On the total other end of the dharmic spectrum: at night I went out after work with a group of the ship's waiters, most of whom were European. All five of us piled in and out of cabs all evening looking for someplace to hang out at that we would all be happy with. Needless to say, that didn't happen. Being the smallest, I had the misfortune of being the one designated to sit on someone else's lap! Not very comfortable or safe, given the reckless style of driving common to taxi drivers throughout Asia. We ended up at a strip of bars that could have easily been mistaken for suburban USA, except for the exotic looking people inside. We all got out of the cab and went our separate ways, basically tired of each other's company. I had fun dancing to the very loud disco music.

MALACCA, MALAYSIA (visited 12/99, 3/00; written circa 11/00)

Malacca is a historical port city about 2 hours west of the country's biggest city, which is Kuala Lumpur. We visited Malacca on two occasions, both times very briefly.

Approaching the dock area, the ship's tenders (the small boats that shuttle passengers to and from the ship when it is anchored offshore if there is no deepwater port) had to travel down a narrow canal-like channel filled with small to medium sized commercial boats of various sorts; there were a lot of small logging vessels. I was amazed at how small in diameter most of the cut tree trunks and branches were. It was sad to think that the last remaining rainforests in the world are being ripped down so the Japanese and others can have disposable chopsticks and other similarly wasteful items.

We spotted some very large lizards sunning themselves on the banks of the canal. I'm not sure what the official name of the lizards are, but they might be called monitor lizards. For some reason they didn't seem dangerous, but I wouldn't want to have that assumption tested - they were big! However, I was yet to see the really vicious lizards - the Komodo dragons of Indonesia.

The town of Malacca itself has some historical significance, although it seemed a little boring to me actually. It's easy to very quickly get tired walking around because it is so hot and humid, and you have to stay really alert to the traffic because there are no sidewalks, only these ravine type sewer canals which you have to be careful not to step into.

Apparently Malaysia tried to develop Malacca into a tourist destination for wealthy people from Kuala Lumpur during the 80's, but it never really panned out because the beaches are not very nice, and as a result there are plenty of luxury apartments sitting idle.

SANDAKAN, SABAH (BORNEO), MALAYSIA (visited 2/99, 2/00; written circa 11/00)

Sandakan is a Malaysian territory on the northern coast of the island of Borneo, which belongs both to Malaysia and Indonesia. It's famous for a special refuge for orangutans, who are threatened with extinction due to habitat loss. Orangutans are amazing animals, and are said to be the "first cousins" of humans. Something like 90% of their genetic make-up is identical to man's.

At this place, orangutans who have either been injured in the wild, or have been used as pets when they were babies and then discarded like trash when they get older, are rehabilitated, and if they can make it, eventually let go back into the wild. It is my understanding that some of them can never make the transition from being a housepet to a successful member of the orangutan community in the wild.

On the drive out to the sanctuary, I saw almost no forested land left at all. They have their own version of urban sprawl, even on Borneo. Anyway, the sanctuary was very cool, with a raised wooden walkway taking you out to a feeding platform where orangutans and other primates come for fresh bananas and other goodies. It's different from a zoo, because the habitat is not re-created; it's the real thing!

We also stopped at a Chinese Buddhist monastery perched way up on a hilltop, with three incredible gold statues of the Buddha inside. On the grounds of the monastery, there is a huge swastika landscaped into the lawn, representing the four directions, I believe. It's definitely not a statement of Nazism.

The town of Sandakan is a typical medium sized Asian city, featuring modern trends intermingling with vestiges of older cultural traditions. Malaysia is doing relatively well economically, especially compared to Indonesia or Vietnam. The standard of living seems fairly high for Asia, and prices are very low. However, they are not nearly as well off as neighboring wealthy Singapore.

My eyes always tend to find funny signs, wherever I am, but some of the funniest ones I have ever seen were in Asia. In a shopping mall, next to the internet cafe, is a little convenience store that sells 7-11 type stuff, and the name of it was quite mystifiying: "THE BUTT CENTRE" . Don't ask me why it's called that, I don't know. I wish I had taken a picture of it, though - silly things like that really crack me up.

KUDAT, SABAH, (BORNEO), MALAYSIA (visited 2/00; written circa 11/00)

I only had about one hour here, and all I did was walk around an open air market which was 2 blocks from the pier. There was really nothing of special interest here as far as I could tell. The passengers were taken to a mock, re-created "indigenous village" featuring people who apparently do indeed have some tribal heritage or affiliation, however all reports indicated that the whole thing was staged, set-up, and supported by the government to encourage tourism to the region. Supposedly you can stay in one of these so-called "authentic" villages, and sleep in the traditional longhouse - for a price. The "villagers" put on their traditional clothing while there are visitors around, and as soon as the visitors leave they get back into their t-shirts and jeans!

My guess is that you have to travel pretty far off the beaten track in Borneo to find any kind of authentic traditional culture that still adheres to a traditional lifestyle.

SINGAPORE (visited 1/99, 3/99, 12/99, 3/00; written circa 11/00)

Singapore is one of the smallest yet wealthiest nations in all of Asia. It's immaculately clean - almost antiseptically clean. There are very strict laws concerning everything, which is why you can find t-shirts which have the phrase "Singapore - A Fine City". There are fines for just about everything, including spitting, jaywalking, dancing, and chewing gum. Possession of illegal drugs means life in prison, and dealing drugs here will get you a mandatory death sentence.

It's a thoroughly modern place with new buses and trains, air-conditioned malls featuring luxury stores, Starbucks, and the like, and many other signs of a thriving economy. As in Malaysia, there is a real diversity of cultures and ethnicities represented, however Singapore has a far more homogenized feel. We took a gondola/cable car across the inlet to a little island named Sentosa, which is like a vacation theme park. They have a little train that goes all the way around the place, and there are various other attractions at Sentosa such as a butterfly park.

We also ventured out to an outdoor food pavilion known as a "hawkers court"; this was courtesy of some local friends of mine. There wasn't much in the way of vegetarian food, but the food they did have was really good, and made fresh to order. A hawkers court is a bunch of individually owned food stalls, and you can walk around and order items from whichever ones look good to you. As a result, there is great variety, and the prices are really low.