Endangered Species

Hey fellow adventurers! According to the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), Malaysia is one of 12 mega-diverse countries. Like the other countries I’ve talked about, Malaysia is a special home to many endangered species. Such as:

Black Shrew

Status: Critically Endangered

The black shrew is a white-toothed shrew only known from Mount Kinabalu in the Malaysian state of Sabah on the island of Borneo. It has become endangered due to habitat loss. The black shrew is the smallest type of shrew.

Sumatran Rhinoceros

Status: Critically Endangered

WWF: “Smallest of the rhinoceros species, the Sumatran rhinoceros has two horns like its African counterpart. They are found only in Sumatra (Indonesia), Sabah (on the northern end of Borneo), Peninsular Malaysia and possibly in southern Thailand. Believed to be fewer than 300 individuals left in the world due to poaching and habitat fragmentation, Sumatran rhinos are critically endangered.”

To learn more, visit: http://www.wwf.org.my/about_wwf/what_we_do/species_main/rhino/

Malayan Tapir

Status: Endangered

The Malayan Tapir is the largest species of tapir and the only one native to Asia. They’re solitary, territorial herbivores. Due to their large size, they have few natural predators. That said, they’re endangered mostly due to human activity (deforestation, flooding caused by human-made dams, and illegal trade are the biggest issues). Although Malaysian Tapirs are protected in Malaysia from poachers, they’re not protected from deforestation.

Malayan Tiger

Status: Critically Endangered

WWF: “The tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest of all the big cats in Asia, and stands as a powerful symbol among the different cultures that share its home. Over the past 100 years, global tiger numbers have dropped by 97% with three sub-species; the Bali (P. t. balica), Caspian (P. t. virgata), and Javan (P. t. sondaica) tigers becoming extinct — with a fourth not seen in the wild for over 25 years.
There are currently only six remaining living sub-species of tiger in the world:
Amur tiger (P. t. altaica)
Bengal tiger (P. t. tigris)
Indo-Chinese tiger (P. t. corbetti)
Malayan tiger (P. t. jacksoni)
South China tiger (P. t. amoyensis)
Sumatran tiger (P. t. sumatrae)

To learn more, visit: http://www.wwf.org.my/about_wwf/what_we_do/species_main/tiger/

Borneo pygmy Elephant

Status: Endangered

WWF: “Borneo has a small but unique population of elephants. Several major portions of its former range have been lost in the past two decades due to displacement by large-scale agriculture. Today, these placid pachyderms are confined to the southern and eastern parts of Sabah and the northeastern tip of Kalimantan. The greater part of this single population, estimated to be less than 1,500 animals, is found in Sabah. Given the remoteness of the area and the difficulty of the rugged terrain, the Borneon elephant population represents one of the most important populations in Southeast Asia – provided its habitat remains intact.”

To learn more, visit: http://www.wwf.org.my/about_wwf/what_we_do/species_main/elephant/

Orangutan

Status: Critically Endangered

WWF: “Asia’s only great ape, the orang-utan or ‘man of the forest’ is found only on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Globally classified as endangered due to their habitat being destroyed, fragmented and poaching, orang-utans in Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak) are probably best classed as ‘vulnerable’. Much of their prime habitat has been converted to plantations and the rate of habitat loss has hit a very low level in recent years. There is almost no hunting of this species in Malaysia, and most of the remaining populations are found in forests that are protected or under natural forest management.”

To learn more, visit: http://www.wwf.org.my/about_wwf/what_we_do/species_main/orang_utan/

If you’re interested in WWF’s actions in Malaysia, visit this site: http://www.wwf.org.my/about_wwf/what_we_do/species_main/

Or 20 unique Malaysian wildlife species:

https://wanderwisdom.com/travel-destinations/Ten-unique-species-you-must-not-miss-in-Malaysia

Well that’s all for today’s post! Thank you so much for reading, and as always, until our next adventure!

Drug Laws

Hey fellow adventurers! Sorry again about the major inconsistency. The previous post was the one I meant to publish on Friday but didn’t, so I’ll make up for it by posting two today! Yeah! Double the fun! I don’t remember how I came across this but when researching Malaysia, I found that they have strict laws against the possession of drugs. Some place them as one of the top 20 strictest countries when it comes to drug laws. Once I found that out, I wanted to know a bit more about their drug laws. Depending on the offence, punishment can range from fines and imprisonment to capital death punishment. Though I could explain more, I found an article with all the information that explains it much better than I could. If you’re interested like I was, please check it out:

https://poskod.my/cheat-sheets/7-things-know-drugs-laws-malaysia/

Sorry for those of you who don’t like clicking on links. I try to use them only when necessary. But that’s all for today’s post! Thank you so much for reading, and as always, until our next adventure!

Asia Airlines

Hey fellow adventurers! I did some research for what Malaysia is known for, and one of the things that came up the most was AirAsia. Wikipedia describes it as a “low-cost airline headquartered near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the largest airline in Malaysia by fleet size and destinations.” It has been praised on several blogs as the cheapest way to travel around Asia. Wikipedia continues to explain:

“AirAsia operates with the world’s lowest unit cost of US$0.023 per available seat kilometre (ASK)* and a passenger breakeven load factor of 52%. It has hedged 100% of its fuel requirements for the next three years, achieves an aircraft turnaround time of 25 minutes, has a crew productivity level that is better than that of Malaysia Airlines and has an average aircraft utilization rate of 13 hours a day. In 2007, The New York Times described the airline as a “pioneer” of low-cost travel in Asia. AirAsia is the sponsor of Malaysia national football team, Singapore national football team and Queens Park Rangers. AirAsia is also a former sponsor of Manchester United and Asia Red Tour.

AirAsia has consistently been named as the world’s best low cost carrier for 9 years in a row in international travel and airline awards, including the latest award for 2017.”

*1 km ~ 0.62 miles

This blog has 5 tips if you ever plan on using any cheap Asian airline: https://thepointsguy.com/2016/03/5-things-to-know-before-flying-low-cost-carriers-in-asia/

Though keep in mind, it doesn’t look like all AirAsia’s are the same. At least, it looks like AirAsia Indonesia has been under a lot of heat:

Scary! If any of my readers does end up traveling, please take care to travel safe! Well that’s all for today’s post! Thank you so much for reading, and as always, until our next adventure!

Music

Hey fellow adventurers! I hope you’re in the mood to listen to music! If not, you can always come back to this post another day. Let’s listen to music! You can choose from:

Popular music

Traditional music

Relaxing Music

And some random music:

Well that’s all for today! Thank you so much for reading, and as always, until our next adventure!

 

Winter Olympics

Hey fellow adventurers! For those of you don’t know (maybe you’re living under a rock or in a cave?), the Winter Olympics are currently underway! Go America! Sorry, my bias just slipped out. And there’s a lot of things that have made this year’s Olympics exciting: South and North Korea sharing a flag, Russian athletes competing under the Olympic flag rather than the Russian flag, and most importantly, (for this month’s blog) Malaysia is competing for the first time! So, let’s see who’s competing for Malaysia!

First, for those of you who missed the opening ceremony, you can catch the highlights here:

https://www.nbcolympics.com/news/sights-and-sounds-2018-pyeongchang-opening-ceremony?amp

Or if you want to see more, watch the following video:

With two athletes, Malaysia is among the group of countries with smallest number of athletes. If you want to see more countries, click here: http://www.businessinsider.com/winter-olympics-smallest-teams-opening-ceremony-2018-2/#greece-4-1. The two athletes competing in this year’s Olympics are: Jeffrey Webb and Julian Yee. Since Malaysia is a tropical country, they are few Malaysian athletes training in winter sports. That said, let’s learn a little about those competing this year.

There isn’t much information on Jeffrey Webb. He was born on October 27th, 1998. He will be competing in the Alpine Skiing event. Here’s the schedule for alpine skiing this year: https://www.olympic.org/pyeongchang-2018/results/en/alpine-skiing/daily-schedule.htm.

There is more information on Julian Yee. Yee is a figure skater, born on May 26th, 1997. His mother introduced him and his brothers to ice skating when Yee was four. When in Malaysia, Yee practiced ice skating at the local rinks located in public malls. Though to ensure he had time to practice alone, he would convince ice rink owners to open their rinks early to him. In 2016, he trained in Canada so that he could learn to compete at more of an international level. To learn more, check out his story at NBC: http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/figure-skater-julian-yee-makes-history-malaysias-first-winter-olympian. And here’s the schedule for figure skating this year: https://www.olympic.org/pyeongchang-2018/results/en/figure-skating/daily-schedule.htm.

Though the competition Malaysia is best known for is their Grand Prix race. However, last year Malaysia announced they would stop hosting their Grand Prix event due to low audience turn-up. For those curious, these are the highlights from the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix:

Well that’s all for today’s post! Thank you so much for reading my blog, and as always, until our next adventure!

Landmarks

Hey fellow adventurers! It’s time to look at famous landmarks. So let’s tour Malaysia!

Petronas Twin Towers

The Petronas Twin Towers are twin skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur. At 1482.61 feet (451.9 meters) tall, the towers were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998-2004. To this day, they remain the tallest twin towers in the world. To learn more, visit the official website: https://www.petronastwintowers.com.my/facts

Bukit Bintang

Bukit Bintang is a large shopping and entertainment district in Kuala Lumpur. Home to many landmark shopping centres, cafés, bars, night markets, and restaurants, Bukit Bintang is popular to tourists and locals alike (especially among youths). Here’s a list of the 10 best things to do in Bukit Bintang:

http://www.kuala-lumpur.ws/kl-top10s/10-attractions-bukit-bintang.htm#

Kuala Lumpur Tower

The Kuala Lumpur Tower is a communication tower in Kuala Lumpur. At 1,379 feet, the Kuala Lumpur Tower is the seventh tallest freestanding tower in the world. At the top of the tower contains a revolving restaurant with a panoramic view of the city. The tower hosts activities, such as scavenger hunts, races and jumps (looks like paragliding), annually. You can visit the official website here: https://www.menarakl.com.my/

Royal Palace

The Royal Palace, once heavily guarded and blocked to the public, as of 2/1/13 it is now a museum. The museum, open to all who pay, is a two-story building with twenty interior spaces to explore. One of those places is the King and Queen’s sleeping chamber, a room that was once off limits even to those who worked there.

Batu Caves

Batu Caves is a limestone hill with several caves and cave temples inside. The cave is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside India and is dedicated to Lord Murugan. It is the focal point of Hindu festival of Thaipusam in Malaysia.

Langkawi Sky Bridge

The Langkawi Sky Bridge is a 410 feet (125 meter) curved pedestrian cable-stayed bridge located 2,170 feet (660 meters) above sea level. You can read more about it at the official website: http://www.panoramalangkawi.com/skybridge/

Gunung Mulu National Park

Gunung Mulu National park is a national park that encompasses caves and karst formations in a mountainous equatorial rainforest setting. (UNESCO) made it a world heritage site in 2000. You can read more on their official website:

http://mulupark.com/

That’s all for today’s post! Thank you so much for reading my blog, and as always, until our next adventure!

Malay

Hey fellow adventurers! It’s been a few months since I’ve done a language post. I’m not sure about you guys but I love listening to different accents. True, most of what I watch is in Japanese, but I love listening to all different types of accents. So, let’s listen to some accents! 😊

Now that you’ve gotten a grasp on the Malayan alphabet, and the way it sounds, let’s move onto everyday phrases.

If you like his teaching style, and are interested in learning other languages from him, check out his YouTube channel here:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsOgRoOpWJJ8qmJDuS-k57A

Well that’s all for today’s post! Thank you so much for reading my blog, and as always, until our next adventure!

History of Malaysia

Hey fellow adventurers! It’s time to discuss the history of Malaysia. Throughout the post, I’m going to use the name Malaysia for convenience but that’s a more recent name. Malaysia has been called Malaya in the past, as well as some other names. I’m sorry if that confuses anyone.

There is evidence to support that human activity has occurred in Malaysia for at least 40,000 years. Trade with China and India was established as far back as 100 BCE. Trade doesn’t just bring in buyable goods though, but culture and religion. By 400 CE, Buddhism and Hinduism were introduced to Malaysia via India. By 1300, Islam was introduced by Arab and Indian merchants. During what is sometimes called a “second flowering of Islam,” four Muslim empires (Ottoman, Safavid, Songhay and Mughal) gained strong political and military power, as well as economic prosperity. By the 1400s, the trading network was largely controlled by Muslims in the Southeast Asia area. To attract these traders to their cities, a lot of Hindu and Buddhist rulers converted to Islam and enforced Islamic law.

A few countries have occupied Malaysia throughout history but the British controlled Malaysia the longest. Although at first the British only wanted economic control over Malaysia, they soon wanted territorial control as well. Under British rule, the British brought in Indians to do manual labor, such as Tin mining. This made Indian and Chinese Malaysians the primary manual labor workforce. While Malay Malaysians had opportunities to work in government positions, such as for the police. Positions the British generally closed off to non-Europeans. Not only that but the British gave off the impression that the Malay Malaysians were the rulers of Malaysia but didn’t give them any authority to rule. This inequality created a rift between the races. If you want to learn more about Colonial control over Malaysia, read the following article:

http://factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Malaysia/sub5_4a/entry-3619.html

During World War II, Japan set out to acquire resources that would free it from its dependence on the West. The Japanese shared a desire with several Southeast Asian countries to liberate countries under European control. The Japanese claimed they were going to make “Asia for Asians.” However soon after they began conquering countries, it became clear that they were more interested in resources, than liberation. The Japanese’s first act in Malaysia was to kill the Chinese Malaysians. After which, the Japanese established a rule, and you either followed or died. The occupation of the Japanese ended after the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. If you wish to learn more, I highly recommend this show from history channel:

After Japanese occupation ended, it wasn’t long until the British took control again. This was welcomed by some Malaysians and dreaded by others. Those who wanted Malaysian independence fought to get rid of British control. In 1957, Malaysia is free from British control. And in 1963, Malaysia officially becomes Malaysia. If you would like a more comprehensive timeline of the history of Malaysia, check out BBC:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-15391762

I also recommend watching this interesting piece about former Malaysian communists that were kicked out of Malaysia while it was still Malaya:

That’s all for today’s post! I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for reading my blog, and as always, until our next adventure!

Basic Facts

Hey fellow adventurers! It’s time to move onto a different country! One that I knew so little about that the map surprised me. I’ll be talking about Malaysia this month! By the way, if you ever have a suggestion for what country I should do next, please let me know! And if there’s a reason why you think I should do that country during a specific month, let me know that too! And with that, let’s talk about Malaysia!

Malaysia

Malaysian Flag

Coat of Arms:

Name: Malaysia

Nationality: Malaysian

Official Language: Malay

Currency: Ringgit

National Anthem: Negaraku

Largest Religion: Islam

Population: 32,042,458

Capital: Kuala Lumpur

Prime Minister: Najib Razak

Government: Democracy

Wikipedia: “Malaysia is a Southeast Asian country occupying parts of the Malay Peninsula and the island of Borneo. It’s known for its beaches, rainforests and mix of Malay, Chinese, Indian and European cultural influences. The capital, Kuala Lumpur, is home to colonial buildings, busy shopping districts such as Bukit Bintang and skyscrapers such as the iconic, 451m-tall Petronas Twin Towers.”

Several years ago, I was introduced to this funny video of customs unique to Malaysia. I highly recommend you check it out!

If you want to see more videos from JinnyboyTV, click below:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMG7DKIrpZoJlRLqYe9NtQg

Well that’s all for today’s post! Thank you so much for reading my blog! And as always, until our next adventure!

More Blogs

Hey fellow adventurers! Wow! It’s already February! I really can’t believe it! Wasn’t it 2017 yesterday? Unfortunately this blog post is going to be a lot shorter than probably any other post I’ve posted in the past. Vatican City is unique in many ways. One of which is that there are people who do one-time posts about Vatican City but there aren’t any blogs that only cover Vatican City. Like always, if you have an interest in anything I’ve posted about, or anything else in regards to Vatican City, I highly recommend you look it up! A page I can recommend is the Vatican’s homepage! There’s lots of information on there!

http://www.vaticanstate.va/content/vaticanstate/en.html

Well that’s all for today! Thank you so much for reading my blog! And as always, until our next adventure!