England and Malasia

Place: Kuala Lumpur, Malasia
London, England
Dates: March 19-April 1 2005
Status: Finished
Analysis: Nice

I returned from England about 45 hours ago. Most of my time since has been spent sleeping, although I did make it to the gym for a few hours. England was really very nice. London is another big city, but it is very walkable. You can make it from Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square to Convent Garden all in one day with a stop at the National Gallery and lunch. While in the city we saw most of the major landmarks. The only thing we missed really was the Tower of London, but we did see three different musicals. The best was Phantom of the Opera, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was the most spectactular in effects, and the Lion King was the most popular. London scenery is like any other big city scenerey, lots of neon, lots of people, fast paced and exciting. It was much dirtier than Osaka or even DC in my opinion. I have never been shoved around so much as I was in London. Even in DC and New York peole at least try to stay out of each others way. I guess the Euros don't really feel the same way we do about politeness. I will never think so badly of the Japanese soto/uchi system before because Londoners seem to be ruder to people they don't know and less kind to those they do.

Bath was a really nice town. The history of the Roman Baths and the presentation of the Baths themselves was excellent. The tour is a self guided audio tour, so you can hear as much or as little as you wish to hear. The walkways are all original, wide enough to hold the ladies of Jane Austen's era and their skirts. In some places there are no telephone lines and few cars, when you look up it is almost like being in Victorian or pre-Victorian England. The stone is all buff colored Cotswolds lime stone and very nice. Bath Abby is spectactular, all soaring arches and stained glass. One nice thing about it is that you can take pictures inside. I used my new camera, a really old pentax that I picked up at the camera store in front of the Abby. It's a great place and I reccomend that you drop by when you go. The staff is really helpful and fun to talk to about photography. Ask about the guy who wants to photography tigers, he's my favorite Briton.

The Royal Cresent and the Circus are excellent examples of traditional Bath architecture. However, they can seem a little bleak in colder weather and they seem kind of dirty and stained. It is hearsay to put forth that opinion being that they are a great national treasure and of great historical appearance. However, for most of us, they are nice to look at and move on. Bath is a real one day kind of town. The B and Bs are great though, and I recommend the Old Mill Hotel. Go for the dinner option, it is fabulous and the waiters are really cute. Bath is also a good place to pick up some package tours. I know everybody says that tours are bad, blah blah blah, go on your own ... but we saw Stonehenge, Avebury, a historical town with one of the Harry Potter buildings in it, and Castle Combe in the Cotswolds. Plus we got comentary and a native guide. Mad Max runs a really good minibus tour, and I am glad I got the chance to go on a trip with the company.

Cirencester and the Cotswolds are really nice too. Cirencester has a bus that will take you to a line of towns from the North to the Southern Cotswolds. For 4 pounds it is a pretty good deal. Morton on the Marsh, Stowe on the Wold, and Bourton on the Water are pretty and good examples of standard Cotswolds architecture. I wish we had time to go hiking out near Birdlip and biking on the paths out there, but time was short and luggage was heavy. We saw a ton of great stuff while we were there, including a creepy toy museum, a local crafts outlet where we watched glass blowing, plenty of abbys, an original part of Cirencester's Roman wall, and the town market. At the market we saw all kinds of things that local farmers and producers were making, from jam to wine to meat to apple champagne. Cirencester is a highly recommended place to go.

England is a great place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. Being American, everything felt slightly off. It was like being in a strange twilight zone episode. It was not the accents or the million different languages that we heard. It was more a sense that everything was slightly shifted, and since it was Europe it probably shifted to the left. In any case, we spoke English and looked similar but did not share a cutlure. I think that was what threw me over all. Everything seemed slightly drab compared to home from the soggy food to the staid locals. And it was dirty over there, I have lived in Japan for a year and a half- I expect order and cleanliness. I would like to go back to hike in the Cotswolds and to see Stratford Upon Avon. I want to go to Dover and to Brighton and I'd like to see Penzance and Land's End. The only thing that is forbidding is the prices, most things are almost double what they are in the states and they are even higher for food here than they are in Osaka. It is interesting but not all together engaging in England.

I really liked the time we spent in Malasia. We flew Malasia Air, and it was good apart from the plane food. I know airline food is always less than palatable, but this was all really odd tasting and textured. Ayu's pasta stuffed with parmesian tasted more like mochi. But Malasia itself was really nice, at least our hotel near the airport was. The locals were friendly and the food was good. The Heinikan, however, was really expensive. Flying back we had a six hour layover and took the KLIA Express into town. It took about an hour to get to the KLCC, or the twin business towers, but it was worth it. The views at night (in the rain...) were really spectactular. The prayers broadcast from the Mosque were beautiful and slightly eerie in the neon lighted night air. It underscored the fact that we were in a forign place with a vastly different base culture from our own, despite how modern and western the KLCC mall might make it look. We had a chance to try some Malasian food before going back to the airport and we finished off the night with watermelon juice made fresh from watermelon and ice. Prices were extremely low even in KL city.

Our taxi to the airport (due to difficulties with the train) was really interesting. Our driver gave us his number and told us he'd hook us up with F1 tickets if we came to Malasia again next year, as is our plan. He spoke four languages, two versions of Indian (not Native American, duh), Malay, and English. He also knew some Japanese so Ayumi was really excited. He told us he liked Americans and that Sadam Hussien was a terrible man that needed to be deposed because of what he was doing to his people. It was actually quite interesting, although I had a hard time understanding him sometimes. That can as easily be put down to Jet Lag as to his accent, though. It was an enlightening hour long ride and we stopped for gas and saw that you fill the tank by lifting the hood of the car. There are also two types of gas: Petrol and the cheaper kind that our driver preferred. I wonder why it is cheaper and if it has to do with the quality of the fuel, and does it affect performace of the car? I may never know.

KL is a really rich city. I was suprised to see how much development they had, even compared to Bankok which seemed grittier. I suspect the wealth gap between rich and poor in KL is huge. I wonder how it affects their country. Speaking of divisions, they have three major populations: Indian, Native Malasian, and Chinese. I wonder how it works out, and if they feel a single country unity. Southeast Asia is such an interesting place, I wish I had the same kinds of questions about Western powers. Now that is something to strive for.

To sum it up I will give you my reccomendations. Malasian Air is really nice and a stopover in KL for a few days will do anyone good. Especially you people that are freaked out by the idea of SE Asia, because it is pretty safe and comfortably Western style. London is a nice city, but I prefer Osaka, DC, and New York in that order. I do recommend the National Gallery though, and getting half price theater tickets at the TKTS booth in Leicester Square is definitley worth it. Try curry in the city and get it take away for cheaper prices. Bath is a great place to walk, and the BandB culture is the best part of the country. Go for a four star place and you'll enjoy your vacation so much more. You must see the Roman Baths, but feel free to give the Jane Austen Museum a miss as it is stuff and not overly informative. Stonehenge and Avebury are a must and Mad Max does an excellent tour. Cirencester is indeed the Capitol of the Cotswolds and worth a stay and a ramble. Try to go hillwalking out there though, sacrifice your time in London for it if you must. Try for a stop over in KL city, and stay if it is possible. The city is nice and the food is good. The KLIA Concorde Inn is far from the city but cheap and has a great buffet breafast and dinner. Enjoy yourselves, and be careful out there!