Malaysia - The whole of Asia in one country

Описание: The Malay Peninsula offers practically everything that Asia has to offer: along its 4,000-kilometer coastline there are deserted dream beaches, ancient forests, a unique cuisine and places of worship of all religions. Malays, Chinese and Indians have lived peacefully together here for hundreds of years, and the people are considered tolerant and cosmopolitan. One product from the fishing village of Kuala Sepetang has become an international bestseller: Charcoal from the sea. Every day, Iwan Mohd and his harvesting crew travel by boat to the mangrove forest. Here they harvest 30-year-old hardwood trees. The forest has been sustainably managed for centuries, and the mangroves are replanted again and again. Charcoal is produced in huge kilns using a traditional process.

For two weeks, the logs have to coke and stew, then the charcoal is ready. Most of it is exported: In Japan, people swear by the charcoal from Kuala Sepetang. The so-called lion dance is actually typical for China. But on the island of Penang, there is a special and very dangerous form of it. On a course of wooden poles up to three meters high, a lion - two artists in costumes - runs, dances, leaps and flies around seemingly effortlessly. Paul Than of the Thang-Loong group has been training his two artists for a year, and soon there will be an important performance. And still not everything works out. The Strait of Malacca is one of the busiest sea lanes in the world. Hundreds of ships pass through the narrow channel between Malaysia's west coast and Indonesia every day.

Pirates are still up to their mischief here. They use maneuverable long boats to board ships and steal anything that is not nailed down. The naval officer Salman Bahari goes hunting for pirates every day in his speedboat, heavily armed. The bicycle rickshaw has largely disappeared from the streets of Asia. But in the coastal town of Malacca, it is making a comeback. Every year before the start of the visitor season, Ramli Ismail also works on his vehicle to make it fit for the coming months. This time, he has procured around 40 unicorn cuddly toys, 30 meters of fairy lights and a brand-new music system. Just like the other rickshaw drivers in the city, he is transforming his vehicle into a work of art made of fairytale motifs: garish, colorful and flashing.