Sep 19 2007
Lost And Found … Sorta
(The daunting skyline of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
Despite the above picture, I'm now in Bangkok.
I'm here after having visited Railai Beach in southern Thailand … again. I was there at the time the airplane crash only a score kilometers away in Phuket. It was obviously on everyones lips and minds — and feeling a type of kinship to the people vacationing who were on the flight — I feel especially sorry, and would if possible, wish the best for them and their families.
I'll write more about the trip to Railai and Bangkok in a few days when I have some extra time, but before I do, I will say this:
I swear, every time I go to Railai, I stay another day longer. Several of the local guy s have becomes good friends of mine, and it's now almost like a second 'home base' in Southeast Asia. They are real great people, and even after only being in Bangkok for a few days, I'm starting to think the Thais are the nicest people I've met out here so far.
Plus, I've heard that the Laotians are even MORE laid back, and even MORE friendly. And if that's the case, I think we should start exporting them to places like Arkansas and Utah to make those motherfuckers loosen up a bit.
Anyway, back to the original tale — I left Singapore last Tuesday morning (11 September), taking an 8:00 a.m. bus from Singapore up to Melaka, Malaysia, which is about 2.5 hours to the north, on the southwestern coast of the Malaysian peninsula.
I was planning on heading straight up to Kuala Lumpur ("KL"), but I read that Melaka has a particularly interesting history. As a uniquely situated port town, Melaka has been 'settled' (read: 'conquered and exploited') by the Dutch, the Portuguese, the Chinese, and - of course, like everywhere else in the region - the British. As a result, there is a unique colonial feel about the town. While exploring Melaka, at times I felt like I was walking around one of the Caribbean port towns that were also 'settled' by the Dutch and the British.
And while Melaka (and all of Malaysia, for the matter), is nowhere nearly economically advanced as Singapore, the country - and Melaka especially - is not anything near what I had expected (notwithstanding that I've already been here, but on the East Coast to go diving at the relatively secluded 'resort island' of Tioman).
Malaysia is, in my opinion (based on my own limited experiences), a mixture of Singapore and Indonesia. Whereas it appears to be economically (and speeding towards being similarly socially) advanced, the fact that it - like Indonesia - is not a secular state has, in some part, stifled it's development until just recently (unlike Singapore, a strictly secular state).
I will say this, however. If given the opportunity today to invest or start a business (import/export or something akin), I would probably choose Malaysia over Singapore at this point. They are just as forward thinking, yet lower costs for goods services (and tarrifs, from what I've heard). In fact, due in part to the financial and political stability of the country, Malaysia apparently has more annual tourists than does heavily toured Thailand.
Regardless, Melaka itself is a unique town. I stayed in a small guest house in their Chinatown (they also have a Little India with some amazing southern Indian food, just like Singapore). But the charming facade of a small, former-colonized port town - developed over the course of many hours walking through the town - was quickly stripped away when I came across the new 'Melaka Mega Mall.' And while this newly completed mall pales in comparison to even the smallest of Singapores' ubiquitous 'megamalls', it is an ultra-modern facility with ubiquitous Motorola (phone) stores, Quicksilver stores, and of course the parasitic Starbucks coffee dens.
In the end, although Melaka's downtown is historically compelling, it's Chinatown is quaint and fun, and the mostly Chinese and Indian populous are really nice people, after having lived in Singapore for a few months now, it was almost the equivalent to a resident of NYC or Philly heading down to the Jersey shore for the weekend (only I've NEVER met anyone in Jersey - or NYC or Philly - as nice as the people in Melaka).
The same can be said for Kuala Lumpur, where I arrived this afternoon after another 2 hour bus ride north from Melaka (making it about a total 4 - 4.5 hour trip from Singapore). To be honest, and in all humility, K.L. is NOTHING like I imagined.
I thought KL would be akin to Jakarta - a huge metropolis, a boiling mass of energy and drive, yet encumbered by outdated social morays and corruption and little direction or focus. In contrast, KL seems to be modeling itself after Singapore, Taipai, and the other up and coming financial and cultural outlets of the Far East. Obviously, I've only been here less than a full day, so I can't have any true idea of how the city or country is run. However, in comparison, the attempts by Indonesia and the Philippines to integrate themselves into a global economy (while, thankfully, not necessarily losing their own religious and cultural background) seem absolutely primitive in comparison.
Probably also due to the obvious benefits of being in a relatively 'booming' economy, the locals are still pretty friendly and nowhere NEAR as pushy to make a buck as the guys in Indo. However, it's also still more than a little disheartening to see how effectively, and how quickly, Malaysia has been swallowed up into the new 'global community.' Hell, KL has a much better symphony orchestra than most of the major cities in the USA (see Miami, for example).
Nor would I ever suggest that 'poor and uneducated' KL, or its diversity of peoples and cultures, or its well-tended infrastructure (the great metro-rail system in KL is simple and incredibly effective) are even CLOSE to those Americans beleive to be the best in the world. Indeed, I wouldn't dream of comparing KL's effective public transport to similar systems that have been promised and thwarted for years in Miami (assuming they are ever completed after all the corrupt Miami politicians take out their 'finders fees').
Shit, I guess it pays to have a 'democratically elected' leader and a 'rubber stamp' parliament/congress that pushes through public works rather than, oh … I don't know … invading another sovereign country (God, that man's a jackass).
Again, don't get me wrong — I don't mean to suggest that KL, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo or Taipei in ANY way match ANY of the metropolis' in the USA in terms of urbane sophistication.
On the bright side, I'm still pretty sure the USA is leading the world in humility.
P.S. Stick around, big news about the tour.
