Sneaking into the Office to Catch Back Up
It’s been quite a while since I woke up in my own bed with my familiar cat, Mama, lying next to me. It’s great to be back home and to vault again into my two-ring circus of a job. I did of course do what bosses often do and snuck […]
Oh So Clean After Using This Eco Washer Toilet
I want one of these for my house. This toilet in the Grand Millenium Hotel in Kuala Lumpur takes care of everything, Watch as the little spout pops out to spray water then goes back again. Just don’t use it if you’re not sitting down!
The Elephants of Kuala Gandah Pop to the Top
After twenty plus hours sitting in the back of a plane, I reached the familiar house where I grew up near Princeton NJ late last night. Nat and Val were eager to find out about the trip. What I love about my two parents is that they are always so […]
Taking the Stage As the Arab Street Looks On
We took a walk after dinner and came upon a festival, with pulsing rhythmic Arab music flowing from a corner of two streets in the Golden Triangle. It was the Festival Sampah, and the people crowding the stage and dancing wildly were all Arab. The music was hypnotic, the pulsing […]
The Great Hornbill, Sarawak’s Symbol
The Great Hornbill is among the most impressive birds that we saw in Kuala Lumpur’s giant bird park, located in the ‘green lung of the city,’ a series of parks and a giant mosque. Strolling down lanes under a huge green canopy, there were all manner of birds, from owls […]
Hey Mister, You Want a Massage?
Tonight about nine I took a stroll down the big boulevard in the Golden Triangle to get a bite. I wanted to get something simple, and continue my tradition of eating native, (cheap). So I strolled down past about four dozen men and some sexy young women waving laminated placards […]
It’s an Acquired Taste…That I’ll Never Acquire
“It tastes like the best tasting thing you can think of, vanilla ice cream, or chocolate cake, in the toilet.” This was how Sara described the fruit that is distinctly Malaysian…the stinky durian. “My grandmother used to buy a huge four-foot bin of these, and we’d eat every single one […]
Where Arabs Prefer to Visit Instead of Melaka
We learned about the patterns that bring different nationalities to Kuala Lumpur from our guide, Sara. Each country seems to prefer their own type of relaxation. Each comes at different times–July and August are Arab times, and February is when Iranian visitors come to KL. The Indian visitors, she said, […]
A Tiny Boy Enjoys South Indian Food in Melaka
We’ve just arrived in the Portuguese explorer city of Melaka, on Malaysia’s west coast. This city is famous for the Straits of Mallaca, where pirates lurk, and for being a UNESCO World Heritage Sight. I remember being here in 2006; we even stayed in the same hotel, which is called […]
Watch Out For Falling Stinky Fruit
In the Meleka Palace Hotel in Kuching there was a sign above the elevator, warning that ‘no durian fruits were allowed on the premises.’ I read the local paper today to discover a photo of a man wearing a motorcycle helmet, holding one of these famously stinky, spiky fruits. Durian, […]
The Mysterious Abaya-clad Women in the Mall
Sony and I find the women behind these abayas to be both mysterious and frustrating. Mysterious because I keep wondering how they sneeze and how they drink coffee with that thing on…and how do their sunglasses not fall off their noses? At the buffet this morning a woman wearing an […]
Malaysia is a Groaning Buffet
You can judge a country by the way they eat…and Malaysia certainly tops my list of culinary wonderlands. It’s just that there are so many choices…and everything, almost, is really good. Ok, last night I did sample a ‘national dessert’ of shaved ice with three different syrups that I left […]
Letting Little Fish Nibble Your Skin is The Rage in KL
“Have you been to the fish spa?” asked Sara, our guide. “Oh you’ve got to try it, I tell everyone.” she said brightly. “In fact I am going there after I drop you off at the hotel!” The fish spa, we learned, is a place called Kenko, on an upper […]
In Kuala Lumpur, Protests Over Fuel Prices
In a drenching rain we’ve arrived in Kuala Lumpur, a city of 4.5 million with a pulsing, oil-fueled heart. What’s new since I was last here in 2006? More shopping. The names that rich Asians love, like Hugo Boss, Cartier, and Juicy Couture, all lined up here in the famous […]
A Walk Along the Kuching Waterfront Reveals Splendor and Noodle Goodness
This stunning building is almost finished on the banks of the muddy Sarawak River in downtown Kuching. It’s the new parliament building, as grand as a palace and something unlike anything you’d see in the US. We prefer our edifi to be blocky, and big, this one is grand, tall […]
What is Sarawak like?
The streets are crowded with cars, small trucks and motorbikes. The sidewalks are porticos, stuffed with vendors, sellers of all manner of goods. The interiors of the shops are dark, inhabited by Chinese men and young girls, silently waiting there for customers. You walk beneath the ceilings of the stores […]
South China Sea Dip
The South China sea is extraordinarily warm. It’s gentle and feels like a bath, and I floated out and put my ears beneath the waves and exalted in that splendor of nothing, of not hearing anything for just a few brief moments. Sony also loved being on the beach and […]
Mojitos in Hand, Chatting Up Concertgoers
The nicest thing about this big Rainforest World Music Festival are the people we’ve met. We got to the Sarawac Cultural Village early, and we sat on bamboo matts and drank mojitos. While lounging on big pillows we met a couple from Singapore with two young boys. He is an […]