Arriving home on the 4th of February, I was exhausted, after spending 3 weeks in Malaysia, as part of the New Colombo Plan 2018. As part of the program, 10 other Flinders students and I learnt about the history, culture, politics, and science and technology capability of Malaysia, at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, the National University of Malaysia.
One of the major highlights of the trip was the visit to Langkawi. There we spent 3 days visiting and learning about the 3 geoparks on the island. We visited Machinchang and Kilim Geoforest Parks, where we enjoyed cable car rides, the skybridge and a riverboat cruise. We created our own traditional batik paintings, went swimming in the beautiful warm ocean and at the bottom of a waterfall. It’s a shame we didn’t get to spend longer on this beautiful island.
Other highlights included visiting Kuala Lumpur, shopping, going to night markets, our trip to Sekinchan, visiting the Australian High Commission and Istana Alam Shah, the Royal Palace, home to the Sultan of Selangor and hanging out on the campus of UKM. Unfortunately, we just missed out on being in Malaysia for Chinese New Year, so we were unable to experience it like those who went last year. However, we were in Malaysia for the Indian festival of Thaipusam, which we experienced at the Batu Caves.
The people in Malaysia were so friendly and I look forward to seeing the student ambassadors again, as well as the staff of UKM Global. I really enjoyed my time there and I look forward to going back one day. For anyone interested in travelling overseas I highly recommend applying for a New Colombo Plan program, in particular, one run by UKM.
Jessica Aylmore, Bachelor of Science (Chemical Sciences), participated in an NCP study tour: Investigating the History, Culture, Politics, Science and Technology capability of Malaysia.