Between flights at the Singapore Changi Airport, I stopped by this convenient free internet terminal, after two young boys were finally summoned away by their father. Unlike in other places where I’ve seen these, this free internet has no strings. No ads, no pop-ups, no clunky keyboard fixed in place, […]
A few days ago we joined up with another group of writers on the same fam, these were all from Canada and the west coast. One young writer named William Karz told a story about his experience for two months in an Israeli army boot camp. Apparently Americans and others […]
On this our last full day in Malaysia, we took the ferry back to Terrengamu and then a long bus ride up the coast to Kota Bhuru, “The Islamic City.” On the way we glimpsed scenes that tell the story about this country, I jotted them down as we drove. […]
We’ve been given a day for relaxing at the Berjaya Redang Beach Resort off the coast near Terengganu, Malaysia. This slice of white sand beach is an oasis on a very rugged and undeveloped island in the South China Sea. The first thing you see when you debark the small […]
GOALLLLLLL! went to bed early then asked for a 2 am wake-up call. The World Cup was in high gear, I entered a room full of screaming fans, inexplicably all of these Malaysians are die-hard Italy fans. They set up rows of chairs and brought us coffee, fresh juices, noodles, […]
We’ve arrived in Terenggamu, on Malaysia’s eastern coast, and we are staying in the Primula Beach resort here. The town is decidedly more conservative and poorer than KL, we see that in that nearly all the women are wearing headscarves and there are fewer high rises and more shacks. The […]
The main event was last night..Citrawarna,the Colours of Malaysia, the big shindig that the Tourism board brought us all here to see. It did not disappoint, beginning with the resplendent arrival of the King and Queen themselves. Alighting from the Royal float, festively decorated in yellow, the king, a short […]
Last night we partied Muslim style! I got an email from cousin Steve warning me about Islamic terrorists and another from my sweet Cindy worried about pirates in the Straits of Malacca. Well we drove right by them thar straits and saw a boat out in the water. I kept […]
This morning we attended a huge tourism conference organized to promote tourism in Malaysia. More than 400 travel writers and agents from 33 countries were in the big hall, and among these delegates were men in suits from Iran. I have always wanted to go to Iran and write a […]
It’s six-thirty am here in Melaka, (the alternate spelling for this town we’re in on the Malaysian coast) and it’s six-thirty PM where I live. So no need to change my watch, but we’re in different zones, I’m just going into 7/7 and they are winding up 7/6. At the […]
Reading the Sun newspaper in KL and found a sad story. There was a diagram that showed the path of a young mother, who walked with her three kids down a street, around a hedge, and onto the train tracks, just ahead of a big curve. You can guess what […]
Today’s first stop was the ornate palace of the king. Outside the guilded gates, soldiers stood in crisp uniforms, leaning against silver guns, while tourists snapped photos of their relatives hanging out next to the men. Other guards sat on horseback, while click, click went the cameras. The gates suddenly […]