I am in the Thai border town of Pedang Besar, having crossed over from Pedang Besar, Malaysia. I’ve been directed down the road by a police officer to catch the bus to Hat Yai. As I’m walking past a large covered platform accommodating three large women, one of them asks, “Where you going?” I tellContinue reading “Contraband Whiskey, a Late Train, and Satellite Dishes”
Category Archives: Malaysia
Delicious Food, Monks, and a Racist Bar Proprietor
I’ve just eaten some very tasty vegetarian Chinese buffet (that I would return to more than once while in Georgetown), and I’m walking around aimlessly. A couple of trishaw (bike taxi) drivers are seated on the sidewalk playing checkers with beer bottle caps. On the building across the street is a large mural of aContinue reading “Delicious Food, Monks, and a Racist Bar Proprietor”
Mud, Tea, and Selfies
The temperature in KL is already miserable by the time we leave at 8 in the morning. As we ascend through the lush hills, the outside temperature starts to resemble the air-conditioned tundra that is common in these types of buses. The mountains are covered in greenery and fog. When we step off the busContinue reading “Mud, Tea, and Selfies”
Highways, Monkeys, Beer Towers
Just as I’m finishing up my meal on Jalan Alor, a street lined with restaurants – tables and chairs set up in the street – I feel a few drops, and then I see umbrellas being set up around the tables. I finish my beer, pay, and start walking. Within five minutes, it’s pouring. It’sContinue reading “Highways, Monkeys, Beer Towers”
Ships, Steam Irons, and Noodles
It is so remarkably easy to walk around and see everything that one wonders whether the Hindu founders, the Portuguese conquerors, the Dutch, and then the British built this town as a major fort and trading post adjacent to the Straights of Melaka, or as a future attraction for weekenders with cameras. Large signs alert you toContinue reading “Ships, Steam Irons, and Noodles”
Alex J. Parton 