3 years in Malaysia

I am a Belgian married to a Malaysian. We live in the peninsula since three years working in the Food and Beverage industry but also enjoying our passion for photography and discovering new places, culture and people. On this period of Independence celebration, I wanted to share with travelers on board some of our best findings, moments and shoots from our life journey in Malaysia a colorful, vibrant, diverse and very pleasant host country. Travelling through the country is made easy with the extensive domestic flight options offered by Air Asia and other airlines, the excellent condition of the roads and highways throughout the country, the very safe ferries routes from mainland to islands, the various bus companies bringing people from towns to towns and the fast improving railway network.
The cultural and environmental diversity of the country is certainly remarkable. The various cultures remain strongly present in spite of the economics progress, the fast developments of the country and the rapid demographic growth. I was privileged to witness three Thaipusum festivals in Penang and Ipoh and strongly believe that the celebrations are something one should see in a life time. Following several Chinese opera troops in Penang (Thai, Chinese and Malaysian) during the Chinese festival of “hungry ghosts” was certainly another cultural highlight of my journey. I was able to go backstage to meet the artists and learn about their life on the road, the origins of the tradition, the fall of interest for their art in the last decade for the public preferring action movies and technologies and their talents from the backstage preparation to the performance. Finally, spending time in many Malay Kampungs and fishermen's villages, meeting people in their daily life and sharing moments and meals with them was also amongst the great experience I lived.
The Fauna, flora and biodiversity are also remarkable and I was lucky to come at the right time, at the right place to get a close encounter with Orangutans in Borneo and hundreds of species of birds all around the country especially the hornbills in Pangkor island. The rainforest in Borneo and Taman Negara are still intact and host millions of animals, plants, flowers quite unique. Urban development and the expansion of plantations and greenhouses still leave place for stunning sceneries in Malaysia.  From the amazing sunrise over the hills and tea plantations in Cameron Highland to the beaches of the East coast; from the limestones of Ipoh to the forest of Borneo, the flooded rice fields to the old Chinese towns of Melaka and Georgetown was able to take some very nice pictures and spend fantastic moments in spectacular environments.
Taking portraits is something I really enjoy. The ethnical diversity of Malaysia permitted me to meet incredible people with unique life and to take some unforgettable photos of them telling the memorable stories. Mr  Chan Cheok Tiam, 89 y.o., wood buckets maker in Melaka, the workers of the charcoal factories in Kuala Sepatang, the young boys going to religious classes on Fridays are amongst hundreds of Malaysian I have met. Chinese Malays and Indians live in the country in perfect harmony trying to preserve their individual cultural heritage while seeing the changes in their life style offered by progress and developments with the economic growth of the country.
There a lot more about Malaysia and my two years here especially photos that you can see on my FB page: FRAMED MOMENTS by Philippe DURANT