In Malacca you can still see and feel the Dutch


Dutch graveyard


Many Dutch Grave stones

Malacca River
The last stop on our Malaysia journey was Malacca. Here the Dutch had a trade post for more the 200 years (1600 - 1800) and you can still see remains of that era. It is a bit touristic fro the rest - but fun to spend a few days. As everywhere: here too the Malays are building and building.
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Room with a view V



Build like a traditional water village this resort in Dickport in the south west of malaysia was giving us that "authentic simple village life" feeling ;-)
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What a life - maybe we stay here...

Hornbill

Warm very clear water

Monkeys to welcome you in the morning

George having a good time at the beach

Romantic Sunset dinner
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A room with a view IV - Pangkor


Hmm... this could be paradise... It certainly feels like it...
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George town II

Old chines grand town house

motor cycle repair shop
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George Town




We now landed in George Town, a buzzling city on the west coast of Malaysia. As everywhere construction is going on everywhere and there is a shiny new huge mall right in the center of the city. Luckily they have left some old historical buildings from the past and together with the compact center it makes a perfect place for scrolling along on a sunny day.
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Happy New Year!

from the 2013 The New York City Firefighters Calender
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Landrover paradise (or graveyard...?)


It seems that all the remaining last century LandRover Defenders of this globe are gathering in the Cameron Highlands - I have never seen such a collection. Some are just left next to the road, others seem not to be able to drive - but they do!
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High Tea in very sense


Here in the Cameron Highlands things are cooler - so cool that it is possible to grow vegetables, fruits (strawberries!) and even tea. It was the first time we saw tea plantations on this scale and combined with a little foggy weather the effect of the rolling slopes with lush green tea leaves was magical. the tea itself is quite OK - so we noticed at the high tea in our hotel. We bought a tin to bring back home.
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Batu Caves

These caves are one of the most popular Hindu shrines in the world - normally it is packed with worshipers - the day we visited it was so hot we decided not to climb the stairs and continue our journey to the highlands where we hope to find cooler weather.
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KL: this is a really huge metropool


KL is a big city: 1.6 million people live here and everywhere you look construction of new apartment buildings and malls is going on. It seems that the whole city is under development. It is not easy to navigate because of the lack of a grid street system, the roads more or less go around the buildings... But anyway it is a nice city to spend a few days, do some shopping and seeing the sites. Not a lot of history here: people are more interested in the future. The best way to see KL is from the KL tower (which is also used for the yearly KL tower base jumping event - oops!)
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Animal Life in KL







Malaysia is full of wild life and even here in KL you can find exotic birds, millions of butterflies and such. The aquarium is also a great place to see animals - and the feeding of the piranhas is something you do not want to miss...
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Room with a view III


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KL and the Petronas Towers

 
We arrived in Kuala Lumpur and having a hotel next to the famous Petronas Towers.
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Having a swim at the endless pool on top of the hotel in Sandakan


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Sandakan Death Marches

The Sandakan Death Marches were a series of forced marches during the very end of WWII in Borneo from Sandakan to Ranau which resulted in the deaths of more than 3,600 Indonesian civilian slave laborers and 2,400 Australian and British POW.  Only 6 Australians managed to escape during the marches and because he Japanese did not spare anyone and killed even the few survivors of the grueling marches trough the jungle - these men were the only ones who could tell the story...
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The amazing Discovery of Agnes Newton Keith

On a hill here in Sandakan overlooking the bay of the Sulu Sea is the house of Agnes and Harry Keith. Probably you never heard of them - as did I. But I got intrigued when I visited the house (now the Agnes Keith Museum) and learned about this amazing woman. Born into a wealthy family in Oakland IL. she became a reporter in SF, met an English  man, Harry Keith who worked for the North Borneo Government as the Conservator of Forests and Director of Agriculture. They maried and sailed to Borneo in 1934. In her trilogy she describes first the live in pre-war Borneo (Land Below The Wind), her stay in the Japanese camps during the war (Three Came Home) and their final return to Borneo (White Man Returns). I couldn't help and bought the books right away and haven't start reading since... They are warm, funny and a excellent description of life in Sandakan in the 1930s. When there were still people living in the jungle who never had seen ice (stone water) planes (flying boats) or what have you. She also gives a compelling account of here adventures while walking trails in the jungles week after week and to try to deal with the bugs and having apes as pets.
Her story about here Japanese Camp years was made in to a movie with Claudette Colbert in 1950. You can see it on youtube here. After their days in Borneo, Agnes and Keith lived in the Philippines and Libya she even went to Japan to reconcile with here Japanese captures. What an amazing full life she must have had.
But no time to waste now: I HAVE to return to the books




http://archive.org/details/ThreeCameHomeClaudetteColbertHankrip
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_Newton_Keith
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X-mas with the Mulvaneys - what else?

How could we not have x-mas dinner without our friends around/on our table :-) See you soon guys.
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Some (wild) animals in Borneo

Vogue: Strike a Pose


at least 4"...


Very dangerous monkey on a Rainforest canopy walk

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Sandakan from our balcony


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So this is how it feels to be a celebrity

Here in the more rural parts of Borneo Tall White Guys like Eddie and I are something of an attraction. Especially young boys flock around us and start smiling, jumping and shouting. It is a bit of embarrassing on one hand and on the other just heartwarming.
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