money ……
All this is just something that Malaysians take for granted. For them, they have their own principles, their own national traffic principles, their own principles of public decency, and they just try to abide by them, and in the end, they no longer need the urging of the principles, but it has become a habitual trait.
My colours, my call
Malaysia is a country of colour. It is not only the colour of its three ethnic groups, black, white and yellow, but also the colour of its architecture and the colour of its life.
In Malaysia, we visited the University of Malaya, Edelweiss Teacher Training University and Putra Malaysia. These three schools gave me a strong visual impact.
The combination of the traditional box architecture, with its conspicuous colours, blue, red or yellow, and the lighter shades, made the buildings stand out in the sunlight and shine brighter. The combination of these colours makes these buildings stand out in the sunlight and shine brighter. The buildings are built in such colours to reflect positivity, activity and individuality. Whether it is a school, a community or a country, it needs to be decorated with individual colours in order to show that it belongs to a school, a community or even a country.
In addition to the schools, there is also the only remaining Dutch-ruled building complex in Melaka’s central square, which is quite striking in red. The red houses bear witness to the advancement of history, and the colourful floats in front of them show off the subtropical charm. The grey church of St Paul’s Hill, which is a testament to the years of its history, is also rich in cultural connotations with its grey colouring.
Colourful architecture is not without its colourful life. In Malaysia, there are many entertainment venues such as small bars. The most famous of these is the Genting Highlands Casino, known as the “Monte Carlo of the South”. It is a well-known fact that gambling is prohibited in Malaysia, but Genting Highlands is an exception. At an altitude of around 2,000 metres, it is a wonderland of unpredictable clouds and overlapping hills. Inside is a dazzling array of excursions, with indoor excursions for all ages and dozens of gourmet restaurants with flavours from across Asia. Inside, the casino is a buzzing place, with loud music, flashing neon lights and crowds of people. With people from all over the world, human nature is unleashed inside this casino.
The colourful Malaysia, embracing a life of colour, shows in its unique charm and gives me a unique impact.
My happiness needs your blessing
A thunderous drum roll, a few brightly dressed bridesmaids with egg flowers and umbrellas in front, a pair of drummers in performance costumes with Malay drums on their shoulders, and a couple in the middle, surrounded by the crowd, walking towards the main wedding platform (a colourful tent decorated with palm leaves and flowers of all colours). .
Yes, it was a wedding, a traditional Malaysian wedding for the locals. I am glad that I was able to attend this wedding and experience their happy moment.
During the wedding, the groom’s nails and the backs of his hands are dyed ginger, which is locally known as the ‘palm dye ceremony’. On the day of the wedding, a tall brass plate is placed in front of the couple. The basin is filled with turmeric rice, rice flowers, crushed ginger leaf juice and a vessel with crushed henna. A respected religious master takes a few grains of yellow rice and sprinkles them on the groom’s shoulders, followed by ginger juice water, spraying the groom’s hands with it and applying henna to the backs of his palms. However, the palms of the groom’s hands will not be stained. He will start his new life in the bride’s house with this ginger colour. The bride, on the other hand, will have her nails, palms and feet painted bright red with freshly pinched henna by her best sisters.
“The ‘sitting together’ ceremony is the highlight of the Malaysian wedding and a memorable moment for the couple to enjoy the ‘King for a Day’. The part I have just described is a small part of the ‘sitting together’ ceremony. The bride and groom walk onto the main wedding platform with their hands joined together and are seated on the platform as if they were kings, and then enjoy the dignity of a king for a day. The newlyweds are served at all times, making it a real palace experience. This is the moment to be ‘king for a day’ and receive the blessing of the people.
At the wedding, the hosts knew that we were guests from far away and they didn’t mind that we were wearing short-sleeved clothes, they were willing to accept our blessings from afar. When it comes to the blessing, it is also very elaborate. Each guest takes their turn to come forward to bless the bride and groom, scattering leaves, fragrant rice, flower petals and holy water, and shaking hands with the bride and groom to bless them, after which they receive a bouquet of egg flowers in return to symbolise the bride’s early and fruitful birth. The bride and groom also waited until the blessing was complete before they were allowed to leave the stage.
We were treated with hospitality at this wedding and we felt the warmth and happiness that the wedding brought to us. The bride and groom posed for pictures with us, their faces radiating joy as they looked forward to their happiness being blessed by others who would like to pass on their happiness to you.
You, the big red flower on the branch
During our ten days in Malaysia, we came into contact with different Malaysians who are the big red flowers, full of enthusiasm and bravado, and a characteristic warmth.
Entering Malaysia, we checked into the University of Malaya. On our way into the dormitory for a break, we met the Principal of the University of Malaya who was very easy going and kindly asked us where we were from, how the journey had been etc. We didn’t know that he was the Rector of the University of Malaya at the time, we just thought he was one of the staff at the University of Malaya. The next day, when we attended the welcome reception at the University of Malaya, we were surprised to find out that the person who greeted us yesterday was the President of the University of Malaya.
When we arrived at the Presidential Palace for our tour, we were followed by a few international students from other countries, who walked and talked with us. I could feel their confidence and enthusiasm. They asked us how we were feeling at the University of Malaya, cared if we were used to the Malayan way of life, and kept reminding us of the steps here and there as we walked. Such meticulous care made me feel the warmth of friends from a different country.
During those ten days in Malaysia, I was touched by the architecture of the country and even more so by the people of this country. Our last two days were spent on the Malaysian island of Thermopylae. One of the essential activities on the island is diving. We had the opportunity to dive three times. I am a total duck and have not been in the water since I was a child. But I still wanted to see what the country’s oceans were like in a life jacket and in such a beautiful sea. On my first dive, I wasn’t spoilt by the sea, an island lifeguard saw me falling behind and took me diving in the sea; on my second dive, I collected shells and the islanders there told me that shells were not allowed to be taken off the island and I saw how much they loved the island; on my third dive, I went to very shallow waters and I was scraped in many places by the coral as I was not a good learner, but because I met the lifeguard who took me again I had another beautiful dive because I met the lifeguard who took me on another dive. The blue sky, the turquoise water, the slightly rising waves on the horizontal surface shining with dots of stars in the sunlight, so moving.
We all know that the national flower of Malaysia is the jubilee, alias the big red flower. This flower has a warm and bold appearance, but has a unique heart, formed by a number of small stamens linked together and wrapped around the outside of the larger stamens, which is quite a delicate structure. Doesn’t this look like the Malaysian people? They are hospitable, they are attentive, they are principled, they are united and they are blooming ……
Afterword
In ten days, we walked through three Malaysian universities, feeling their teaching style and experiencing their educational atmosphere; we walked through downtown Kuala Lumpur, seeing the grandeur of the Muslim churches, feeling the exotic atmosphere of Little India and marvelling at the unique design of the Twin Towers; we walked through Malacca, experiencing the local folklore and enjoying the happiness of local weddings; we walked through Koh Kerang, seeing the blue water and blue sky, tasting the pure natural coconut juice and embracing with the sea . The Malaysian landscape touched me and the Malaysian people touched me.
This trip, like the big crispy red flowers on my fingers, has imprinted deep traces on my heart.
