6 weeks in Malaysia: Birds, Art, Festivals?

December and January is durian season on Borneo - the durian in Kuching is absolutely divine (and cheap), and it's worth visiting the city just to stuff yourself with durian every day.

There was a big Chinese festival going on in Kuching when I was there in early January a couple of years ago. That was a festival for one of the main Chinese temples in the city. I have no idea how you get accurate information about that kind of thing online, but colorful Chinese festivals are not uncommon in Malaysia.

There are interesting national parks around Kuching with nice options for wildlife watching and hiking.

Back on the peninsula, the places I always recommend are Penang and Taiping. Both offer some good day-hikes within easy vicinity, and the forested hills above Taiping should offer a nice mix of birds, while the city's large lake gardens are an urban bird-watcher's delight. You might might want to visit the zoo as well, if that's your sort of thing - there were cranes wandering around on the paths when I was there, allowing you to get very up close and personal.

How do you manage to teach bird observation in schools? I've never heard of that being offered as a class, anywhere...

Dec/Jan will be monsoon season in both west and east Msia. The driest area will be the west coast of the peninsula.
Frasers Hill is a good place for bird watching. They have an annual bird race, in May.

Thank you for your suggestions and fun experiences. Usually I arrive in a classroom with a cart of 30 binoculars, 30 journals and alot of excitement. We bring in a few stuffed birds from a museum to help students learn to distinguish details from imaginings up close before we go into the school yard to notice who lives there. It's like a traveling museum show that bridges to the school backyard. Check out BirdSchoolProgram.org I am a humble volunteer teacher, there are also college interns teaching.

I wonder if Penang is worth the trip...some say it is just too touristy.

Thank you. I'm curious if people wear water proof hiking boots, flip flops or we sneakers with wool socks during the rainy season. Any suggestions of where to stay at Fraser's on a medium budget?

Penang is touristy, but still lovely: it's the best preserved colonial town in all of South-East Asia. There are also nice nature areas easily accessible from the city, including a nice little national park. There are lovely birds in Penang: mynas and orioles all over the place, and if you're lucky, some gorgeous little green pigeons.

I wouldn't skip Penang. I'm not a big fan of over-touristy places at all, but I still like Penang a lot.

Giora,

I need your experience with calendars and cultures. I will be in Ipoh over Christmas (dec 24-25 weekend).
Would it be better to be in the city, enjoying urban events, or in the country with a Muslim family, because the city will be mostly shut down for the non Muslim holiday anyway. I see that Muslims did not go to work/university on Christmas in 2015, and there was a humorous article about how this was 'haram.' (http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2015/12/23/muslims-should-go-to-work-on-christmas/)

I've been in Indonesian Borneo for Christmas before, but never Malaysia. Ipoh is predominantly Chinese. Some Chinese (and some Indians as well) are Christian, and I'm sure there will be masses and celebrations taking place on the day. I would have thought it would be fairly low key though. Do Malaysian Muslims celebrate Christmas? I very much doubt it, though as a legacy of British colonialism, they might get the day off. That doesn't mean they'll be doing anything more special than on any other day off though.

Unless you find specific information about an event, I would assume that Christmas in Malaysia will be a low-key event. Do whatever you want on that day, and don't expect Christmas to interfere particularly.

Though as I said, I've never been in the country on Christmas before, so I'm not an expert. I have been in Malaysia for New Year's, and it was a pretty quiet night, with only small events going on, at least in Kuching.

For interesting festivals in Malaysia, you'll need to find things that resonate with the local people, and they are predominantly Hindu, Chinese Buddhist/Taoist, or Muslim.

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