SIN and MY

I went with four friends from Narita to Singapore airport on Friday night, April 25th. The flight was longer than I expected: about 7.5 hours! I guess Asia is pretty big, after all. Singapore is only a half degree above the equator - which should give you some idea how far away it is from Japan. Its location means that it is very tropical and that it has basically equal days and nights year round. We arrived very late Friday night (actually about 2am Saturday morning) so we stayed at the airport transit hotel rather than trying to make it to a hostel in the city. You can stay for 6 hours at a time, which was enough for us to sleep so we felt refreshed and ready for our first day in Singapore. (As an aside, the Singapore airport has been named the best in the world about six years in a row. I can completely understand why. Lots of places to eat are open 24 hours, there is free internet, there's that hotel, there's a fitness center and a swimming pool, a spa...you could spend days in the airport without ever venturing out into the city!)

We had an early start on Saturday, setting off with our bags by train into the city to our hostel. It was definitely hot, even early in the morning! Our hostel was in Little India, which was a very interesting neighborhood full of Indian shops (selling saris, Indian foods and spices, Indian music, and gold jewelry) and plenty of Indians. As it turns out, it was a good place to stay as far as atmosphere. Singapore is pretty bland, in general. For tourists there isn't that much exciting to do or see. There is the downtown business district with skyscrapers, a couple of cute riverside quayes with restaurants and cafes, the famous esplanade area with the characteristic twin round, spiny theaters....and lots of shopping. Even in Lonely Planet, the traveller with two days in Singapore is basically instructed to eat lots of delicious food (of that there is plenty) and go shopping. We saw what sights there were to see and followed LP's instructions.

Singapore is pretty clean and modern, even compared to Japan. In the subways, the ticket system is a map touch-screen system. Apparently chewing gum is still illegal (for littering/cleanliness purposes) except with a prescription. Prices are lower than in Japan but still significantly higher than in the rest of Southeast Asia. I guess Singapore was a good introduction to Malaysia, which is MUCH farther removed from Japan in terms of overall atmosphere. For some reason, Singapore felt a little bit like Disneyland to me (and to other members of my travelling crew). Maybe because it's very clean, for starters. Then there's the fact that it's a relatively new city/nation. It was put on the map by its colonial oppressor, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles in 1819. Before he snared it for its key location as a hub of trade, I think it was basically undeveloped swampland. This newness comes through in kind of strange ways. You know how in older cities, you can see levels and layers of growth? After a while there's no room to build more things that stand alone, so the new gets incorporated in with the old. In Singapore there is still plenty of room, so each building has a very autonomous feel. A colonial-style government building might be right next to a mosque, right next to a super-modern skyscraper. Each style retains its own characteristics and does not have to do much to blend in with the other styles. Kind of like at Disneyland!

We spent two full days in Singapore, and at the end of the second day, got on an overnight train to Kuala Lumpur. It was a decidedly coach-class journey (the train bathrooms were the most appalling I've seen yet) and we had to get out at the Malaysian border to be herded through customs. Everyone got off the train and stood in line, then re-boarded the train for a few more hours. We arrived in KL very early (6:30am) so we arrived at our hostel before 8. In this tropical culture, not much gets started that early in the morning, so we weren't able to do too much other than eat a breakfast of champions (fish ball soup and iced coffee) and wait for things to start happening. We ended up taking a bus out to the Batu Caves, which were made famous when an American naturalist discovered them in the late 1800s. They are a series of limestone caves, with 272 steps leading up to the main one. There are Hindu shrines in these caves and it's the site of a major festival in January or February. There are plenty of pesky monkeys who live on the hillside that like to get fed by tourists and who will snatch your belongings if you're not careful with them. The huge gold statue at the base of the hundreds of steps is a pretty impressive sight...but I could have done without the huge number of mosquito bites I got in those damp caves.

In KL, our hostel was in the Golden Triangle area, which has a lot of interesting restaurants and cafes. The usual Malaysian fare was present: Malay cuisine, Indian, Chinese; we ate at a Lebanese restaurant the first night we were there. Hummus! Tabouleh! Another ever-present feature of KL, and especially in the Golden Triangle, is foot reflexology and massage parlors. My friend Lauren and I had 40 minutes of foot reflexology, including a hot soak, Chinese tea, hot compresses for our stomachs, and hot shoulder pillows. It was amazing! They gave us this chart of our feet, so we could tell what parts of the body corresponded to the parts of the feet they were working on. I had no idea my feet had so many kinks and painful spots! After a few days of sightseeing and city-walking, it was definitely a welcome indulgence. I felt like I was walking on new feet afterwards...

Kuala Lumpur is a really interesting city. Its Muslim influences are strong, and can be seen in the architecture. Many of its skyscrapers have elements of Islamic art. The Petronas towers are perhaps the most famous example of this style of building. They are the world's tallest twin towers and are surprisingly graceful for huge metal structures. There are quite a few mosques in the city, some quite extensive and ornate. You can hear the beautiful sounds of the call to prayer several times a day. We visited Merdeka (Independence) Square, which is a big green lawn with a tall flagpole at one end. In August 1957, the Malaysian flag was raised there for the first time to declare Malaysia's independence. There is also a strong Chinese influence, and of course there is a fairly large Chinatown. There is a Little India.

Basically, KL is buzzing with constant activity. People are loud, traffic is fast and wild, the cheap hawker food (food stalls) are always full and always dishing out delicious fare. Vendors at kiosks sell freshly-cut tropical fruit of all kinds. I ate tropical fruit every single day. Mango, papaya, pineapple, watermelon, starfruit, and other delicious fruits that I'd never seen before and can't identify (crystal apple?). KL is also a shoppers' paradise of sorts. Attached to the Petronas towers is the most gigantic shopping mall you've ever seen. I didn't spend much time in there at all, but it did come in handy when we passed through KL again on the way to the beach: there was a bookstore! With an extensive collection of English-language books! This is a rare treat. Even in Tokyo there isn't a bookstore with such a good selection.

Of course I can't report on any travels of mine without commenting on the food in extensive detail. I chronicled nearly every single meal we ate in photos. And there were some delicious things worth chronicling. Malaysian cuisine is excellent! Its influences are from Indian and Chinese cuisine, and of course traditional Malay dishes. The Indian influence means that it's easy to get a delicious vegetarian meal. Many Malay meals are served on banana leaves. This is apparently designed to stimulate the appetite (the scent of the banana leaf is supposed to be released when something hot - usually rice - is laid on top). I'm not sure this actually works but it's fun to eat off of a banana leaf instead of a plate. We ate one meal called nasi kandar. You get a plate of rice, upon which is heaped some kind of curry that you choose (chicken, vegetable, spicy or not spicy) and then some other veggie mixtures. Then a bunch of sauces from all the curries available are poured on top of the whole thing. It sounds like a mess but believe me, it's absolutely delicious. Another great thing to eat is called nasi lemak. This is a traditional dish that can be eaten any time, but especially at breakfast. On a banana leaf is a mound of coconut rice, and around the rice is a hard-boiled egg, a fried and dried fish or crunchy fish flakes, peanut pieces, slices of cucumber, and a spicy red prawn sauce. You mix together all these ingredients however you please and eat up! I had nasi lemak twice. Once it was at a kind of posh restaurant, and I had a fancy shrimp, four slices of cucumber, and various little vessels and pots with the ingredients in them. I paid 18 ringgit for this. (About 6 dollars.) The second one was just about as tasty but much more bare-bones. One slice of cucumber and half an egg. This perfect breakfast weighed in at exactly 2 ringgit. In KL, we ate plenty of Indian food, too. Lauren and I went to a place suggested by our LP - a vegetarian Indian restaurant that was full to bursting with locals. This was the first time I'd been in a proper Indian restaurant, where everyone eats with their hands. There is a sink where you walk in so you can wash your hands before and after your meal. You need to! After that meal I had the best cup of chai tea I've ever had - definitely made with a masala blend of real spices. You could see the traces of the cardamom, cloves, and whatever else was in there.

After KL, we escaped the heat and the bustle for a couple of nights, going north to central Peninsular Malaysia to Cameron Highlands. This area is known for its tea and strawberry plantations and its mossy forests. The guesthouse we stayed at arranges tours. We took the "Morning Madness" tour, to which we had to report at 6am - before sunrise. Our guide was a man named Kumar, who grew up in the Highlands and has spent his entire life educating himself about everything one could know about the natural features of his home. He took us up to the highest peak in the area, and there we climbed a lookout tower to watch the sunrise. When it came up, we descended to a breakfast of hot tea (prepared by Kumar with his portable camp stove) and banana bread. He then scared us all by dangling all kinds of creepy-crawlies in our faces (millipedes, cicadas, moths)...and then led us on a very muddy, very intrepid "interpretive walk" through the mossy forest. It was fascinating. He told us about all kinds of flora and plant systems, especially about the healing and medicinal properties of the plants that we saw. There was even a wild cinnamon tree - I ate a piece of the bark and it was spicier than any cinnamon candy I've ever had. After the walk, we went to a tea plantation and - what else? - drank tea and ate scones and strawberry jam. Very English. More English than the English.

After the Highlands, Lauren and I passed through KL for one more night en route to our final destination: Tioman Island. My friend who lives in KL recommended a great, run-down, no-frills "resort" on a very quiet beach on the island. She did not steer us wrong. You take the bus from KL to the mainland town of Mersing. From Mersing you take a ferry to Tioman. Then - because we'd called ahead and made a reservation - the guy who runs the place came and picked us up in his speedboat. He zipped us and our huge backpacks about 10 minutes around the south side of the island, through crystal blue water. At our beach, we hopped out of the boat - no shoes! waded through the surf to go ashore - and sank into island paradise. For three nights and two days I think we saw a total of 15 people or less. No shoes, no real clothes - just a bathing suit and a sarong. No schedule except what I dictated to myself. The first day I swam from one end of the beach to the other, and back. The second day I did handstands in the water for 20 minutes - because I wanted to! There were hammocks in the shade of palm trees in which I lazed about and read my books. We had one of the beachfront "bungalows" (shacks, really! haha) and it was amazing to just open the door in the morning and see the water. There was a little restaurant where we could get everything we needed. If you want water, beer, or a can of juice, you just take it from the fridge yourself. If you want coffee, pancakes or an omelette for breakfast, freshly-blended watermelon juice or a plate of fruit for lunch, or one of many delicious spicy dinner dishes (tomato chili calamari and fish curry were notables), you just write your order on a little slip of paper and ding a little bell. Truly, it was a slice of paradise. No pretentions, no frills, just friendly people and gorgeous scenery.

I was very sad to leave the island for the long trek back to Singapore and then back to Japan. Not too much is notable from the trip, except that the customs going INTO Singapore is unbelieveably strict! The facility is not just some hut in the middle of the road. It is a GIANT building with a soaring tent-like metal roof, and it looks like it could be an airport or a major train station. But it's just customs! I actually got taken into one of the back rooms because my passport is kind of old and the digital scan never works. Normally the customs official just types my passport number into the system. Here, though, I was basically detained (for about 10 minutes) in some back chamber with lots of computers and people with official-looking headsets while I guess they ran some checks on my passport. I actually have no idea what they did because they didn't tell me anything. They just took my passport from me and held it until they were done doing whatever and I was free to pass through. Even though I knew I had nothing to worry about...it still made me kind of nervous to get held up like that!

This taste of Southeast Asia has only whetted my appetite for my longer trip in August. Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos are on the agenda - or at least as much of them as we can see in four weeks. It was kind of a bummer to come back to Japan, not least of all because the weather was unseasonably cold and rainy. The weather in Malaysia was warmer than in Japan, but I'd say the culture was also warmer. People are more laid-back, less formal, less rigid. Even shopgirls in headscarfs who start off by staring at you as you walk by break into huge grins and say hello as soon as you smile at them. Anyway, I've got just under 12 weeks left in Japan (and at work) and I'm determined to make them great!