It's been a busy few weeks since my week off in Borneo. Outside of school I've been getting around to some of the surrounding areas. While I'd rather be living downtown, Subang Jaya - known by the Canadian teachers as "the Mississauga of Kuala Lumpur" - has been a good travel hub. It's own undesirable characteristics make travelling out all the more desirable. As a result, for every one of the past few weekends I've gotten out of Subang Jaya/KL.
A few weeks ago I headed west to the straits of Malacca. These waters were once part of a 
famous trade route between India and China, and in more recent history (the past 200 years) dominance over this channel became the subject of bloody colonial wars. Now, they're an infamous stomping ground for pirates. I hopped on a short ferry that took me to a mangrove island with a fishing village. Near the port the place was relatively busy (it was a weekend, and only a fairly cheap train ride from downtown KL), but it really quiet when I wandered out into the outskirts. I walked around for a few hours in bliss of the fact the island doesn't have a single car on it. The whole thing is made up of elevated walkways and houses on stilts - because of tide fluctuations, I assume. SJ is not pedestrian friendly, and I doubt that car owners suffer under any emissions regulations, so it was sweet relief to walk freely in a town that seemed entirely at odds with SJ. Beneath me skuttered hermit crabs, stray dogs and mudskippers...living in relative harmony.
famous trade route between India and China, and in more recent history (the past 200 years) dominance over this channel became the subject of bloody colonial wars. Now, they're an infamous stomping ground for pirates. I hopped on a short ferry that took me to a mangrove island with a fishing village. Near the port the place was relatively busy (it was a weekend, and only a fairly cheap train ride from downtown KL), but it really quiet when I wandered out into the outskirts. I walked around for a few hours in bliss of the fact the island doesn't have a single car on it. The whole thing is made up of elevated walkways and houses on stilts - because of tide fluctuations, I assume. SJ is not pedestrian friendly, and I doubt that car owners suffer under any emissions regulations, so it was sweet relief to walk freely in a town that seemed entirely at odds with SJ. Beneath me skuttered hermit crabs, stray dogs and mudskippers...living in relative harmony.The next weekend I went down to Malacca with a 
number of the Canadian teachers. Malacca is the oldest colonial town in South-East Asia, and has the best feel of any place I've been to in Malaysia.
number of the Canadian teachers. Malacca is the oldest colonial town in South-East Asia, and has the best feel of any place I've been to in Malaysia. The downtown is made up of tight streets, old colonial buildings and dozens of temples and mosques from the 19th century. From the downtown there wasn't an office building in sight. Some of the streets were even blocked off for pedestrians - I was amazed. On the way home we had a beautiful drive along a local highway (spotted wild monkeys and domesticated water buffalo) and stopped on a near-clean beach to watch the sunset.
The car we drove down in was amusingly shoddy: there were no seat belts in the back, a tape player and radio that fell off when we tried to turn it on, a driver side window that didn't work (and it was toll roads all the way down), a trunk the popped open every 10-15 minutes of the 2 hour drive home, an ignition that refused to work on two occasions, windshield wipers that smeared rather than cleared during the thunderstorm on the way home...I know there was more. I realize that when you rent at what the agency calls a "dirt cheap" price, you get a dirt car.
This past weekend I took a bus trip down to Singapore, which is on the tip of Peninsular Malaysia. The bus was the total opposite of the car: it was a double-decker with a lounge on the lower level, dinner service and huge reclining seats. I have a cousin who's been living down there for the past 15 years and he and his wife put me up on Friday and Saturday. It was strange and welcome to see family being so far from home. I'm certainly lucky to have them here. 
Singapore is newly one of my favourite cities. Due to decades of stability under a single-party rule, and the fact that the country is so geographically small, long range plans have been effectively implemented. The river is clean and has a public walking path on each side, there are beautifully manicured parks everywhere, every street has a sidewalk, the museum is well resourced (and well air conditioned), and apparently it's one of the world's safest countries.
On the other hand, freedom of press is restricted, and their punishments for breaking some particular laws seem inconceivable from a Canadian perspective. On the more innocent and amusing side, you can't spit or chew gum in public, and you will be fined $800CDN for littering. The sign below should say: "BE FINANCIALLY VIABLE: Pick up your dog's poo." Food, beer and activities are also just as expensive as Toronto - a bit of a shock having come from Malaysia.
In two days I'm off to Sumatra for a week. It's Indonesia's largest island and is known for having lots of trees and not too many people. I'm heading over with a different colleague this time. The plan is to take the ferry across the Strait of Malacca (yarrr!!!) to the mid-point of the island (Dumai) and then rent motorbikes and head north, stopping for hikes along the way. Nothing's been planned, so I imagine that I may end up with an entirely different story about the experience on the next blog. Until then...
