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Selamat Datang! - Accessible holidays in Malaysia
Picture the scene; you`re sitting back in a comfortable seat, eyes closed, with a full glass of bubbly in your hand, listening to gentle music. Any anxious thoughts are soon soothed away by either the gentle sound of the nearby ornate water features or the mouth-watering aromas rising from a superb range of hot food dishes. At any moment, you can call upon attentive staff whose only duty is to ensure you have everything you need, including anything from the nearby bar serving complementary drinks.
So, where are you? Some classy restaurant in a top-class resort? No, you`re actually in a special departure lounge for Malaysia Airlines First and Golden Club passengers at Heathrow Airport - and this is but a taste of what`s to come.
Now, few of us would normally equate airports with anything other than places of frustration, stress and the horror of forever being separated from your suitcase. However, Malaysia Airlines is certainly a company that prides itself on extending their country`s traditions of hospitality, courtesy and personal respect to its millions of passengers - and does so before they even step on to the aircraft.
MALAYSIA
It was the British writer Rudyard Kipling who first wrote that `East is East, and West is West, And never the twain shall meet`. However, if there is one country where the two could at least be said to rub shoulders on a reasonably friendly basis, it is certainly Malaysia in southeast Asia.
Specialist travel company Wings on Wheels is among a growing number of operators extending their range of destinations into Malaysia. Earlier this summer, they invited Disability View to join a group inspecting just how welcoming Malaysia now is to disabled travellers. This educational was jointly organised with Wings on Wheels, Malaysia Airlines and Diethelm Travel Management, who are based in Malaysia. The group included both disabled people, such as Helen Jones (who has cerebal palsy and is a full-time wheelchair user), and representatives from a wide variety of disability organisations based in the UK and Ireland.
GETTING THERE
Malaysia Airlines is the only company that flies non-stop to the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur (generally referred to as `KL`) from the UK; flights leave daily from Heathrow with some additional flights from Manchester Airport. This is a company that believes in quality - even `economy` offers you excellent services and facilities - spacious seats, superb cuisine, complementary refreshments and individual 16.5cm video and games systems - that you might only expect in `Golden Club` (their form of business class). They can certainly accommodate most people`s needs.
There is, of course, a practical reason for this, beyond Malaysian traditions of hospitality; a flight from the UK to KL International Airport takes almost twelve hours. That is a long time to be on a plane, by anyone`s standards, so anything that can ease the journey is surely to be welcomed. That said, Steve is the first to admit that - at least for him - the journeys both there and back passed remarkably quickly in golden class. This was thanks to a frequently refilled champagne glass and an almost constant supply of quality food; not to mention the helping hand from his local GP in the form of prescribed sleeping tablets (Steve`s not the calmest of flyers). Indeed, the only slightly incongruous element in the whole picture, was the fact that such quality meals had to be eaten with plastic cutlery - even Malaysia Airlines doesn`t risk giving passengers anything too sharp to play with after the events of 9/11.
PAST AND FUTURE COMBINED
The one thing that immediately strikes you when you get off the plane in Malaysia is the heat; as the country is really only a cough and a spit from the equator, it has what can only be described as a hot, humid climate throughout the year. The main rainy season in the East of the country is between November and February (August in the West), but it can rain quite heavily during the rest of the year, it certainly did during the groups stay with at least an hour`s heavy down pour each day.
Not that rain is a particular concern when you arrive; if anywhere deserves to be described as `the airport of tomorrow, here today`, it is Kuala Lumpur International Airport. This stunning, 21st century construction of steel and glass resembles nothing less than some glorious futuristic city - it even includes a golf course. Having been met by staff from Diethelm Travel, the group found that the airport was the first indication of how busy KL can be; such were the crowds, it took a while to get everyone down the lifts to where their coach awaited - this required wheelchair users to transfer from their chairs, but was apparently more accessible than the regular train shuttle that takes you straight into the heart of KL.
PARADISE ISLANDS
Exciting though it undoubtedly is, KL is only one part of the Malaysian experience; and a brief, one hour flight was enough to reach Langkawi. This is a cluster of 99 islands where stunning emerald hills roll down to meet idyllic palm-fringed beaches - the very definition of a tropical paradise, and certainly this was where most of the visiting group felt most relaxed. However, the work of inspecting facilities continued unabated, but Steve promised himself that he would one day return to Langkawi. Clearly, he was suitably impressed by the excellent facilities and breathtaking views of a deserted beach with clear, shallow water that went out for hundreds of yards that could be seen from his room at the Sheraton Perdana Beach Resort. Incidentally, this is not a seaside resort where you find lots of seagulls; eagles can be found in these skies, and indeed are an important cultural icon of the islands.
This part of eastern Malaysia offers a different mixture of heritage and quality - you can visit the Mahsuri Tomb and make some DIY souvenirs such as Batik (cloth) painting and printing, or spend your afternoon amongst the modern, yet still colonial elegance of the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club – `where standards are set and exclusively kept`. You also have the choice of more traditional forms of accommodation, although while many in the group were quite impressed by the Tanjung Rhu Resort, Steve wasn`t so keen; he was particularly worried by the possibility that a whole host of bugs and other creepy-crawlies could potentially climb up through the wooden construction. He much preferred the luxurious wooden chalets, complete with large balconies making up the Pelangi Beach resort; this was also one of the most accessible hotels visited by the group.
The single most impressive activity, during the trip was the Mangrove Swamp excursion, although this could hardly be described as accessible, considering the amount of woman-handling that was needed to get Helen into and later out of the speedboat; particularly when she was carried up wet wooden steps to their lunchtime destination. However, it was certainly worth the effort; according to Helen, the boat ride to look at some of the country`s marine life was `just amazing`. This is despite everyone (except for Steve) getting absolutely soaked during the daily, heavy shower, that struck as the boat was making its way towards the Barn Thai Restaurant. After complaints from the rest of the group that Steve`s position at the front of the boat was causing more water to splash in over the bow, Steve was eventually persuaded to sit in the middle of the group and was therefore sheltered from the rain that soaked everyone else and required them to eat while dressed in only large sheets.
SELAMAT DATANG - WELCOME!
It was a busy week for everyone in Malaysia: Steve`s main memories are of a full and varied schedule, and the hectic, lively and noisy nature of KL, contrasted with the complete peace and calm offered by Langkawi.
However, everyone in the group were agreed on one thing; as Helen told Disability View on the return trip: `My over-riding memory of beautiful Malaysia is how friendly and helpful the people are.` More important than the beautiful landscapes, the history, myths and architectural heritage, it is the welcome of the people that sticks in the mind - which, in retrospect, you could have guessed from that Malaysia Airlines departure lounge in Heathrow.
Malaysia Oct-03
