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Before coming in Malaysia, we had a little knowledge on the situation of the country. We thought that the majority of the population was Islamic and that everybody was Malay. I feared to wear my long clothes to cover my self under the heat and maybe, to be obliged to wear the hijab over my head. After some days, we saw ourselves quickly that the country was very modern for a country of Asia and that the population was relatively open facing the difference. The population is composed of 65.1% of Malay, of 26% of Chinese and 7.7% of Indian. The official language of the country is the Malay Bahasa and English is used like link for all the communities.

Some Malay sentence:

Hi: Selamat pagi (the morning) and: Selamat petang (the afternoon)

Tanks: Terima kasih

How are you? : Apa khabar

What is your name? : Siapa nama kamu?

I understand (not): Saya (tidak) tao

Where do you go...: Bagaimana saya pergi ke...?

Where...? : Di mana ada...?

Sleep: Tidur (tido)

Room: Bilik

Expensive: Mahal

Night Market: Pasar malam

In the journey, we felt a real difference between the regions of the East coast and the West coast of the peninsula of Malaysia. The Islamic religion is a lot stronger on the West side and people seem to be a lot more traditional (strongly in the region of Kuantan and Trengganu). In this part of the country we notice less exchange between the different ethnic communities of the country. To the East, the Indian, the Chinese and some Malay mix themselves together. Any way, in Malaysia it’s easy to feels coldness between the Malay and the Chinese. In the years 70, the Malay killed a lot of Chinese because they felt overgrown by this community. The Chinese are recognized to be good workers and they like to make money. They took the control of a lot of establishments in the country. On the trip, we didn't observe any Malay seated with a Chinese. It’s rare.

In this country, it’s easy to eat well and a lot. The gastronomy is concentrates of Malaysian, Chinese, Indian and Indonesian. But if you want to eat some local dish you must try the nasi goreng (fried rice), mee goreng ayam (fried noodle with chickens) and roti canai (Indian pancake). All of this good food is cook in a rich palm oil. Nothing to help to kip the line!!!

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