Cuti-Cuti Malaysia

 This post won me a trip to Malaysia in 2014!!!
 

Are you Itching to Travel too?

 
 In 2012, God was gracious on me and I got a splendid chance to enamor myself with the beauty of Europe.  In 2013, I was thrilled to explore Middle East and for the year 2014, Asia has been on my mind. From  my experiences, I can say India is magnanimous, Bali is beautiful, so next that has been on my mind is Malaysia, I wanna go to find out what makes it resonate with the theme ‘Truly Asia.’ The craziness has taken over because I have been charmed with everything that I have read about Malaysia.

According to Malaysia tourism, it has the blend of the best. Natural landscape, lush tropical jungles,wildlife, incredible cave networks and craggy mountains, Malaysia’s coastline, with a rich range of marine life sandy paradise beaches of the islands in the Andaman Sea, amazingly diverse array of flora and fauna, oldest rainforests in the world.

And one night, I slept drooling and dreaming about Malaysia……..

 
 
Cuti Cuti Malaysia
 
 

“Cuti” means vacation in Malay.
 
 

One night, a short and cute Genie appeared in my dreams and asked for my wish,
No wonder, the nomadic bug in me said fly me to a perfect destination this year,
 
 
A place that leaves me enthralled and mesmerized throughout the whole year!
He was almost certain and declared it instantly, ‘Malaysia it is my Madame’!!
He sang in Bahasa Malay, ‘Cuti Cuti Malaysia’ … it’s truly Asia,
Tara Nasa Malaysia, Lets go Visit Malaysia Madame!
I know Malaysia, I love Malaysia ….
 
 
I asked him with arousing gleam in my eyes, Are you sure?
Close your eyes… he said
I take you to a wonderful place with great weather, amazing food, warm people,
Irresistible adventure, most beautiful places… have no doubt my lady!
Travelers, backpackers, tourists or those seeking luxury holidays from world over,

 
 
They who wander through the labyrinths of air,
Love to pause, stop and breathe in there.
Spellbound by his words, I put my say, but I have my own demands Genie,
Give me five grand reasons to visit Malaysia and I will come with you!
 
 
Dear Lady, just stay and I will make you experience it all,
Let’s start our journey from the capital city, Kuala Lumpur,
It is the city that lushes with vivid cultures, diverse lifestyle, nightlife, iconic sky scrapers, beautiful parks,
The Sky Bar is fascinating; I will take you to the picturesque twin towers and sky bridge too,
 
 
Of the twinkling and amazing PETRONAS Towers at Lake Titiwangsa!
And together we will dine at ATMOSPHERE 360, a revolving restaurant at 1400 feet.
Of course, not to miss KL TOWER, Underwater wonders at SIPADAN Island and the green lungs, PERDANA LAKE GARDENS.
Feel it around you Madame, it’s all there!!!
I swooned with happiness….

I know your love for butterflies, greens and nature,
I will take you to a BUTTERFLY PARK which has more than 120 species of butterfly,
And next we head to ORCHID GARDEN which had 800 species grown in its arena.
How about the HIBISCUS GARDEN too which has 2,000 varieties of the rare and exotic blooms?
I will pick Rafflesia for you, the flower one of its kinds.
You will love the KL BIRD PARK which has 5,000 birds of some 50 species.
I do a happy dance imagining the butterflies, birds and flowers….

 
 
Next day, I will fly you over 272 steps to BATU CAVES, world’s tallest statue of Lord Murugan,
And take you to the Colonial Heart of the city, MERDEKA Square.
But only after we have been to the top of tallest mountain of Malaysia, MOUNT KINABALU!
Kinabalu is also famous for its biodiversity.
And I will of course show you GEORGETOWN and SARAWAK, the largest state of Malaysia,
 
 
Georgetown is the cultural and cuisine capital of the Malaysian state of Penang.
And we will walk over the 13.7 km Penang Bridge, third longest in Asia.
And just as you loved the churches of Europe,  
You will be fascinated with PENANG’S St. George Church, built in 1818,
Take a pic and capture the oldest Anglican church in Southeast Asia forever.

And next I will take you to most beautiful islands in Malaysia, PERHENTIAN Island,
After that we will head to the ultimate jungle experience,
Adventures and thrill will take a high on you,
TAMAN NEGARA is one of the world’s oldest primary rainforests,
You will jump high in the air to see some rare mammals.
Malaysian tourist posters is never complete without orang utan,
Will also take you to see  ‘The Orang Utans’ in Borneo.

There are more grand reasons Madame,
The Mulu Caves in Sarawak,
During Deepavali and Hari Raya, Masjid India in Kuala Lumpur is place to be,
Lake Kenyir, a beautiful lake in the state of Terengganu, which is the largest man-made lake in Southeast Asia.
The tropical island LANGKAWI for wonderful jungle, fantastic sightseeing and beautiful beaches.

 
 
To be a part of MICE (meetings, incentives, conference and exhibitions) market, Malaysia My Second Home programmme.
Pantai Cenang beach and Emeral Bay, Pangkor Laut of Langkawi!
The Pink Mosque,
You must see the rich history of MALACCA, Malacca Sultanate Palace, Tribal Art Gallery
Malaysia’s oldest Chinese temple, Cheng Hoon Teng also known as the Temple of the Bright Clouds,

I offer to your taste buds the best of cuisines that you cannot resist,
Malaysia’s noodly soup called Nyonya laksa has a varied taste,
From Penang’s tamarind-sour Asam laksa in the west to the lime-spiked Sarawak version in the east!

‘Sudah makan?‘ (Have you eaten already?), Instead of hello, you will be greeted this way in Malaysia.

 
 
Best Five that I plan not to let you miss My Lady…

• Nasi lemak means ‘rice in cream’ and its the national dish as well. Also NASI Kandar, a dish unique to Malaysia too.
  

• Teh tarik, the national drink of Malaysia.  The higher the pull, the thicker the froth; the thicker the froth, the more delicious it is….says a Malaysian blogger.

• Cendol is the Favorite Malaysian Dessert.

• Roti Canai… widely consumed flatbread. Best ones are roti telur or roti pisang.

• Durian, King of Fruits… but with a controversial smell… Some say it smells as “completely rotten, mushy onions.”

 
 
Madame!
MALAYSIA has 18 ports, Bintulu, Kota Kinabalu, Kuantan, Kuching, Kudat, Labuan, Lahad Datu, Lumut, Miri, Pasir Gudang, George Town, Port Dickson, Port Kelang, Sandakan, Sibu, Tanjung Berhala, Tanjung Kidurong and Tawau.
 
 

My eyes shone as the genie went on non-stop,
Lady, I we will hop to all and you can stay for long whichever you like best…
I loved every bit what the genie said but just then I heard someone call my name…

 
 
Was it someone in India… I opened my eyes
Oh Ya! It was my pretty Mum who was shaking me up
Soon I realized, the beautiful dream was over,
For last whole week I had been exploring about Malaysia to win to be there and it had gone in my head.
I had got more than five reasons to be there….
And next thing I did, I wrote the above poem and painted the picture below.

I wanna go to Malaysia to do ATLEAST FIVE of the above things, paint in REAL and more importantly savor the REAL THING!

This is my entry for the MalaysiaJao Blogathon Contest!

Peace and Prayers for MH370