Melaka, Malaysia, 2006
I took the train through to Butterworth Malaysia. When I arrived, a man immediately offered me a bus ticket to Kuala Lumpur (K.L.) for 24 Ringit (about eight dollars Canadian).
I was sitting on the bench waiting for the bus and feeling pretty smug until a fellow traveller asked me: "Do you think these are real tickets." Taga san is from Japan and he had heard that there were many crooked people who sold fake tickets and then left passengers waiting for nothing. It turned out this bus was for real though.
When I got on the bus, I met this Malaysian who was on his way to KL for a job interview. There are a lot of people heading for the Capital where the wages are better and the lifestyle fast and modern.
I met Jo (Johannes) from Brussels. We went down the street for a Rotti breakfast where we happened to meet a couple he had met years before. The woman is "Yo-Yo" and her boyfriend is from England.
My biggest reason for coming to Malaysia was to meet up with Ted, who I work with in Calgary Canada, and his new wife; Bee, who was born and raised in Melaka.
The woman on the far left is Bee's mother. Next to her is her maid from Indonesia. Many people come over from that Island to work for Malaysians on contract.
Ted and Bee took me to see this full sized replica of an ancient Portuguese ship. Melaka was one of the most important Ports for trading in Asia. I have been reading a lot of Wilbur Smith books so I have a great interest in these vessels.
We saw an uncanny resemblance between Captain Cooke and Ted.
Then we went for some traditional Malaysian food. I find that there is a lot more variety to the Malaysian food than I find with Thai food. Malaysians use a lot of rich creamy sauce in their cooking.
I was sitting on the bench waiting for the bus and feeling pretty smug until a fellow traveller asked me: "Do you think these are real tickets." Taga san is from Japan and he had heard that there were many crooked people who sold fake tickets and then left passengers waiting for nothing. It turned out this bus was for real though.
When I got on the bus, I met this Malaysian who was on his way to KL for a job interview. There are a lot of people heading for the Capital where the wages are better and the lifestyle fast and modern.
I met Jo (Johannes) from Brussels. We went down the street for a Rotti breakfast where we happened to meet a couple he had met years before. The woman is "Yo-Yo" and her boyfriend is from England.
My biggest reason for coming to Malaysia was to meet up with Ted, who I work with in Calgary Canada, and his new wife; Bee, who was born and raised in Melaka.
The woman on the far left is Bee's mother. Next to her is her maid from Indonesia. Many people come over from that Island to work for Malaysians on contract.
Ted and Bee took me to see this full sized replica of an ancient Portuguese ship. Melaka was one of the most important Ports for trading in Asia. I have been reading a lot of Wilbur Smith books so I have a great interest in these vessels.
We saw an uncanny resemblance between Captain Cooke and Ted.
Then we went for some traditional Malaysian food. I find that there is a lot more variety to the Malaysian food than I find with Thai food. Malaysians use a lot of rich creamy sauce in their cooking.
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