With the wheelchair to Malaysia
Article 1/3
published in the DMSG "Kotakt", in issue 2/2002

A difficult way to Kuala Lumpur.

Around Christmas of 2000, my friend Artur called me. He told me about his plans to work in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. He also told me that he had already invited my sister to visit him and asked me if I wanted to come too. I was very happy about this offer and asked him what the best time to visit him would be. He said it would be best if I came together with my sister when he had finished his projects. We decided that end of September 2001 or the beginning of October 2001 would be best. He planned to rent a wheelchair accessible apartment so it would be easier for me. I know Artur from my Egypt vacations (see my article “With the wheelchair in Egypt” in this internet site) and he was in college with my sister who lived in Egypt for 13 years. I have the feeling that he was a bit intrigued by the fact that I still traveled extensively despite my handicap.

Shortly after our conversation, Artur moved to Malaysia and started his project. We kept in touch by e-mail and I started to research information about Malaysia and began to check into flight schedules. The more I researched, the more I started to worry. I only found one direct flight from Munich to Kuala Lumpur. All in all, I was looking at approximately 20 hours of travel-time.
I knew from experience that the wheelchair service from and to the airports and in between was excellent. Since I never was on-route for such a long time however, I worried about what would happen if I had to go to the toilet. Urinating was not a big problem because I was on a catheter and the bag could be emptied into the toilet but what if…., especially if I would have to go in the airplane???
Another worry was the climate in Malaysia which has average temperatures of about 32 degrees Celsius. The temperature itself did not worry me too much, I had experienced even higher ones in Egypt. What worried me was the tropical climate with a very relative humidity of about 95 – 100%. Furthermore, the rain period starts in Malaysia in September/October which would probably cause me additional problems. I already suffer in Germany when the thermometer rises above 30 degrees Celsius, especially when it becomes sultry and had no idea how my body would react to temperatures of 32 degrees with a 100% air-humidity. Did I really have to subject myself to such hardship?
But, experience taught me that somehow, everything usually turns out well in the end.
Besides, I still had a few more months to get more information, speak to my doctor and re-think everything if necessary. I told my doctor about my travel plans to Malaysia and he immediately encouraged me to go. He gave me some helpful advice and in particular, he suggested that I should avoid going from highly air-conditioned rooms and cars into the hot outside. He suggested that I keep the temperature in my room at normal levels so my system would not go into shock when I ventured from extremely cold air-conditioned venues into extreme heat. He also gave me medication which would help me empty my bowls so I would not have to go during the trip. He also advised me on the necessary immunizations.
In the beginning of September, Artur told us that we could come in the beginning of October. I immediately booked a flight with KLM, going Munich-Amsterdam-Kuala Lumpur-Amsterdam-Munich. The plane was a Boing 747 and I reserved 2 seats (1 for my helper) directly behind one of the walls because there is more leg-room. My sister would fly on the same day but non-stop Frankfurt/Kuala Lumpur and we would arrive in Kuala Lumpur at about the same time. I also called the handicap-taxi service to bring me to Franz-Joseph-Strauss Airport in Erding, near Munich. The date I made the reservation was 9/11/2001.
While I was preparing all this, I had my TV on and …………saw live when the Twin Towers fell. Like everyone, I could not believe my eyes and was deeply shocked. I was glued to the television and like wondering when or if war would break out. At that time however, I did not see a connection between the tragedy in the U.S. and my trip to Malaysia. The closer my departure date got, the louder the calls for war became. Only then did I realize that the majority of Malaysian people are Muslim and after talking to my sister, considered postponing our trip. Artur however ensured me that the Malaysian government was secular and that the Malaysian people felt as badly about the attacks as the Europeans and Americans did.
When no war had broken out at 10/06/2001, I went to the airport in Munich. Security was extremely tight which made me feel comfortable enough to take on my journey. However, I had a problem boarding because of the batteries of my wheelchair. After much discussion and very close inspection by security personnel, I finally was allowed to board the plane. To my surprise, I was seated in Business Class which I was told, is a service KLM provides for free to handicapped people in wheelchairs. Approximately 1 ½ hours later, we landed in Amsterdam, Shipool Airport. There, we had to wait about 2 hrs. for our connecting flight. The Jumbo was completely booked and space became very tight. We waited for a long time until take-off. Six hours into our flight the captain announced that we had to deviate from the original flight pattern to avoid Afghan air-space. This added several hours to our flight. When we finally landed in Kuala Lumpur after 15 hours, I was very happy. The seat I had ended up in was very straight and did not move backward. Two people from wheel-chair service lifted me out of my seat and carried me out of the plane. When I finally sat on the comfortable cushion in my wheel-chair, I felt much better. The 2 helpers escorted me though customs and brought me to the airport exit.
ènaleeThe airport in Kuala Lumpur was only three years old at the time. It is very modern and an architectural beauty. Arrival and Departure terminals are connected by a modern railway. The airport is, of course, air-conditioned. When I finally left the building, I was shocked by the hot and humid air. Artur and my sister greeted me happily. They had been waiting for me for about 3 hours.

Articel 2/3

Malaysia is worth a visit!

Before I continue to describe my experience in Malaysia, I’d like to give some interesting facts about the country.

Kuala Lumpur is located only 7 degrees north of the equator. Therefore, the days have always 12 hours. The climate is tropical and the country is completely covered by rainforest. Because the rainforest-trees have no commercial value, they are only cut to make room for cities, streets and plantations. During the late 18th and 19th centuries, Great Britain established colonies and protectorates in the area of current Malaysia; these were occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945. In 1948, the British-ruled territories on the Malay Peninsula formed the Federation of Malaya, which became independent in 1957. Malaysia was formed in 1963 when the former British colonies of Singapore and the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo joined the Federation. The first several years of the country's history were marred by Indonesian efforts to control Malaysia, Philippine claims to Sabah, and Singapore's secession from the Federation in 1965. During the 22-year term of Prime Minister MAHATHIR bin Mohamad (1981-2003), Malaysia was successful in diversifying its economy from dependence on exports of raw materials, to expansion in manufacturing, services, and tourism.

Rainforests cover almost three quarters of the country. ich

During colonization, the British brought many kulis from China to work in the tin mines. Because of this, many Chinese still live in Malaysia. Malaysia has the biggest Chinese churchyard outside of China.

Malaysia also is the biggest palm-oil producer of the world and you find big oil-palm plantations everywhere.

At the end of the 19th century, British agents illegally brought rubber trees from Brazil (Brazil was the only rubber producer at that time. The rubber was produced and used for the growing automobile market. The export of rubber trees was against the law, penalized by death penalty).
Because the trees grew best in Malaysia, it became the second biggest rubber producer of the world.

Malaysia produces enough natural gas and crude oil for its own use with a small amount left for export.

Tea plantation

Malaysia uses energy very carelessly. I very often saw outside terraces of coffee-shops or restaurants which were air-conditioned. One can see from far away the fog that forms when the cool air touches the hot air.
Fuel is also much cheaper than in Europe.

You see many Indians in Malaysia. The British colonialists brought them to Malaysia because Indians are specialists in tea production. The Indians are easily recognized, because they are usually much taller and darker than the other Asians.
Native Malaysians hold most leading positions in the country. Guest workers from neighboring countries perform most blue-color jobs.

This is why you see such a diversity of people from different countries. You can hear many different languages and see various traditional costumes, which paints a very colorful picture. 1/3 of the population and most of the immigrants are Muslim. I was surprised that the mosques were very reserved and called to pray very silently. Completely different from what I remember from Egypt.

Muslim women are very easily recognized because they wear scarves. Contrary to Egypt, the women in Malaysia wore their scarves with very tight and sexy jeans. In addition to Muslims, you see all religions of world. I saw Christian churches, Buddhist, Hindu and other temples. I was very pleasantly surprised to see all these different people living side by side without visible problems.
The common language spoken in Malaysia is English which made it easy for us to communicate. Very often I heard perfect Oxford-English.

Malaysia is one of Asia’s “tiger countries” which means that it is only one step away from becoming a highly developed industrial country.

Who is Buddha?

The richness of the country is visible everywhere in the capital Kuala Lumpur. The city has many skyscrapers and every one is an architectural beauty. The Petronas Twin Towers are known world-wide.

Another example for the affluence of the country is the new parliament capital Putraja, which is located approximately 35 km outside of Kuala Lumpur. The house of parliament, a very huge mosque, hotels, hospitals, schools, shops, banks, a bungalow- quarter, a quarter with villas and a quarter of high-rises all have been build there in recent years. Unbelievably so, most real-estate stands empty.

Article 3/3

Malaysia was worth the trip.

Arthur picked us up at Kuala Lumpur airport and we hurried to his apartment without delay. After being “on the road” for more than 20 hours, we were too tired to do anything else but rest. Since we wanted to overcome jet-lag as soon as possible, we tried not to go to sleep. My sister and Eva (my caretaker) needed one week to adjust to the time difference but luckily, I had no problems.
The climate however, was very difficult to get used to. One starts to perspire simply by sitting in a chair. Sleeping was impossible without air-conditioning. Once I woke up soaked in sweat because the timer of the A/C had turned it off. In summary, my fears of experiencing major MS-problems had been unfounded. This was perhaps due to the fact that we did not have any thunderstorms and the air was not electrically charged.

Artur had told us that it usually rains for at least 1 hour every day and that he had experienced the strongest thunderstorms in his life there. Strangely enough, despite the fact that it was the beginning of rainy season, we experienced only about 15 minutes of rain during the entire time of our stay.

Artur’s flat was very comfortable and cool because he had the air conditioner set at 27 degrees Celsius. His car also was air-conditioned which made our trips very comfortable. Going from an air-conditioned environment into the heat was extremely shocking however.

Artur tried very hard to make our life as comfortable as possible. He rented a Nissan Serena and took out one rear seat so I could be pushed into the car in my wheelchair.

The Patronas Twintowers

Having the car enabled us to see as much as we did. Being able to just push me into the car was easy for my helper and we had a lot of fun! The apartment Artur had rented was very big, comfortable and wheelchair accessible.

The information that the Americans started bombarding Afghanistan on Monday, only reached us on Wednesday.

Kuala Lumpur (KL) is a very interesting city with many sites to visit. Patron Twin-Towers at Kuala Lumpur Commercial Center was the highest building of the world from 1999 to 2006. A wonderful Park with a big lake surrounds the Towers and numerous cafes and restaurants are located around the Towers and in the Park.

The TV-tower of KL is only the fourth highest in the world but holds the record as the highest concrete-building of world. The highest flag-mast of the world is also located in KL. It is 100 m high.

The chinese cemetary
is several km along a street
at the boarder of the jungle.

The biggest Chinese cemetery outside of China is located in KL! We came across the cemetery by accident when Artur got lost on our way to visit the famous most beautiful railway station of the world.
China town and the Chinese market were also very interesting. At the market, one can find everything, beginning with local fruit, vegetables and spices over original Chinese art and pottery!!! Everything is original, no fake and no cracks, and everything costs only 10 RM (Malaysian Ringgit, about 3,20 RM = 1 €).

Most of the fruit was unfamiliar to me. I tasted a lot of this fruit and most of it was delicious. But, some of the fruit had a pungent aroma and I must say that it tasted as bad as it smelled.
We also took some trips into the country.

In the "cemetary restaurant”!
We did eat here. The food was
delicious and cost very little money!

In the Genting Highlands we visited a Buddhist temple. The Genting Highlands are very cool, especially if you come from the very warm coast.
After that we visited the Cameroon Highlands (over 2.000 m high). We stayed at a 5-star hotel, build in English-Land-House style. The weather was also very British. The temperature was below 10°C and it was rainy. When we woke up in the morning, it was so foggy that we couldn't see the balcony railing.

In Cameroon Heights, we visited a butterfly farm. Where in addition to many beautiful, multi-colored butterflies, local insects, beetles and scorpions were exhibited. I had seen the same creatures before at the Chinese market which unfortunately, where dead and mounted under glass.

Then we visited a tea farm, which also was very interesting. We were introduced to the various steps of tea production and afterwards tasted several different teas. I bought some packets of the famous teas harvested by the “Bo” factory.

On our way back from the mountains, we saw many terrace-gardens where vegetables, fruit and rice is grown. We were familiar with the sight from television at home and seeing those terraces in reality was very interesting. The weather was so cool up there that we were happy when we finally reached the warm valley.

The Malaysian people like the coolness of the mountains. Many hotels are located there and I believe that this fondness of cool temperatures explains why the supermarkets, airports and other public buildings are so extremely air-conditioned.

Now that I'm back at home, I realize that I would not like to live in a region without seasons. Even though I don't like the winter very much, I don't want to miss the change of seasons.

KL is a very modern city and very crowded. The curbs are very high to protect the people on the sidewalks. The traffic is very heavy and drivers are very aggressive, especially the motorcycle drivers. At most of the traffic lights and sidewalk crossings, the curbs are lowered and I easily could cross the streets with my wheel-chair. If needed, the locals were happy to assist me. It seemed like they were prepared for visitors in wheelchairs and I saw some native wheelchair drivers.

I was very happy with the local cooking. Malaysia offers a huge mix of kitchens from all over Asia. I loved the only lightly cooked, crisp vegetables, the diverse preparation method for fish or meat, and the many different, sometimes very hot, spices. In the streets, you find very little, primitive kitchens which sometimes consist of nothing else but an open fireplace with a wok. From those “kitchens”, you can buy delicious food for very little money. Sometimes we ate a complete and very good dinner for less than 50c per person. In general, food is very cheap in Malaysia. Even in very noble restaurants we ate for less than 5€. Alcohol however, is extremely expensive in restaurants and in supermarkets a can of beer costs more than 2 Euro.

We saw as much as possible during our ten day stay, but the time was too short to visit every site we had planned to see. Not being able to see everything we wanted to, may be an incentive to visit Malaysia a second time.

As I mentioned before, it was supposed to be rainy season when we visited but it only rained one time during our entire stay. Artur was so surprised about this fact because before we came, he never saw a day without rain. We joked around and said that if he was so keen on experiencing rainy season, he should come back to Germany.

Our return-flight to Germany was very comfortable. Due to the war in Afghanistan, the plane was only 50% occupied and Eva and I were seated in business-class which of course, was much more comfortable than sitting in the tight seats of third-class. We reached Amsterdam and then Munich on time and the taxi service I ordered before I began my trip, brought us back home. The entire trip took about 20 hours and we reached my apartment at about 11 p.m. which was the exact time I usually go to bed. The next morning I was back on local time and again, had no problems with the jet-lag.

Thank you very much Artur, for providing me the opportunity to travel to Malaysia and for showing me a wonderful time. Without you, this trip would never have been possible.

By the way, Atur phoned me again. He told me that he also had a very good time when we were together and told me that without us, he himself would have never seen as much of Malaysia as he did. Finally he asked if we could go on vacation together some time. He mentioned Argentina, South Africa, Namibia, Thailand, Australia or the U.S.A.

Well, we will see where destiny will lead us!