Tuesday, May 27, 2003

 

time flies, already eleven days have passed since our arrival in vietnam. we were welcomed by two major first impressions: motorbikes and the war of vietnams liberation.

motorbikes - never have i seen so many two-wheeled vehicles on the streets. there is actually not much else! when we first encountered these jampacked streets in order to cross them, the problem seemed to be quite complicated... luckily there was an easy solution (as mostly in live): one just has to start walking slowly and continuosly in order to cross the road. because the motorbikes are so flexible they easily pass by without driving one over. meanwhile we are quite experienced and even start to love this feeling of motorbikes cruising all around you:-)

war of liberation - well, there are many books about it (especially about the american involvement) and i therefore won't hold a lecture here. the thing just is that there is no way of missing the confrontation here. every museum presents its share of the documentation of liberation not having mentioned countless monuments, celebrating vietnams brave rebels, yet. maybe the most important thing about such a cruel chapter in human history is to show people what happens when men turn into blood-thursty monsters, in order that next generations won't forget and don't repeat the same mistakes.

one of the most powerful museums in the world to do so is without any doubt the war remnants museum in ho chi minh city. it's disgusting what agent orange & co. did to people. on both sides prisoners were tortured and "non-cooperatives" executed. today, many victims can still be seen in the streets of this country.

we also visited reunification palace; where in 1975 south vietnamese power resigned to the north; and cu chi tunnels; where communist rebels have fought the americans from an effective system of tunnels, located right "under the feet" of several major us camps.

now we are travelling in the mekong delta. it's the countries agricultural centre where, besides rice, all sorts of fruit and vegetables are produced. this is also the place where one of the earths biggest streams meet the sea. towards its end the mekong divides into several rivers; some bigger, some smaller. many of them are connected by canals and the region is therefore a paradise for scenic boatrides. we have so far been to ben tre, soc trang and cantho. the latter is a perfect base to explore the famous floating markets.

the people in the mekong region are very open-hearted and helpful. eventhough most of them hardly speak any english they are nevertheless trying to communicate and we are often invited for a cup of coffee. we experience vietnam as a very special place with wonderful citizens. although travelling sometimes isn't that easy it's always good fun and very exciting.

posted by christoph 12:41

Wednesday, May 14, 2003

 

our last destination in malaysia is kuala lumpur. it's a modern bustling city. its most famous landmarks are the impressive petronas towers. eventhough they rise 450m (once the tallest buildings in the world) they look gracious and elegant. i was really taken aback by their sight and everytime i manage to catch a glance my heart jumps.

kl has plenty to offer: the golden triangle is full of impressive skyscrapers. it looks as the country has overcome the crises in the mid nineties for there are plenty of new construction sites all along the skyline. in the colonial district excellent architecture of the british ac normann und ab hubbock can be found. sultan abdul samad building, masjid jamek and kl train station might be the finest examples. chinatown is busy as usual.

a good place to get an impression of modern kl is to visit menara kuala lumpur, the fourth highest telecommunication-tower in the world. it might be actually best when one gets up there just after arriving in order to find out what to do and where to go;-) - we did it the other way round and therefore remembered where we have been and planned where to go during our next visit.

on our trip in malaysia we got to know a modern and developing nation. one of the most interesting aspects is that malays, chinese and indians live and struggle together - of course this is not always a piece of cake. however, in regard of the goals they have achieved they're doing much better than most of their neighbours. in my opinion there are quite a few things we could learn from malaysia. good luck!

posted by christoph 16:38

Tuesday, May 13, 2003

 

melaka is where the history of malaysia can be experienced. after its foundation in 1396 by the hindu-prince parameswara melaka became a flourishing port and soon the centre of islam in the region. in 1511 the portuguese, attracted by the richness of the sultanate, conquered the city. unfortunately the portuguese were opressive rulers and the muslim traders looked out for other ports. the star of melaka faded. after a long and fierce battle the dutch gained control in 1641. in 1795 the british took over and stayed there (except during the japanese invasion during wwII) until merdeka, malaysias indipendence in 1957.

with such a rich history, melaka has plenty to offer. the most obvious signs of the past days are stadthuys and christ church of the dutch period, for these buildings have their walls painted red. it looks quite unusual for this country and is a special sight. other attractions include porta de santiago, the only remains of the once mighty portueguese fort; a small unspectacular portuguese settlement; st. paul's church and the proclamation of independence memorial. there is also a splendid replica of a melaka sultan's palace, constructed after a description of the original 15th-century palace entirely without nails.

one of the nicest areas is chinatown. along its narrow winding streets mysterious temples, small shophouses, exquisite antique-shops and typical tea houses can be found. most of the buildings are in perfect condition, often beautifully painted and decorated. it's a place where you forget time meandering around.

there is also a area where many of typical malay houses can be found: kampung morten. the melaka ones have a real specialty: their stairways are colorful decorated with tiles. maybe the most vivid reminder of the portuguese rule.

melaka is an excellent place to spend a couple of days and dive into past times. there is also a sound & light show. we weren't much impressed by it. as a matter of fact, if we hadn't been to the historic museum in the afternoon we wouldn't have been able to follow the show.

posted by christoph 07:51

Friday, May 09, 2003

 

the next destination was long beach on pulau perhentian kecil. its long beach is the most beautiful beach one can imagine: sand as white as white can be, water so clear and shining from turquise to dark-blue. our small chalet was idyllic situated under coconut-palms, next to the excellent lemongrass restaurant! of course we came here to dive. the conditions were much better than in thailand and we enjoyed exploring the new divesites. we can really recommend the dive-shop coral sky divers, especially for their habit to show to you after each dive from a book what kind of fish you had seen during the dive. it's not only highly educative but also makes diving much more fun and exciting. suddenly your getting increasingly interested in getting to know all these things down there;-)

during a snorkelling-trip we managed to see some black-tip reef-sharks and green sea-turtles. it's unbelievable, almost everytime you are up to have a look under the surface there is something new to be found. watching the sharks swimming around was very fascinating, they have this special way of moving around which makes you unwillingly shiver. impressive! also the turtles were gorgeous. we could watch them grass, swim around and finally disappear in the deep blue of the south china sea.

you'd like to see more? coral sky divers has good information about the area and atmospheres has astonishing underwater photographs, it's worth a click!

after one week the time had come to say good-bye to paradise. on our way south we stopped for one night at kuantan where illuminated masjid negeri looks like out of a fairytale at night. the next day we were off to another island, pulau tioman. we stayed at kampung salang. the island is quite ok and offers excellent diving. unfortunately the dive-shop wasn't as interested in showing us the beauty of the marine world as we got to know it at perhentian. it's really sad because tioman has mindblowing corals (the best we have seen so far) and there must be so much more to be found if you take it slowly and have a close look around. nevertheless we enjoyed our stay and tried to get the most out of every dive!

now we are back on the mainland. melaka (on the west coast) is where the history of malaysia began about 600 years ago. looks like this is going to be another interesting place...

posted by christoph 11:54