• The Retirement Visa

There are other types of visas for Thailand, but they are mostly for very specialized situations or practically unattainable. For information, go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website at: www.mfa.go.th/web/.

There is a wide array of choices for visa runs, but for the visa that I have, Penang, Malaysia is the choice location. Malaysia is located at the southern end of the Southeast Asian peninsula and extends to cover one third of the island of Borneo.

The terrain I saw is very similar to southern Thailand—and there is plenty of jungle, water, and heat to go around. Altogether, the area of the country is about equal to the size of the US state of New Mexico.

Malaysia has come a long way since gaining its independence from Great Britain. A recognized powerhouse in several industries including rubber, tin, palm oil, textiles, and consumer electronics, Malaysian’s flourished even through the Asian monetary crisis of 1997. The capital city of Kuala Lumpur displays the tallest buildings in the world, The Petrona Towers, as a symbol of Malaysia’s arrival as a modern economic world player.

A Variety Of Cultures

There are roughly 23 million Malaysians and they are an eclectic mix of widely varied cultures—58% are ethnic Malays or other indigenous peoples; about 30% are Chinese; 10% are Indian. All were subjects of the English Empire until 1957, and so English is widely spoken and colonial influences abound. The official language, Bahasa, is surprisingly easy to pick up. The alphabet is the same as English-speaking nations and pronounced exactly as the words are spelled. This was quite refreshing, as most languages in this part of the world are tonal and extremely difficult to learn. In Bahasa, if you can read it…you can probably pronounce it.

Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country, and heavy Ramadan and holiday air traffic made it difficult to get the flights we wanted, so we opted for the overland route. Penang is a nine-hour drive on smooth black ribbons of well constructed highway from my home in Phuket, Thailand. We passed through the surreal landscape of Krabi, the sleepy southern Thai city of Trang, and the frenetic border town of Hat Yai. We reached the border about 9.30 p.m. and were lucky the Duty Free Shop had an outside ATM so that we could load up on the local currency—Malaysian Ringit (RM). Upon entering Malaysia the change is very apparent. Thailand is quite well equipped with infrastructure, but Malaysia takes it a step further. The conditions of the highways with their freshly painted lines and manicured landscape made me think I was in the U.S., not deep in the heart of Southeast Asia.

Our destination was Penang, a big island off the West Coast of northern Malaysia. To get there we had to cross the Penang Bridge, which must be several miles long and a marvel of modern architecture. I’m not sure if it’s a suspension bridge or not, but it looks like something right out of a sci-fi movie. We settled in to a cozy little Chinese hotel full of a thousand or so excited Chinese teenagers on holiday. So much for lounging quietly by the pool.

Stylish And Efficient

In the morning we met with the hotel manager, Mr. Tan, who courteously and efficiently collected our passports, had us sign the appropriate forms, and informed us that our visas would be ready at 2 p.m. that coming Friday. This is a service offered by many of the hotels in Penang, but I doubt many of them do it with as much style as Mr. Tan. He also informed us that we were very lucky to arrive when we did. Apparently the weekend was the beginning of a very important religious festival for Muslims in Malaysia—Hari Raya Puasa. Many people believe it to be “Muslim New Year,” but it actually signifies the end of the fasting month, Ramadan. After a month of self-restraint and abstinence, the Malaysian faithful were ready to celebrate. In fact, Hari Raya means “Days of Celebration.” Had we come two days later, we would have been stranded in Malaysia for a week with no way to get our visas—all government offices were closed for three days!

We spent the next day and a half exploring the sights, sounds, and most importantly, flavors of Penang. This little island city is a wonderful blend of Chinese, Indian, and Muslim culture. The architecture can change radically from Sino-Portuguese to Hindu Temple to Mosque all in the same city block. What stood out the most in Georgetown—the area of Penang where we were staying—were the Indian-style buildings. I fell in love with a particular color of blue that I will henceforth refer to as “Hindu Blue.” It is prevalent in almost all Indian-style structures and even in some Buddhist compounds.

I was also mesmerized by the mosaic of statues and sculptures that adorn the entrances to all Hindu temples. One could stand for hours and continue to see new deities and characters materialize every minute.

So Much To See…

Most interesting was M. Maha Mariamman Temple on Lebuh Queen. Built in 1833, it is the oldest Indian Temple in town and features 38 statues of gods and goddesses.

Equally impressive was the G. Kapitan Keling Mosque. This structure was founded by an Indian Muslim merchant in 1801 and stands proudly in the center of Georgetown with its regal Moorish architecture.

But, the big daddy of our self-coordinated sight-seeing tour was the Kek Lok Si Temple.  The Kek Lok Si Temple remains the largest Buddhist temple complex in South East Asia.  Upon entering the Ban Por Thar, or Ten Thousand Buddhas Pagoda, you are overwhelmed by the sheer size and scale of the inner room. Not to mention the 10,000 Buddhas!

Luck was with us once again as we arrived in time to witness afternoon prayers from all the apprentice monks living at Kek Lok Si. Perhaps 300 monks, both male and female, marched solemnly in single file to the beat of an ancient wooden bell calling them to prayer. They gathered in formation waiting for the Master to arrive and lead them in the afternoon prayers. If you’ve never seen a Buddhist ceremony of any kind, the rhythmic chanting and shear focus of the participants is a spiritual experience not to be missed.

We stomped around several buildings of this huge compound for hours. The entire complex is a clash of architectural styles including Burmese, Chinese, and Thai.

Perhaps one of the most endearing features of Kek Lok Si is the fact that if affords an excellent view of the city of Penang on one side, and the beautiful countryside on the other.

Have A Cold Beer On Standby

The rest of our time was filled with deciding on where to eat. Malaysian cuisine is like everything else in Malaysia…a mixture of many cultures. We had three meals that most would characterize as Indian food, but always carried a South East Asian twist. The curries are a little sweeter than in Thailand, but with more fire than traditional Indian food. The flatbread called roti or naan is fresh from the Tandoori oven. And, KFC has nothing on Muslim fried chicken!

If you find yourself in Penang, I recommend taking a ride in a rickshaw down to “Indian Town” and picking the most crowded place you can find. You won’t need much money, but make sure you have a cold beer on standby at all times as it is hard to tell which dishes will set you on fire and which will not.

On Friday afternoon, Mr.Tan delivered out non-immigrant B visas right on time and we headed north to Thailand.One hour of frenzied shopping at the duty-free mall at the border a nine-hour drive, and we were home in Phuket.Not a bad way to accomplish official business at all.