Visit to Singapore and Malaysia

A group of 36 comprising mostly pharmacists and some of their spouses participated in the trip to Singapore/Malaysia organized by Laborex Cameroun. The two countries are (seven time zones) away from Cameroon and have the same tropical climate like Cameroon. The shortest distance from Cameroon to Singapore(10,529 km) was that via Addis Ababa and the total air bone time was about 13.5 hours.

At Cloud forest, Singapore

We started our visit from Singapore. This city state of 6 million is a highly developed country with a current GDP per capita of $91,727 and a sovereign credit rating of AAA. Singapore is a very small country (49 km from East to West and 28km North to South). Despite its small land, Singapore is so obsessed with trees and flowers such that about 40% of the country is covered by greenery. Singapore is a major player in the economy of the world, with one of the busiest seaports, first class financial services, manufacturing and tourism (13.6 million visitors in 2023). Singapore is cosmopolitan, clean, orderly and one of the safest places on earth to walk on the streets. Singapore’s Changi International Airport has been voted several times as the best in the world.

Singapore to Penang, Malaysia

After two days in Singapore, we took a flight (575km) to the Malaysian Island of Penang. The capital of Penang (Georgetown) is a UNESCO World heritage site. Malaysia has interesting geography. The Western landmass (which we visited) shares its northern border with Thailand and has Singapore at its southern tip. The Eastern part of Malaysia shares the island of Borneo with Indonesia and Brunei (an austere Islamic sultanate whose ruler is famous for his ostentatious lifestyle). The two main landmasses of Malaysia are 640 km apart separated by the South China Sea. Interestingly the main islands situated between East and West Malaysia belong to Indonesia.

In Penang, among other places, we visited the famous Kek Lok Si Buddhist temple, the statue of Kuan Yin and made a rigorous climb to the top of the seven-storey high Pagoda that houses 10,000 Buddha statues. There are two multiple lane bridges built across the sea to link the island of Penang to the mainland (one is 13.5 km long and the other is 24km).

Kuala Lumpur via Cameron Highlands.

We left Penang in the morning by bus to embark on the trip to Kuala Lumpur via the tea plantations of Cameron highlands. It’s a road for nature lovers with fascinating scenery. The meandering forested road descending from the highlands is both beautiful and scary. We arrived a glittering Kuala Lumpur in the night. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital is a well-built city with many high rise buildings, good transport network and clean.

The Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur

We did climb the 272 steps during our visit to the Batu Caves (a Hindu shrine) and visited the iconic Petronas twin towers, going up by lift to the bridge linking the two towers on the 41^st & 42^nd floor and subsequently going up to the observation desk of one of the towers on the 86^th floor. The 88-storey twin towers is owned by the national Malaysian oil and gas company Petronas which also has more than 1100 filling stations nationwide.

Malacca

As we continued our journey southward towards Singapore, we stopped for one day at Malacca, a city pregnant with history and visible antiquity reflecting the passage of the Dutch, Portuguese and the British many centuries back. We eventually left Malacca in the morning of March ^5th and headed for Singapore with a stopover at a commercial complex (Premium Outlet in Johor Barhu).

Malaysia (pop 34 million) is an upper middle income country which is projected to reach developed country status within the next five years. Her economy is robust with services, industry and Agriculture playing key roles. Malaysia is a tourist friendly country which in 2023 received 26 million foreign visitors. Like in neighboring Singapore, the main ethnic groups that make up the country are Malays, Chinese and Indians.

Videos

Marina Bay Sands Hotel:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT74hAzEhsw

Tea Plantation, Cameron Highlands: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC3UW1XjDo4

The Petronas Twin towers, Kuala Lumpur

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLMm2DhhTAs

Boat Ride, Malacca, Malaysia

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uHE8tqkpIA