by Loti | May 2, 2013 | Art, Malaysia, UNESCO
Malaysia. Remember tie dying T-shirts using rubber bands and wild, bold colors? Well this gentleman in the photo is practicing the centuries old art of batik. Cloth is hand coated with removable wax and then dyed much like tie dying, with beautiful, intricate patterns and colors. Batik has worldwide popularity (Obama’s late mother was an avid collector) and is designated a Masterpiece of Intangible Humanity by UNESCO, the World Heritage folks (a masterpiece of what??? Basically non material art forms including dance, language and sports). Since I have never heard of this designation, I wondered what else were called Masterpieces. An interesting cross section of activities, it turns out represent our traditions and habits. Carpet weaving in Azerbaijan, the Royal Ballet in Cambodia, the Bejing Opera, Tightrope Walking in South Korea, Falconry in Belgium and of course, as we now know, Batik in Southeast Asia. All designated Masterpieces. Very interesting. But back to batik. As an important part of various cultures, Indonesian officials ask government employees wear batik on Fridays; Singapore and Malaysian Airlines have batik as part of the flight attendants uniform and Nelson Mandela wears batik on formal occasions. So I am researching taking a batik class and looking at samples of batik on line. It just adds to my whole new world. What fun!...
by Loti | Apr 3, 2013 | Animals, Malaysia
Malaysia. I am always interested in maps as I really don’t have a clue where many countries are located in relationship to other countries. Take Malaysia. It is split in 2 by a wide expanse of the South China Sea. News to me. So on our Eastern Oriental Express train ride we started in Singapore, traversed the entire country of Malaysia and then crossed over into Thailand, ending in Bangkok. Little did I know that we had only traveled through part of Malaysia and had not entered East Malaysia located on the Island of Borneo. Hmmm. Where have I heard of Borneo? Of course, Borneo Pygmy elephants, only found on the North east tip of Borneo. And I have since learned Borneo is the 3rd largest Island in the world and includes not only part of Malaysia, but also Indonesia and Brunei. > Just 3 months ago, in Jan 2013, 14 Pygmy elephants were found dead, believed to have been accidentally poisoned by palm oil farmers. A baby elephant survived and is now being raised by zookeepers. Only about 1200 pygmy elephants remain in the wild so let’s hope Baby Joe, as the baby was nicknamed, continues to thrive....
by Loti | Feb 25, 2013 | Food, Malaysia
Malaysia. My favorite time on the Orient Eastern Express train was tea in the late afternoon served by our butler, Paul. The tea was always hot and perfectly brewed. What I didn’t realize, tea is the most popular beverage in the world behind water. It has been served for over 5000 years and has tons of documented health benefits including helping lower heart disease and blood pressure, prevent tooth decay, help in weight loss and help shrink cancerous tumors. And all tea, whether black, green, oolong or white, comes from the same plant. It is just a matter of the way the leaves are processed that make each tea different ( I didn’t know that either). The most expensive tea experience in the world? Well for $200 a cup you can have tea fertilized by panda poop ( I am not kidding. It has been certified by the World Record Academy). Or for $813 a couple you can have high tea at the Cliveden Hotel outside London. Not only do you get tea, but truffles, caviar, one glass of Dom champagne and chocolate cake trimmed in gold leaf. A true bargain!...
by Loti | Feb 11, 2013 | Malaysia, World heritage Sites
Malaysia. A World Heritage site. What exactly is one? We saw several Heritage plaques in our travels thru Malaysia and Thailand, but I wasn’t sure what they meant or signified. Well, I have learned there are 962 sites throughout the world in 157 countries, each designated by UNESCO (United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organization). They represent properties having outstanding universal value to humanity. A pretty tall order in my book. This is one of 3 sites in Malaysia, Khoo Kongsi, a Chinese clan house built in 1906 which is located in the heart of the oldest section of George Town, Malaysia. The entire town is designated a World Heritage site as a result of its unique multicultural heritage and architecture not found anywhere else in East or Southeast Asia (or at least that’s what the Internet says). What are some other sites? The Grand Canyon and Statue of Liberty in the U.S., the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Stonehenge in England, the Taj Mahal in India and 5 sites in Thailand. Even Laos has 2. Oddly, Singapore has none. Now I just have to figure out how many I have visited....
