Working in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

by Melanie
(Toronto, Canada)

Petronas Towers

Back in 2002 I worked for a month in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was a fantastic experience, and a real learning experience. I absolutely loved it. So much so we are returning this summer!

I was amazed at how Western and Eastern cultures seem to blend together well here. As I walked down the street I would see western looking people in western type clothes. And then I would see Muslim Arabic women wearing the full black cloak, the abaya, head covering and niqab (Face veil).

What I found most interesting, was that since they were in a relaxed Muslim country, many women felt more comfortable to relax a bit on their clothes. In fact their husband encouraged them to not wear the face veil, and I would see them enjoying a Starbucks on the street.

I met a Bahraini Princess who was in KL on business. She explained to me that since the religious rules in Malaysia were not strict, many Muslims vacationed here to "let their hair down". In fact she enjoyed wearing a mini skirt while here, and her cousin enjoyed visiting the casino.

I visited beautiful modern architecture (like the Petronas Towers) and still saw people suffering with Leprosy in the street begging for money.

And then there were the markets. I have been to many countries with markets to bargain in. But the Chinese market here was unbelievable. Not only was the bargaining fun, the goods, both knock offs and real were a great deal!

It was a great first experience in Asia for me. Doing business there was more difficult than in North America as we found more red tape to deal with. But overall it was an amazing country to work in!

Melanie Fine
www.excellent-vacation-ideas.com