Take The Path Less Ordinary

Buying authentic traditional craft usually involve scouring deep into the interiors. Well, look no further. Now, there is a new and noble way to get your hands on some of Malaysia’s finest traditional handicraft. And the name to google for is Elevyn.com, a great portal that bridge rural finery with fashionistas of the urban world.
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Words & images by Casey Ng
If northern Sabah is a woman, I want to marry her.
She has natural beauty, cultured and hell can she dresses up. And although she may not be singing all the high notes of 21st century, she has enough to take one’s senses off with an oomph.

The sun sets in Marudu [...]

In the heart of every Orang Asli man is his blowpipe. He’ll sleep with it if the wife lets him.
“Look, this is the Kasap”, quips Bah Dongong, 67, the walking jungle encyclopedia points at a bamboo patch. “We usually locate Orang Asli graveyard next to the Kasap”. It’s easy to see how much respect Orang [...]

What do you call a kingdom cut half by a river?
18th century Kuala Kangsar found a simple solution; call one side Kota Lama Kanan and the other Kota Lama Kiri. With the palace and commercial district on the left, Kota Lama Kiri eventually outgrown Kanan and was uptown “Beverly Hills” for local rich and famous [...]

Thaipusam hurts. Like hell.
As the cacophony of chants and chaos intensifies, the priest stabs a 20cm rod across a man’s cheeks, sending him wild into deep trance. He trembles, grunts and suddenly stares coldly at us. Gosh, did we do something wrong? We could hear our heart throb.
The next moment, the possessed man turns away [...]

Penang is listed in Patricia Schultz’s “1,000 Places To See Before You Die”, a New York Times bestseller. It’s easy to grasp why. With its melange of ethnicity, multiculturism and fabulous spread of food, this island city is a striking example of Malaysia’s unusual social fabric.
How the myriad of races identify themselves
As early as 500 [...]

If you ask around long enough, you’ll realise that camping isn’t common in Malaysia. There’s a good reason.

At night, when everyone is fast asleep, it’s time when 90% of rainforest inhabitant come out to play, eat and sometimes cause trouble. Snakes, poisonous insects, army ants, scorpions, hungry mammals, they all roam the forest floor at [...]

If the staggering variety of races found in Malaysia makes your head spins, then their languages would certainly leave you speechless.
But if you insist on learning a language to take home, Bahasa Malaysia should be it. From glitzy cities to remote jungles, Malaysians of all colours and creed speak Bahasa Malaysia.
If trees could talk, it’d [...]