Malaysia 2023
Overview
World Challenge is an organisation that allows young adults to travel, experience new cultures and become ‘global citizens’, as many are inspired by the experience to continue helping internationally through advocacy work or environmental initiatives, all while staying sustainable.
Our trip was specifically to Malaysia and comprised of six sections. We began the trip in the first two locations, sightseeing and learning about Malaysia’s rich history and very diverse culture. Starting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital, we stayed in a hostel for only a few days while experiencing life in Malaysia in various marketplaces; then we travelled south to Malacca (or Melaka), where we stayed in a hotel. We travelled slightly north to a sea-side village, where the locals played traditional games with us, we wore traditional Malay clothes and helped a turtle conservation centre.
We travelled much further north to the Cameron Highlands, going on a couple of day hikes and to a tea plantation before going to Taman Negara (‘National Park’ in Malay). The trek through the Jungle was incredible, magical even, although some of us were attacked by insects and would probably disagree…
Finally, we returned to Kuala Lumpur for some final sightseeing of the Batu caves and KL tower.
John
Kuala Lumpur
The first few days staying in Kuala Lumpur were a great way to settle into the country.
After surviving the 13-hour flight, we arrived (very sleep-deprived) in the hot and humid capital- Kuala Lumpur. We spent the first couple of days settling into the crazy heat and diverse culture of Malaysia. We were staying in a hostel that was in an area of the city called Little India (as we were told that the country’s population is split into Muslim Malaysians, Hindu Indians and Buddhist Chinese). We walked around the city and were shown some of the highlights: intricate mosques, Buddhist temples and Hindu temples; food stalls selling fresh and local fruits; and the Klang River which runs through the city.
Freddie
Malacca
We then travelled south to Malacca, the original trading hub of Malaysia, where we stayed in a hotel. During the day, we visited different landmarks, such as the Masjid Selat Melaka (Malacca Straits Mosque), where we learnt more about the customs and culture of the Muslim faith in Malaysia while we appreciated the beauty of the Mosque’s architecture.
We also went to an old church built by the original Portuguese colonists atop a hill next to ‘Jonker Street’, a famous night market we went to in the evenings, with an array of different delicious foods and souvenirs.
At the end of our time in Malacca, we split into two groups to go to two museums: the first was the Baba-Nyonya Heritage Museum, which told the local history of a group of ethnic Chinese-Malays very important to the culture and history of Malaysia and Malacca.
The second was the Melaka Sultanate Palace Museum (with gardens) about the culture of Malacca: the legends surrounding its history as well as objects throughout it like different weaponry, pottery, clothing, customs of the Malay Sultans, with accompanying dioramas, as well as a ship model which crewed up to 700 when it was used.
John
Homestay
Just an hour north of Melaka (or Malacca), we stayed in a sweet seaside village where we enjoyed cozy accommodation close to the turtle conservation center where we cleaned a beach and exfoliated a turtle’s skin with sandpaper. At night, we conducted night patrols to spot any laying turtles. Although it was mostly quiet, a couple of groups actually saw some laying (lucky!!!!). We learned about traditional clothing, games and food and helped build signs to remind people to care about the environment.
David
Cameron Highlands
We departed on an eight-hour trip which many of us (including the driver) took as an opportunity to catch up on lost sleep. After the ride ended, we dragged our bags into perhaps the most pleasant hostel in Malaysia which, amongst its many luxuries, had water which was sometimes hot. After settling down, we headed off in groups with our stipend of twenty ringgits each to find a nice meal. In the morning, after our daily porridge ration, we headed off to the mossy forest to meet our new tour guide for the day, Jason, who guided us up the steep, mountainous terrain giving brief details about his legally dubious history as an environmentalist and musing on the nature of human consciousness all while smoking a forty-pack of cigarettes. The next day, we left for a similar hike to a particularly high peak (pictured below) before arguing amongst ourselves about who would get to ride to the very nice tea plantation in the pink SUV which had a very interesting guided tour (the plantation, not the SUV). The fun ended the next day when a coach came to take us on our ill-fated trek through the arduous wildernesses of The Jungle.
Matthew
The Jungle
On our journey to the jungle we took a 10-minute boat ride to a deeper part of Taman Negara national park, getting permits on the way so that we could hike there. About 20 minutes into the trek, we had our first contact with leeches, and they didn’t stop latching on to us. Our guides were legendary. Whilst our group screamed like exorcised under the leech attacks, they sauntered through the jungle in 'Crocs' and strolled around camp barefooted! After the devastating hornet attack, they stayed looking for the nest, so they could set it on fire. I don’t know how they survived so long.
Throughout the first day, we were constantly attacked by the leeches until we set up camp in a clearing in the trees. During the night, we heard elephants trumpeting, but did not see any. The next day, we continued our trek and after an hour and a half, we walked straight into a hornet’s nest. There were hundreds swarming us and a few of us got stung so seriously that we could not walk. On the last day, we finished the trek quickly and escaped the jungle as fast as we could to return to the motel, which seemed nice at the time, but it was a sad day when we forgot to remind each other ‘Don’t let the bedbugs bite’. The jungle trek was, overall, an interesting experience and, though the leeches and hornets were not welcome, we saw lots of different plants, including bioluminescent mushrooms!
Waking up at 3am in the jungle was a ride to another dimension. The floor was glowing green, and bioluminescent butterflies gilded the inky sky. The Milky Way glowed through the canopy and human-like screaming penetrated the night.
Eashan
Back to Kuala Lumpur
We then returned to Kuala Lumpur at the end of our trip to spend our last days with more freedom to relax and look around the city. We visited the Batu Caves, which were incredible and full of monkeys. We went white water rafting down rapids about an hour outside the city, and on our last night we went up the Kuala Lumpur Tower and got an amazing view of the whole city lit up at night, before the next morning getting the train to the airport to return home.
Freddie
Introducing The Young Enterprise Team 2023
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Year 9 News
New Scientist Live Festival is running Sat 7th - Sun 8th of Oct at London’s Excel Centre. Some truly inspiring speakers from five different stages will be wowing crowds with the latest in science and technology. Get your tickets using this 
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