Grand Palace, Bangkok, photo

[caption id="attachment_761" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="at Grand Palace"][/caption]

The Beach, a novel

I read a novel, The Beach by Alex Garland. I had previously seen the movie with Leonardo DiCaprio. It is an easy, fun read, good for a long airplane ride. What struck me is that I followed the same route from Bangkok to the islands. Train, pickup, ferry. The characterizations of the travelers were all too familiar.

Bang Rajan, movie

Watched the movie, Bang Rajan, subtitled The Legend of the Village Warriors. The movie, in Thai with English subtitles, tells the story of rural resistance to Burmese forces in 1765. Two separate armies of 100,000 each were dispatched to attack then Siamese capital, Ayutthaya. In American English, we would say it was a "B movie." The historical context was interesting.

Malaysia summary

Malaysia appropriately celebrates its multiethnic character. It's a lively melting pot of Malay, Chinese, Indian and European cultures. Georgetown and Malaka were particularly interesting in this respect, especially their food dishes. Both have recently been recognized as World Heritage Sites to reflect their history and uniqueness.

Tioman Island was a special treat. The Cameron Highlands were refreshingly cool and picturesque with the tea plantations.

Hellfire, photo

A Buddhist monk walks through Hellfire Pass. I visited Hellfire Pass Memorial Museum. The museum and this walk commemorate the deaths and suffering of Allied prisoners of war while building the Siam-Burma Railway (aka Death Railway) for the Japanese military. The name Hellfire comes from the glow of lanterns at night.

Thailand summary

For me, a highlight of my visit was seeing a friend from college days. As a bonus, I traveled with him in his car throughout western Thailand and visited his wife's family. I visited temples and monasteries, mountain vistas, rivers, reservoirs and many popular tourist sites. The hustle, bustle and congestion of Bangkok and its river life were interesting.

Some observations:

Photographs of the king are everywhere. The king is now

Singapore summary

I stayed downtown, walked around Chinatown, Little India and the Colonial Area. I visited many museums and took a harbor cruise. Everything is very clean, neat and organized, maybe too organized. Crime is low, water potable and English is widely spoken.

seAsia Summary

I visited peninsular Asia during January and February 2009. I spent a week in Singapore, four weeks in Thailand and three weeks in Malaysia. The weather was uniformly hot (35C/95F). I alternated between touring cities and visiting island beaches.

Route: I flew into Singapore (US to Tokyo to Singapore) and spent a week recuperating from the flight, eating good food and visiting museums. Singapore is neat, clean, easy to get around and very organized.

From there, I flew to Bangkok and visited a friend from college days. He was kind enough to show me around Bangkok and provide a tour of western

Singapore, goodbye

Only had a day in Singapore. Went to Ft. Canning Park and visited the Battle Box; they did a good job re-creating the situation leading to the British surrender to the Japanese during World War II. Then visited the Chinese Cultural Center which faithfully recreates the immigrant experience. Ate again at the Popitiam on Bencoolen Street for wonderful Asian fusion food.

Logistics--took the ferry from Penuba Bay to Mersing, then a bus to Jalor Bahru (JB) and another bus through immigrations to Singapore.

Lodging--stayed again at the Strand Hotel, our reliable stand-by. The last night, stayed at the Crowne Plaza located in the airort to easily catch an early morning flight. Very contemporary, upscale hotel.

Pulau Tioman

Penumba Bay is so nice, I forget that I am a traveler and slip into a relaxed vacation mode. My days are spent snorkeling, hiking, walking the beach, collecting shells, watching the tides of the South China Sea and wondering about the weather.

There's a lot of hype about Tioman--one of the ten best island and location for movie, South Pacific. It's well-deserved. We avoided the eastern coast of Malaysia until the end of our trip because of the northeastern monsoon season. It typically

Mersing

The only reason to go to Mersing is to catch the ferry to Pulau Tioman. We traveled from Melaka by bus for four-and-a-half hours and arrived at twelve-thirty. The last ferry left at twelve noon; the schedule is dependent on the tides. We caught the two hour ferry to Tioman the next morning.
Lodging--Accommodations in Mersing are relatively expensive and low-quality. Our room at the Country Hotel was above the dried fish store.

Last day

Last day in seAsia. Aboard Singapore double decker.