Not An Ordinary Flight, In A Good Way

I'll begin my discussion of my Penang holiday (read the intro here) by heaping praise upon Malaysia Airlines.

After years of suffering the many indignities of domestic U.S. air travel, most people who know me know of my intense fear and loathing of air travel. So I was pleasantly surprised by a very comfortable and even enjoyable journey to Malaysia. Even in cattle class/economy class, this airline has kept all the little things that I remember from the good ol' days of American flying -- things like food, pillows, blankets, and newspapers. They also appear to have gone out of their way to hire gorgeous women and handsome men as flight attendants, who were all as kind and helpful as they were good-looking.

First, I flew to Kuala Lumpur. Once on board, all the passengers were given health forms to complete along with the usual immigration form. The health form was to help screen for swine flu. It asked if we had any flu or cold symptoms and if we'd traveled in countries with documented transmission of swine flu.

Upon landing, we were met by a mob of gate agents wearing masks and gloves, which made me feel as though I was diseased. They directed us toward a long hallway with cameras suspended from the ceiling. These were the temperature monitors, designed to identify any passenger with a fever. Some people were tagged for a more thorough examination, mostly the elderly. At the end of the hallway, more masked and gloved gate agents stood by silently, collecting the health forms. Most of these agents were women, and wore a hajib (Muslim headscarf) in addition to the protective health gear, which made them look completely swaddled up.

Seeing the hajibs was the first time it occurred to me that I was traveling to an Islamic country, which was new for me. So the airport was full of things I'd never seen before, like signs marking the location of prayer rooms. The stalls in the ladies' room had water hoses (in addition to toilet paper, thankfully), and one corner was set aside for performing ablutions before prayer. One of the chic little stores advertised a line of swimwear that conforms to the standards of modest Islamic dress: long sleeves and pants under a tunic, plus an attached hajib, made out of normal swimwear material.

I've since learned that the airline also supports Muslims by providing a prayer room in the back of the plane (at least on the Boeing 777), an in-flight prayer guide in several languages, and halal meals. And the flight map provided on the entertainment system has an option to display the direction toward Mecca.

My attention was captured by the diversity of the passengers walking through the airport. Women from India wore colorful silk saris and bright gold jewelry. One airport worker had a red spot painted on her forehead and a gold piercing in her nose, in addition to her uniform. Traditional-minded men wore batik shirts and a black, fez-like hat. Some Muslim women wore a plain, pale-colored hajib with ordinary Western clothes, while others were draped completely in black, showing only the eyes, sports shoes peeking out beneath the hem. The young Chinese and other East Asian travelers seemed to be the most Westernized, wearing printed t-shirts, shorts, and jeans. It was really startling to see a group of miniskirted, high-heeled young women standing next to a woman wearing the full black Islamic dress.

In Penang, I was met by the hotel driver. In a silver Mercedes! Right away, I had a good feeling about this little holiday.