The Many Beautiful Faces of Southeast Asia
Aboard the LRT on the way to the Petronas Towers in KL
We stepped onto the LRT train in Kuala Lumpur on our way to the Petronas Towers and suddenly realized were surrounded by many beautiful Southeast Asian faces. In Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur (KL) and Singapore (and to some extent, in Bali), we found ourselves immersed in a sea of colorful countenances. You can watch videos and read books and review statistics to learn about cultures; it's not until you walk among the various ethnic groups in other lands that the meaning of the word "culture" becomes fully realized.
As all of our friends who have visited Jakarta know, it's not a tourist destination for Americans, so it was the perfect way to start our journey. We were virtually the only Caucasians we saw. We loved sharing the streets with the Indonesians and absorbing the thrill of knowing that the world is populated by billions of people who experience a different way of life. As we briefly mentioned in an earlier post, as we passed, we turned heads. In fact, more than half a dozen groups asked to get their pictures taken with us. And the simple salamat page/sore/malam always brought brilliant smiles to the faces we encountered.
Mother and child aboard their Pinisi in Sunda Kalapa, Jakarta
Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world with 255 million people and is the country with the highest Muslim population. With an estimated 17,500 islands, it's nearly impossible to visit every corner of the country. Jakarta is on the island of Java (or, as the locals call it, Jawa). Indonesian is the official language of the country with Javanese, Sundanese, Madurese and another 700 languages spoken.
Java is fairly homogenous. Two-thirds of the population is Javanese with 20% Madurese, 10% Sundanese and a mix of other races. As mentioned above, Islam is the dominant religion with 85% of the Java residents practicing it, with 10% practicing Christianity and about 3% practicing Hinduism and Buddhism combined.
Our Balinese Guide during our trek in Ubud, Bali
Kerti, Our Experience Host and Indonesian/Balinese Language Coach
Woman eating in Chow Kit market in KL
Across the Straights of Malacca from and sharing the island of Borneo with Indonesia is Malaysia. Malaysia is separated into two major geographic areas: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo (Indonesia and Malaysia share Borneo with Brunei). The population of Malaysia is 28.3 million with 67% of the population ethnic Bumiputera (Malays), 25% Chinese, 7% Indian and 1% other. In KL, the Chinese population is much higher with 43% to Malays 46% and 10% Indian.
Musicians playing beautiful music during a Hindu ceremony at the Batu Caves, KL
The official language in Malaysia is Malay, which is incredibly close to Indonesian, so virtually all the Indonesian we learned in Jakarta and Singapore was very useful in KL. English was widely written on all the signs and many people spoke it. In fact, most everyone in KL Sentral spoke English.
Bandu, our KL host and friend: Sri Lankan living in Malaysia via the US!
Daphne treating us to an Indian pancake breakfast in Singapore
As the previous posts suggested, our three days in Singapore were intense and immersive. We were able to see the city state from so many different perspectives, from expat to immigrant to permanent Singaporean to "boomerang" Singaporean. Similar to Manhattan, Singapore is an island. Unlike Manhattan, there are only two ways cars cross over to Malaysia: The Johor-Singapore Causeway and Malaysia-Singapore Second Link. The island, with 278 square miles (all the boroughs of New York City cover 305 square miles), hosts 5.5 million residents. Of the population, 61% are citizens and 9% are permanent residents or students/workers/dependents. Including non-citizens, 43% of the population is foreign-born! In this small country, they've found ways to thrive in an environment where almost half of their residents were born outside of Singapore... something for Western Countries to consider (trust us, there are some unfavorable elements of immigration and residency).
Tim, Dean and Charmaine in Geylang, Singapore
Although technically considered part of the Malaysian Peninsula, the population is dramatically different. Chinese make up 75% of the residents with 13% Malay, 9% Indian and 3% other.
Jess, Felicity and Tim: Brits living, playing and working in Singapore
Educated at the University of Cambridge, Lee Kuan Yew, the Father of Singapore made English as the common language. Like Taipei, nearly every sign was at least in English. Unlike Taipei, every person spoke English (though there were pockets that spoke very little English, such as Geylang). Malay was the "second" language on the signs, but few people spoke Malay.
The vast majority of the people speak Chinese. There are two dialects most people typically know, Mandarin and Cantonese. The one we encountered the most was Hokkien, spoken in the south of China (we were told that Tawainese, the language of several of our friends, is Hokkien).
From a religious perspective, roughly a third of the residents practice Buddhism, nearly a fifth practice Christianity, about 15% practice Islam and 5% practice Hinduism with the rest practicing no religion, Taoism or other religions. One enjoyable anecdote happened as we walked along Talok Ayer Street near Chinatown, we came across Al Abrar Mosque. Two Muslim gentlemen warmly invited us in to experience their place of worship. Removing our sandals, we thoroughly washed our hands and feet before joining our hosts in the main section of the Mosque where we discussed the practices of Muslims and the various parts of the Mosques (thanks to the architecture room of the Islamic Arts Museum in KL, we impressed our host with our knowledge). We so appreciated the warm reception and their strong desire to bring us in contact with the beauty of Islam.
Tim and Nick in Al Abrar Mosque in Chinatown, Singapore
And it's that experience that epitomizes the serendipitous and immersive cultural experience our travels have generously given us on this, and many previous, trips.
