Have you changed the tires of a Formula 1 Race Car?

Most of us have definitely seen a formula 1 race car on television. Some of us rare and lucky ones must have got the opportunity to see the race car up close and live. But, have you ever changed the tires of a Formula 1 race car? Well, I have and so did 50 other people who were with me at the event in Sheraton Bangalore organized by Tourism Malaysia and Sepang International circuit. All of us got to remove and fix one tire of the Sahara Force India Formula 1 race car that was placed inside the lobby lounge of the Sheraton Hotel in Bangalore.


This changing tires was part of an exercise to find the team that removes the four car tires and fixes it back the fastest. The team with the quickest time won a prize to go to the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang on Mar 28, 29 and 30, 2014. Unfortunately for me, I was not part of the winning team, but I got the opportunity to get close to a race car and this meant a lot to me. The Sahara Force India record is 3.5 seconds, but the winning team managed to do it in 39 seconds. The timing may have been bad compared to Sahara Force India standards, but all 9 of them landed themselves a fully sponsored trip to the Malaysian Grand Prix 2014.



If you are the Formula 1 enthusiast, you should mark your calendar for the dates of March 28, 29 and 30. Exclusive tickets to the event are expensive, but I was surprised to find out that there are tickets even for INR 1,800 which offer uncovered hill top space. If you have a good pair of binoculars, a raincoat and some water, I am sure even this spot will offer lots of fun. Basically, what I am trying to say is that people with all kind of budget can find themselves a seat here. And one of the more interesting things that I found out during this event is that this Malaysian Grand Prix 2014 ticket unlocks entry into many dance shows where international artists and celebrities perform and one that gets discounts at various shopping centers across KL. There are a lot of packages too in case you are the package type. Tourism Malaysia and/or Cox and Kings India will be able to provide you with details and prices. So, have you started planning your Grand Prix holiday to Malaysia?

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Tourism Malaysia invites me to Chinese New Year Open House Event

After close to 6 months, I am back in the beautiful country of Malaysia and this time on an invite from Tourism Malaysia to participate in the Malaysia Open House celebration, a program that brings together people from all walks of life to celebrate Chinese New Year and foster unity and harmony of 1Malaysia. I am currently in a quiet town called Taiping that has a colonial feel to it. And this is where this event will be held tomorrow (Feb 8, 2014) amidst esteemed delegates from the government of Malaysia and other guests.

I arrived here this morning after a short drive from Kuala Lumpur’s Bukit Bintang area where I stayed the previous evening and night. I didn’t have much time at KL, but managed to squeeze in some time to explore the Twin Towers yet again and some of the malls of the Bukit Bintang area. I also got to taste some exotic tropical fruits on the way to Taiping.

The plan for today is to enjoy the oldest museum of Malaysia and also go on a night safari. Tomorrow is more an event day, which will allow me to see cultural performances, taste interesting local foods and meet like minded people.

After the event, I am headed to the Royal Belum rainforest park at Pulau Banding where I spend a couple of days visiting waterfalls, aboriginal villages, rafflesia sites, fish sanctuaries and more before returning to Kuala Lumpur for some small shopping. This is an area that all locals seem to rave about and I am very excited in visiting this tract of rainforest and spend some quality time in true nature.

This 5 day trip organized by Tourism Malaysia will let me explore a side of peninsular Malaysia that I haven’t seen before and one that is slightly off the beaten track especially for foreign tourists.

For this trip, I ended up getting myself a one year multiple entry visa to Malaysia and I hope to use this multiple entry visa properly in visiting as much of Malaysia as possible. Malaysia as its tag line goes is Truly Asia and I personally feel that it deserves many visits!!

I am hoping to click many pictures and find lots of stories for all you people. Do stay tuned for lots of interesting stories about the Chinese New Year Open house and other off beat destination stories from Malaysia.

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Gunung Mulu National Park: Prized Jewel of Sarawak

Gunung Mulu National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is located in the Sarawak part of Malaysian Borneo. It is an inland expanse of diverse terrain vegetation with unique cave systems and limestone features, including the spectacular pinnacles, as well as some of the most magnificent landscapes in the land.


Gunung Mulu offers great excitement for the adventure seeking traveller. Here are some of the highlights:

1) Trek on the world’s longest canopy skywalk and be greeted by rich species of insects and birds
2) Take a boat ride on the Melinau river and soak in the beauty  of the virgin rainforests
3) Walk into Lang cave, one of the largest limestone caves in the world
4) Explore Deer Cave, the largest single cave passage in the world

This national park, named after Mount Mulu, the second highest mountain in Sarawak is famous for its limestone karst formations, enormous caves, vast cave networks, rock pinnacles, cliffs and gorges. And all this is surrounded by pristine equatorial rainforests that plays host to rich fauna and flora.

Some of the animals found here are: Gibbons, Orangutans, Rhinoceros Hornbill, Sumatran Rhinoceros, Sun Bear, small barking deer and mouse deer. A lot of plant species , flowering plants, trees and fungi call this their home.

Access to this place is over air from Mulu Airport that is connected to Miri, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu or via the river from Miri.

Note: Photos in this post have been used with written consent from Beehive Communications on behalf of Tourism Malaysia.

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The People of Malaysia

The cultural diversity of Malaysia has been a long time in the making. It can trace its origins back to the first century AD, when the Malay archipelago became an important link in the developing trading network between Africa and China. The resulting influx of people began a process that has resulted in a colorful, multicultural society which has experienced hundreds of years of hybridization and heterogeneity.Here are some of the groups that make up the people of Malaysia.


Indigenous People
Peninsular Malaysia’s indigenous people are referred to as ‘orang asli’, which in Malay means original people. They make up less than 0.4% of the population and tend to live on the margins of society. There are 18 groups, classified into three main groups – Negrito (oldest people in Malaysia), Senoi (Mongoloids who settled around 2000 BC) and Aboriginal Malay (who arrived around 3,000 years ago).

Malays
The Melayu people arrived in the Malay archipelago some 3,000-5,000 years ago from Southern China and Taiwan. In Malaysia, Malay culture and language show strong Javanese, Sumatran, Siamese and especially Indian influence. Linguistically, Malay is Austronesian, but some vocabulary has been absorbed from a slew of other languages including Arabic, Sanskrit, Tamil, Portuguese, Dutch, Chinese and English. Traditionally, agrarian, the Malay, who make up more than half of Malaysia’s population have been turning towards industrialization and urban living.


Sabah and Sarawak
Commonly referred to as natives of East Malaysia, the people living in the Bornean states of Sabah and Sarawak are indigenous. Of the 39 groups of indigenous Sabahans, the largest is Kadazandusun, who live in northwestern and central Sabah, mainly in urban areas. The Murut, the ‘hill people’ of northeastern Sabah were purportedly the last group to give up head-hunting. Most of the coastal dwellers are made up from the Bajau and Malayic families, traditionally skillful fishermen and boatmen. Sarawak is home to 29 ethnic groups, the largest of which is the Iban, who migrated from Kalimantan, and so are related to the Bornean Dayaks. The Bidayuh, Melanau, Lun Bawang, Kelabit and the Penan are some other indigenous groups of Sarawak.

Indians
Indian traders arrived in northern Kedah in the first century AD, leaving a lasting influence on Malay culture and language. But, today’s Malaysian Indians are descendants of workers imported by South Asia by the British. The majority are Tamil, with small numbers of Sikhs and Sri Lankans. Today, Indians make up Malaysia’ largest number of professionals per capita, notably doctors and lawyers. Many also run their own businesses.


Chinese
The Chinese community makes up around 24 percent of the country’s population, living mainly in urban areas. Like the Indians, Malaysian Chinese are descendants of workers imported by the British in the 19th and 20th centuries. They make up the majority of the middle and upper income classes. Comprising three main dialect groups, Cantonese, Hokkien and Hakka, the Chinese are mainly Taoist/Buddhists or Christian.

Eurasians and other communities
There are small communities of Malaysians of mixed Asian and European ancestry, mainly Portuguese, Dutch and English. Eurasian communities were established in Melaka during the Portuguese colonial period in the 16th-17th centuries. There are many other small communities who make up Malaysia’s labor class, like an Indonesian room cleaner, a German hotel general manager and a Nepali Gurkha security guard.

Note: Photos in this post have been used with written consent from Beehive Communications on behalf of Tourism Malaysia.

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Exploring the Marine Life of Malaysia

The seas of Malaysia are among the most species rich on earth. Highlights include manta rays, whale sharks, dugongs, barracuda, lion fish, giant moray eels, sea turtles and sea snakes. The most popular diving sites include Pulau Sipadan, Pulau Mabul, Mataking, Kapalai, Layang-Layang, Labaun, Pulau Payar marine park near Langkawi. This includes shallow water reefs, wall dives, wreck dives and night dives. And all these places offer great opportunities to see the marine life up close. Here are the six exotic species of marine life that you might encounter while diving in Malaysia.


1) Hawksbill Turtle
The hawksbill turtle is a critically endangered sea turtle that spends most of its time in shallow lagoons and coral reefs where it feeds on sea sponges that grow quite a bit here. It can be easily distinguished from other sea turtles by its sharp, curving beak with prominent saw-like appearance of its shell margins.

2) Manta Ray
These are the largest rays in the world and can be broadly categorized into two sub-species, namely Reef Manta ray and Giant Oceanic Manta ray. These graceful gliders that sport massive proportions are gentle and pose little threat to divers.

3) Dugong
Locally known as the ‘lady of the sea’ and also known by other names such as the sea cow, sea camel and sea pig, the Dugong is the only strictly marine herbivorous mammal. The IUCN lists this species as vulnerable to extinction and hence it is quite a highlight if you see this sea grass eating marine mammal.

4) Hammerhead Shark
Fearsome looking hammerhead sharks often swim the waters near Layang Layang island, a deep sea atoll about 300 kms northwest of Kota Kinabalu. The specialty of the hammerhead sharks is its 360 degree vision that it enjoys because of the location of their eyes. Some of the Hammerhead species can be aggressive towards humans.

5) Barracuda
This tiger of the sea is known for its large size and fearsome appearance. They are elongated fish with pike-like appearance and prominent sharp-edged fang-like teeth, much like piranhas.They are voracious and opportunistic predators that rarely causes harm to humans.

Note: Photos in this post have been used with written consent from Beehive Communications on behalf of Tourism Malaysia.

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