Scott P
01-02-2011, 07:47 PM
I could post this in the political section, but I would hate to see it deteriorate into a political debate. I don't want it to become a debate, but would only like to share some experiences.
We (my kids, wife and dad) just got back from Malaysia and Indonesia (we left the US December 8 so we were there nearly a month). We did a lot of hiking, climbing, caving, river rafting and saw much wildlife, but we did city and cultural stuff too. A few and long trip report will follow when I finish it (I'm 40% done).
Indonesia is the worlds largest Islamic country with about ~238,000,000 people of which over 88% are Islamic. Malaysia is over 60% Islamic and is nearing 28,000,000 in population.
As an American I was somewhat surprised with my experience (we weren't worried about the trip, but I thought to encounter at least a little anti-American sentiment mixed with mostly friendly people).
What I found was perhaps the friendliest people I have met anywhere in the world. I even saw a few people flying American Flags and people with American Flag sheets and pillows. Many people said to us "God bless America". Everyone was friendly and I heard not one negative comment about the United States. Everyone (literally everyone we met) wanted to hear all about "Amereeka". This wasn't a guided tour (other than a few hikes) type trip, but one which we traveled using public transportation and as the locals do. We interacted with many locals.
It seems the people are very humbled and grateful for the aid the US has given them during the big tsunami and earthquakes. We met nothing but friendly people. Unlike traveling in some other countries, no one tried to take advantage of us or ignored us because we were an American.
We went for the wildlife, hiking, rafting and caves, but ended up falling in love with the people. It was a great experience. Never have I been treated as well as I was while traveling overseas as an American. I'll have a full trip report later.
House in Bukit Lawang, Indonesia:
40160
We (my kids, wife and dad) just got back from Malaysia and Indonesia (we left the US December 8 so we were there nearly a month). We did a lot of hiking, climbing, caving, river rafting and saw much wildlife, but we did city and cultural stuff too. A few and long trip report will follow when I finish it (I'm 40% done).
Indonesia is the worlds largest Islamic country with about ~238,000,000 people of which over 88% are Islamic. Malaysia is over 60% Islamic and is nearing 28,000,000 in population.
As an American I was somewhat surprised with my experience (we weren't worried about the trip, but I thought to encounter at least a little anti-American sentiment mixed with mostly friendly people).
What I found was perhaps the friendliest people I have met anywhere in the world. I even saw a few people flying American Flags and people with American Flag sheets and pillows. Many people said to us "God bless America". Everyone was friendly and I heard not one negative comment about the United States. Everyone (literally everyone we met) wanted to hear all about "Amereeka". This wasn't a guided tour (other than a few hikes) type trip, but one which we traveled using public transportation and as the locals do. We interacted with many locals.
It seems the people are very humbled and grateful for the aid the US has given them during the big tsunami and earthquakes. We met nothing but friendly people. Unlike traveling in some other countries, no one tried to take advantage of us or ignored us because we were an American.
We went for the wildlife, hiking, rafting and caves, but ended up falling in love with the people. It was a great experience. Never have I been treated as well as I was while traveling overseas as an American. I'll have a full trip report later.
House in Bukit Lawang, Indonesia:
40160