sojourner librarian: kuala lumpur

(an alley in penang). shayla, my next door neighbor, and assistant to the dean, asked me today where we were last. earlier, i had wondered the same. clearly we’re wearing down. all the ports are starting to blur together. while in malaysia, i spent a day in penang and two nights and one full day in kuala lumpur. the difference from india was huge. well, that’s a useless statement. most places are different from india. aspects of malaysia are very modern and very western – the roads (better than ours), the stores (all the food chains everywhere; many of the same non-food products), the language (most speak english, although it’s not an official language); and their own little silicone valley. they differ from the u.s. most in that they have a thriving manufacturing economy – palm oil, rubber, electronics, and only 3% unemployment.

for the first time in my life, i participated in a bus tour – you know one of those hop on, hop off sightseeing tours. both were semester at sea field trips, one a “city orientation” in penang the day we arrived, and the other a kuala lumpur (kl) trip. after fumbling around cities on my own, albeit happily, i thought i was ready to just get on a bus and be escorted around. not. these buses are what distinguish the travelers from the tourists. mostly, i saw a lot of chinese tourists, and school children on field trips. in addition to limiting opportunities to truly discover stuff and meet local people, the experience is mind numbing. the only perk is air conditioning, but i still prefer the natural ac of indian rickshaw rides.

to make matters worse, i didn’t realize until hours before docking in penang that i was assigned to be the trip leader for the kl trip. this meant i had to keep track of and supervise large numbers of students, students who would be spending two nights in a kl hotel room. college students and hotel rooms aren’t a good mix, especially in a country where some drug offences carry the death penalty. ok, no i didn’t expect this type of problem, but a call from the front desk in the middle of the night wasn’t out of the question. didn't happen either, but our tour guide did say that students were dancing and singing in the hotel lobby in the middle of the night. i got out of being trip leader, by agreeing to be a bus leader, thinking it might be less responsibility. not. when there are three buses of kids, 120 total, at two different hotels, a group at your hotel and another at the official trip leader's hotel, essentially there is no difference between a trip and bus leader? the biggest drawback to either position, is that you can’t opt out of any of the itinerary, unlike the students. they’re not totally foolish, except for the fact they spend all their time shopping for clothes and accessories that they can get at home from the same retailers. the exchange rate is only $3.44 rm to a dollar, so it’s not like they’re saving that much money, especially when many will be shipping purchases back home from honolulu or san diego. however, for many disposable income is their middle name.

many not only opted out of parts of the itinerary, but some flew back to penang or other points, instead of coming back to the ship with the group on the bus. they are resourceful, i’ll give them that. whatever they want, they tend to find it and get it.

well after hopping on and off a bus for three days, i was ready for a day in kl to myself, which of course wasn’t part of the itinerary. 20-45 minutes at museums, pagodas, temples, monuments, palaces, gardens and some drive by architectural viewings was most of what i did in malaysia. oh and of course, reminding students not to talk over the tour guide, to be on time, and keeping track of who had decided to leave the group and do their own thing. i was envious. oh, and i use to like chinese food. i know billions of chinese eat it everyday, but i need some variety, especially in kl, where i saw every type of ethnic restaurant imaginable. i suppose only the chinese, known for their huge banquets, can easily accommodate 120 guests at once.

the one evening we did have to ourselves, we had a great dinner at a malay restaurant one of the hotel workers recommended (he even called the restaurant to make sure we arrived safely). my stuffed squid in a ginger-tumeric sauce, with a fragrant rice, with fruit relishes was perfect. the atmosphere and decor was minimalist chic with a young multiethnic crowd - people from different ethnic groups were seated at each table, and many tables were mixed - very cosmopolitan. the restaurant was in a neighborhood where there were all sorts of bars, restaurants, and cafes that catered to young, hip, locals, rather than the bars and restaurants that cater to young tourists, like our students, who want to get drunk and dance to deafening music in an environment, where the ability to communicate isn't a priority.

when i turned in my bus leader folder (paperwork - how many kids you left and returned with, evaluations, etc.) and first aid kit (another drawback to being bus/trip leader is having to carry around a fanny pack full of drugs and other first aid materials. during one of the numerous orientations at the beginning of the voyage, dr. matt passed on some professional inside information for emergency situations – “bleeding eventually stops.” great stuff huh?), i left a note for the field program office to not assign me to be trip/bus leader for my next tour which will be 5 day trip in china, and require flights from hong kong to beijing, beijing to xi’an, and xi’an to quindao.

with all the bus riding, i did get a lot of reading done, most of foreign babes in beijing, behind the scenes of a new china, which is fun and culturally informative, but not what i'd call great writing.

in kl i bought a device to easily upload my pictures with. other great finds in kl were ricola cough drops, to comfort me from an allergy cough that has been an ongoing problem; hagen daaz; and dare i say it, starbucks coffee, my first decent, non-expresso cup of coffee since cape town.

penang architecture: