Wednesday March 25
Kuala Lumpur Malaysia--Our day starts with a trip thru town on the way to a traditional village house. It is like a fancy tree fort. This was a house on stilts that was later enclosed. They provided a few ethnic snacks that were all deep fried. Real nice but tough on the heart I suppose. The house was nestled in a well-kept rain forest type garden with narrow walkways and little meditation spots. Sulfur is spread around the perimeter of the house a couple times a year to keep the snakes out. Most of the people here are Hindu and Muslim. They are all very friendly and just trying to make it thru the day. This is a country very active in the electronic and automotive industries. Cobras were used to keep the rat population down but it was too dangerous so owls have been brought in to do the job now. Community is very important. Everyone in a village goes to all the weddings and every one helps build the houses. On the way back to the ship we stop and browse thru a section of Kuala Lumpur called Little India, a cool photo stop. (The East Indians came here to work in the tin mines in the state of Selangor. The shop where we made our pewter—part tin, copper and antimony-- bowls in Singapore was Royal Selangor!) We also get some photos of the Blue Mosque, the largest in SE Asia. A stop at the Sultan’s palace and the largest mall in South East Asia finished the trip. All in all a very progressive tolerant culture where females are making large strides in becoming equal parts of the social fabric. It is becoming an interesting mix of the old traditional ways and the new western ways.
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