Serendah: A Glass House in the jungle

Recently went on an off-the-beaten-path adventure in the jungles of Malaysia. We took a bus from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. The bus ride itself was part of the adventure, because we booked on an "executive coach" promising personal entertainment sets, massaging chairs, food & beverage services and leather seats. Sounds glamorous, no? Well, not really. When you wipe the arm rest of the seat with an antiseptic cloth, a lighter streak reveals that the seat is actually totally covered in grime. You cannot feel the "massage" either because the bus itself vibrates/rattles so much. The food was slightly worse than airplane food, and in order to enjoy the entertainment system you need bring your own headset (because you won't want to use the ones they provide)! Anyway, still faster and cheaper than any airline, so we endured the 5 hour ride in anticipation of a relaxing weekend in the jungle.

In KL, we rented a car from Hertz - a locally manufactured car called a Proton Waja. Not too bad considering the jalopy of a taxi we rode to get from the bus stop to the rental place. I got a bit nervous about the stickers on the dashboard that were a dead-giveaway that this was a rental, and therefore a potential prime target for thiefs and crooks. Darin did a great job of driving through the mad and very confusing traffic of KL at rush hour on a Friday where they tend to change the directions of lanes as needed. Of course, you cannot see this on a map, so a two way street suddenly turns into a one-way street and before you know it, you are jam-packed and stuck in traffic with thousands of devotees on their way to prayers at the mosque.

We drove about an hour north of KL to a little tiny town called Serendah. From there, we took a few (very scenic) meandering dirt roads into the boonies, past 2 Orang Asli villages to the retreat in the jungle. The Orang Asli are the indigenous minority peoples of Peninsular Malaysia. The name is a Malay term which means 'original man' or 'first peoples.' (Incidentally, Orangutan is a Malay word, and means "man from the forest"). They (the Orang Asli, not the Orangutans) still live in simple, often delapidated shacks with no sign of electricity or facilities such as toilets or running water.

Two little scruffy looking boys standing by the side of the road, surprised us by throwing a big rock at our car as we slowly drove by. We didn't stop, but we heard the father shouting loudly at them as we drove off in shock. I am sure the got in trouble, but luckily our Proton wasn't damaged.

The Serendah Glass House: Sekeping Serendah is a private house/shed that is very transparent to allow you to fully enjoy the beauty of the natural environment surrounding them. The sheds are intentionally kept basic and free from lavishness. They are seen more as ‘glorified tents’ to provide basic shelter - so one step up from camping. There were these hand-made iron wire chairs everywhere that were very uncomfortable and there were a number of bugs and mosqitoes that feasted on my body, but other than that, the glass house was very comfortable, relaxing and very quiet - no tv, phone or radio. Just the basics.

We had a great time just getting away from it all, cooking food on an open fire, listening to the sounds of the jungle, catching up on napping and reading, and being awakened at dawn by the sunlight pouring in through the glass walls.

Glass House, Serendah, Malaysia

American in Singapore

The clock is ticking and we have about a month left in Singapore! I thought I would record some of my observations before they are lost in the dark recesses of my brain. These are just random observations.

In Mexico, I am a Gringo. Here, I am an Ang Moh. I don't think it's a derogatory term. At least, that's what they tell me.

In America, we visit tanning salons and buy lotions to make our skin darker. Here, they buy whitening cream to appear more "fair".

Public transit here is amazing. The buses have a GPS system and you can send a text message to find out if the bus is near your stop. There is a smart card that you can use at on every bus and train throughout the country. You tap the reader with your card when you board, and tap when you get off. It automatically deducts the proper fare based on the distance travelled.

Some city buses have satellite television. I watched Singapore Idol for several weeks on the Express Bus from Jurong to Orchard Road.

Many people here have maids from the Philippines or Thailand. It is not uncommon to read about a maid who has been verbally or physically abused by a Chinese housewife. I have also read about several maids who fell to their deaths while hanging laundry out of the window in a high-rise apartment.

There are no laws against drunk driving here. Only "drink driving" is illegal.

You don't "get off" the bus. You "alight". Sounds much more graceful than something I would do every day.

There is no tipping in restaurants and no server is assigned to your table. They will NEVER bring the bill unless you flag them down and ask for it. This is because it is considered rude to bring the bill before you ask because it implies that you should vacate your seat. Once we learned this, we were much less furious when dining out. Just stick your hand in the air, and someone will come help you. I actually like it better than the American system. If you flag down the wrong person in an American restaurant, they will say "let me find your waitress for you". Here, they just take care of you.

In general, service staff in Asia are better than what I've seen in the West. Here, they are more attentive and proactive. They anticipate your needs and take action.

Most carriers serve free alcohol in coach. The service on Singapore Airlines is so superior to any that you will receive in America that it's embarrassing. American Airlines should change their name to Kazakstan Airlines based on the comparative quality of service they offer. Let me illustrate a couple of examples:

Singapore Airlines screens its employees for customer service skills and good looks. The men and women are young and attractive and seem most happy when they are filling a request.

American Airlines employees on the Texas to Japan route are grumpy old cows who hide in the galley and give you dirty looks if you ever press the Call button.

On asian flights, you receive an ice cold scented fresh towel as soon as you sit down, and a full hot meal - even on 1 hour flights. You may also order a special meal such as vegetarian, muslim, seafood and others according to your preference or dietary needs. The food is really tasty!

Just recently, an airline steward saw that I was reading and turned on my reading light for me. This has never happened in the history of American aviation.

On American Airlines, if you miss your connection due to a late departure, you get sent to a counter with nobody to help you, three dirty phone, and nothing to write with. "Call the reservation line and sort out your own damn schedule" is their message.

On a recent Malaysian Airlines flight, our departure was delayed 1.5 hours. They hired a caterer to serve hot food, tea, coffee, and juice in the waiting area at the gate! Also notable is the fact that with all the travelling I've done over here, I've only had one late departure.

There is a wide range of foods and wide range of prices. I can eat fish, rice and a vegetable at the local food court, (Yummy Yummy is the name of the food court), for less than two Singapore dollars. Or, I can pay a LOT more for Western food at a proper restaurant. I've yet to eat at a Mexican restaurant where everything didn't taste like curry. I really miss burritos.

There are some foods I really like here, but to be perfectly honest, most of the local food is not appealing to me. Food courts tend to have a fishy, greasy, chicken smell that dampens my appetite. Even though everything is in English, you still don't know what it is. A food court may offer Tom Yam soup, Laksa, Nasi Lemak, Ikan Bilis, and Chicken Rice. I only know what chicken rice is. They take a whole chicken, cook it, and chop the whole thing into slices and serve with rice. Each slice may contain bone, skin, and chewy bits. Much like the Native Americans, Asians waste no part of the animal. This approach is much less wasteful than the American approach, but it takes some getting used to.

One thing I do crave now and then is Durian. It's a spiky smelly fruit that MUST be eaten as soon as you crack open the skin. If you save it for later, you have a stinky mess on your hands. You must also buy good quality Durian and pay dearly for it. As much as $15 SGD per fruit.

Three Nights in Hanoi, Vietnam

We get a long weekend in Singapore for the beginning of Chinese New Year (they call it Lunar New Year here), and Maggie booked a trip to Vietnam for us. We travelled on Vietnam Airlines and experienced the same level of comfort and service one would expect from any airline in the region, (which, for the record, is superior to any American carrier).

We cleared Immigration in Ho Chi Minh City, (formerly Saigon), then boarded a domestic flight to Hanoi. The airport at Ho Chi Minh is clean but tired looking. Our luggage was scanned three times as we made our way from the International Arrivals gate to the Domestic Departures gate.

I was struck by how quickly people would fill any perceived void in a queue. I used body language and my size advantage several times to prevent people from squeezing ahead of me in line. One young Vietnamese lady even tried to squeeze right between me and Maggie as we stood in line to present our boarding passes at the departure gate. Fortunately, it did not take much effort for me to hold my place in line as long as I was vigilant. After nine months in South-east Asia, I have lost most of the concern I once had over being perceived as a rude American.

In Hanoi, we used an ATM to get local currency. The exchange rate is 13,500 dong for 1 U.S. dollar. As in Cambodia, most businesses accept U.S. currency.

Maggie had arranged two guided tours for us through an on-line booking service with a local Vietnam company called Buffalo Tours. Our guide for both days was a somber young man named Hi - 26 year old Vietnamese guy. All tour guides must be trained and certified by the Vietnamese government. Hi said this is to ensure that we get accurate information about the country and the "regime".

Hi harbored a thinly-veiled bitterness about the fact that people in his country were not as wealthy as people in other countries. Just like many people in this region are, Hi seemed jealous of the prosperity that Singapore enjoys. He asked if if I thought that Singaporeans are genetically superior to Vietnamese. I laughed at such an absurd question, but he seemed to think it was relevant. I explained that Singapore is successful because the government is transparent and free from corruption. He acknowledged that Vietnam suffers from corrupt government officials, but did not seem to equate Communism with corruption. He seemed to think that corruption in the Vietnamese government happened in spite of the Communist regime. I did not share my thoughts on the subject.

Hi told us that Vietnam now enjoys a market-based economy and this has made things better for everyone. In fact, Intel is building a chip-manufacturing and testing facility in Vietnam to take advantage of the cheap labor and relaxed environmental laws.

Hi did not explain why the regime still calls itself "communist" when they have a market-based economy. I did not ask. I assume that would be admitting defeat. He used the word "regime" whenever he referred to the government, apparently not realizing that regime is a derogitory term in America.

[side note: Here in Singapore, the word "scheme" is neutral. You will often see banks advertising an investment "scheme". Funny how this word always means something bad in America. Comment from Maggie: same thing in South Africa - the word "scheme" refers to a schema or system - nothing negative at all. In America, no wonder I was met with a long, awkward silence when I asked a member of the Human Resources team to explain the "bonus scheme at Dell" during a fully packed meeting which included regional directors and managers]

Hi told me that he harbors no resentment against America for "the war" He is too young to have fought in the war, and America is just one of many countries to invade Vietnam over the centuries. Just as the Vietnamese successfully pushed the Mongols out of their country, they pushed out the Americans. The Chinese and the French seem to have had the most success occupying parts of Vietnam, and their influence can be seen in the food and the architecture.

Our first trip involved a visit to the Perfume Pagoda, and a hike to a shrine in a huge natural cavern. The only way to reach the pagoda at the base of the mountain was by renting a boat. Most boats were rowed by young Vietnamese ladies. I saw one lady rowing a boat with 13 people in it (see picture). One thing I found interesting is that the person rowing the boat pushes the oars through the water, thus propelling the boat forward. I find it much easier to pull the oars, but then you can't see where you're going.

None of the boat-rowers seemed tired, and I never saw one break a sweat. The journey was about 45 minutes and nobody stopped to rest along the way. The lady rowing with 13 people in her boat kept pace with our boat. Our boat was rowed by a man and had a total of four people, including the guy rowing the boat.

Lunar New Year is an auspicious time to visit a pagoda and pray for good health and prosperity. There were thousands of people making the journey to the pagoda that day, and only about 10 of them appeared to be tourists like us.

Although Hi said it was OK to take pictures inside the pagodas, I felt uncomfortable snapping photos in a place that was packed with people making offerings and praying at the various shrines. Hi said that many of the people only come once a year to pray for prosperity. He said these people are not real Buddhists. (Sounds like some Americans who only go to church at Easter and Christmas. )

When you make an offering at a Buddhist temple, the stuff you place in front of the shrine is collected by the monks for their consumption. Most of the stuff is small bags of rice, fresh fruit, toothpaste and other practical items. Cash is also acceptable. When I noticed a can of beer at one shrine, I asked if monks are allowed to drink beer. (They are not). Hi said that some items are only left on the altar until they are blessed, then you can take it home and share it with your family, in case they couldn't make the pilgramage to the temple. I guess somebody shared that can of beer with his family.

[Side note: Here in Singapore, as in China, "Hungry Ghost Month" is a time when you leave offerings for your ancestors and other ghosts who roam the streets. Small offering tables are set up on the sidewalks, and items you want the ghosts to have in the afterlife are placed on the table. Money must be burned before the ghosts can use it. They sell special ghost money that you burn each night for the ghosts. I mention this because I once saw a can of Guiness on an offering table during Hungry Ghost Month here in Singapore. The ghosts come and take the "essence" of the offerings. In the morning, the trash collector takes the physical item and disposes of it. You never take the beer home to share with your family in this case.]

Buddhist monks are not allowed to kill another living being, so this makes them vegetarians by default. [Sort of.] When we were in Cambodia, our tour guide, (who always smelled of booze and garlic), told us that some monks get hungry for meat and will eat fresh meat if it died a "natural death". Monks will not slaughter a live animal, but if they walk past a market and see chickens in a cage, they will ask the vendor, "Any dead chickens?" The vendor will say, "Sorry, not right now". Later, when the monk walks by the same vendor, one chicken will be dead. The monk will purchase this chicken and take it home to eat. I guess all religions have their loopholes. For some reason, this makes me smile.

Hi also told us that "we the Vietnamese people are carnivores, we eat everything". Everything including dogs, cats and a ratty looking ferret animal called a cevit of which we saw carcases stringed up in local restaurants, complete with blood still streaming from their noses. I kept looking over at Maggie, trying to anticipate the exact minute she would start crying, but she kept a poker face. She quietly announced at lunch-time that she wasn't hungry at all. I didn't blame her. (see pictures of the food we ate, and didn't eat)

I was disappointed to find that the infamous hammer and sycle emblem is not prominent in Vietnam. I only saw it once in downtown Hanoi. I suspect that much like China and other Communist countries, the government of Vietnam finally realized that the educated "elite" are something to be valued, rather than scorned. [During the cultural revolution in China, everyone with a college degree was rounded up and killed or sent to a labor farm. Now, China grants an exeption to the "one child per couple" policy to people who have a PhD.]

Sorry, this is a long entry....

Our second tour involved a 3 hour drive from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay. In Ha Long, there were dozens of boats waiting to take tourists to see the sights. We did not realize until we were on the boat that our $40 USD per person had bought us a three-hour drive from Hanoi, and our own personal chartered boat.

We wound up on a replica of a Chinese junk with a crew of three. They served lunch and warm beer on the boat. (In Vietnam and Thailand, "ice" is pronounced "eye". There was no "eye" on the boat). Hi said that only rich people could afford to charter a boat for two people. Most boats had 20 people on board. Maggie did not disclose that, when booking on-line, we had no idea that we would have a private boat.

[side note: In Cambodia, our tour guide told us that Germans and Koreans are the most obnoxious tourists. They tend to ignore the rules and violate the temples. In Vietnam, Hi told us that Israelis are the worst tourists, because they demand "better" food, etc. than what they have paid for with their tour package.]

View our pictures here:

Vietnam

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Last weekend we went to Siem Reap, in the north of Cambodia. Siem Reap is small charming gateway town to the world famous UNESCO World Heritage sites which comprises a mind-boggling 292 ancient temples . There is no way you can see all of these temples and ruins in 2 days, so we had to cram in as much as possible in our short visit.

After an early morning flight that departed at (an excruciating) 6am from Singapore, we arrived in Cambodia at 7:10am and had to endure the longest customs/immigration process ever. You get a visa-upon-arrival at the airport for which you have to stand in line with your papers, passport and $20 US per person. Then your passport is scrutinized by 9 different officials by handing it down a line. Then you have to stand in a line and wait for you name to be called out (Darin's name had to be called 3 times, because we didn't realise the official was calling Darin when he kept yelling "Deh-REAM"). Then you h ave to wait in line to go through the actual customs, where a picture of you is taken with an outdated web camera. What surprised us the most was that all the computers and monitors were Dell. The entire process took more than an hour.

We were then taken to the Bed and Breakfast called Journeys Within, owned and run by a very young couple from California. The rooms were very spacious and comfortable, overlooking a salt-water sparkling pool. We organized a driver and a guide through the B&B and they were waiting for us when we arrived. Our guide, named "Kong", could speak english quite well but had a very hard-to-understand accent and at times I had no idea what he was saying, but just smiled and nodded. He must have thought we were very stupid. He talked a lot!

The temples are awe-inspiring - all of them are exquisite in their own right - some have very detailed carvings, some are so vast in size (Angkor Wat), and one (Ta Prohm) is being swallowed (literally) by the jungle with gigantic banyan trees growing over the ruins. This is also where the film Tomb Raider was shot. Other highlights included a ride on elephants around Angkor Thom, eating at a Khmer restaurant where they served delicious food at incredible prices ($3USD for an entire meal of green curry, rice and soup) and $2USD for a large bottle of beer. We also visited the town of Siem Reap which has an old market that sells everything from fabrics, t-shirts to bottles filled with unknowd brown liquids and unrefridgerated eggs. We saw a grisly sight of a woman washing/sloshing dishes around on the ground in a muck bucket filled with brown liquid and lumps of food floating around. They also eat everything from frogs (on virtually every menu), and snakes - amongs other things.

But Cambodia was the country that has touched me the most out of any other country we have travelled to. After many years of war and genocide this country seems to be able to move past their tragic past without ever forgetting it. Given the relatively recent trials and tribulations the country suffered, it is absolutely staggering just how friendly everyone is, even to Westerners.There were many children around the temples trying to sell their wares (usually books or bracelets made from grass) and most of them could on say one sentence in english: "Only wan dollah, meddim". It was heart-wrenching to say no to them. We also saw several landmine victims, some blind and some with lost limbs, making music on home-made instruments. We bought a cd from them, and they were genuinely thankful.

One night, we took a tuk-tuk (an auto rickshaw or cabin motorcycle) to a local restaurant called Madame Butterfly. Owned by an old French guy, this restaurant offered exquisite French/Khmer fusion cuisine that was very reasonable (nowhere in the US, or anywhere else in the world, have I had exquisite French food for a reasonable price). Our tuk-tuk driver (who's name was "Wet") patiently waited for us outside the restaurant to take us back to the hotel. When we arrived at the B&B, I asked him how much, and he said "whatever price you think, madam". I gave him $6 and his eyes almost bulged out of his sockets. Apparently, $1 would have been enough (I found out later from the B&B staff). And considering that most of the farm workers in Cambodia earn about $1.25 PER DAY, Wet got his annual bonus that night. I am glad I paid him $6. Because he wetted outside for us. Hehe (sorry, couldn't resist).

Poverty-stricken, delapidated houses, road-side cooking on open fires, dusty dirt roads, people riding on bicycles with their faces covered - these are all sights that reminded me so much of South Africa.

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Thaipusam in Singapore

I was aroused from a drunken stupor at my desk by the phone. I figured out how to set my phone at work to sound like the phones in the Counter-Terrorism Unit on the show "24". It makes every phone call sound important.

An excited Maggie was on the other end of the phone line. "They're doing Thaipusam right near our apartment! I was on my way to Plaza Singapura and saw them walking to the temple!"

I hurried home to make sure I wouldn't miss the stream of devotees as they marched to the Hindu temple in a cleansing and purifying ritual that is practiced by Hindus each year. Note that the pictures only show a handful of the dozens (hundreds?) who performed the Pilgrimage that day.

The pictures speak for themselves. Captions are added for the less imaginative viewers:

Thaipusam in Singapore

The Elusive Kukup Valley

Let me first say that overall, Maggie has done a fantastic job of booking fun weekend trips for us, and I really appreciate all the time she spends dealing with poorly designed web sites and a variety of thick accents when making our travel plans.

Kukup Valley was to be a simple day trip across the border into Malaysia, yet Maggie seemed more excited about this trip than most of the others. She kept reminding me "Kukup Valley next weekend!". There were promises of a remote fishing village where all the buildings were on stilts. An authentic Malyasian seafood lunch. Shopping for local handicrafts, and a visit to Orchid Valley! Every day, I heard the countdown: "Four days till Kukup Valley!".

Finally, the day came.

We walked a couple blocks to a nearby hotel to catch a minibus to the Suntec City mall. At the mall, we transferred to a large tour bus. I had my huge camera bag and my tripod. Maggie had a giant bag filled with snacks, brochures, her camera, and enough Malyasian Ringgit to handle her planned shopping spree.

Once on the bus, we heard the tour guide explain the process for crossing the border and we learned that a Malaysian Tour Guide would replace out Singaporean Tour Guide. We each got an immigration card to fill out. As the bus headed north toward the causeway that separates Signapore from Malaysia, the tour guide started at the rear of the bus, checking to make sure we had all completed our immigration cards.

[When we first moved to Singapore, we had to apply for green cards. I have a green card indicating that I have a work permit. Maggie has a green card to indicate that she is the spouse of someone with a work permit. These green cards have ensured that our wait at Immigration, when returning to Singapore, is never longer than 20 seconds.]

It so happens that when the tour guide stopped at our seats to ensure that our paperwork was in order, Maggie confessed that she was not in possession of her green card. Maggie inquired if it was "really necessary" to actually carry the card at all times? In response to Maggie's query, the tour guide walked to the front of the bus and said something to the driver. Within 30 seconds, the bus stopped at the side of the road and the doors opened. The tour guide unapologetically told us: "You might alight here. You can take a taxi home".

We gathered our camera bags, sack of snacks and brochures and my tripod and marched the long walk of shame from our seats to the front door of the bus. We stood in shamed silence as the bus drove away. Maggie began to cry.

I assured Maggie that this was a minor setback. "By God!", I said. "We'll keep trying until we get to Kukup Valley! We'll get it right eventually!" Then we went to the Orchid Garden in Singapore and had breakfast.

Three weeks later, "Try, try again". The tour company graciously offered to book us on a later trip, and we once again arrived at Sunset City mall. This time, before we boarded the bus, they told us that they "No longer do the trip to Kukup Valley, due to lack of interest". This, despite Maggie's phone conversation with them the previous day confirming our trip. Instead, they asked, would we like to visit the Zoo or Johor Bahru?

Johor Bahru is another town in Malaysia, just across the border. Something akin to Tijuana. The trip ended with us gnawing on my camera bag because we were so hungry. They did not stop anywhere near a source of food during the entire tourist-trap ridden journey.

We told ourselves that the Kukup Valley trip was probably over rated anyway.