Mar. 27-28, 1978 - Malaysia

We got a lift into Kuantan where we bought a ticket for Kuala Lumpur on the express bus.  We had been told the buses were better than taxis because they were air conditioned.  When the bus arrived it was an old clunker and it started to rain.  Ugh – what a long ride.  The windows had to be closed because of the rain and that turned the bus into a stuffy sweat box. – and the driver drove too fast. Forget the air conditioning. If it hadn’t been raining I would have jumped out and hitchhiked just to get off that bus.

Arrived in KL safely somehow and took a taxi to the Westcott's home. (Ward is a childhood friend of Bryan's in KL working for Citibank.)  Marjatta, his wife, welcomed us and we met Carl (age 10) and Nicole (age 7).  Ward came later and we had a pleasant dinner.  (They had been expecting us as we called from Kuantan last night.)  The Wescotts are a busy family but we caught them at their one night home.  Ward took us on a city tour while Marjatta drove Carl to a school play rehearsal. Nichole gave us her bedroom.

The next day Ward kindly let us use his car – a Hubmer – boxy like a tank.  We immediately got lost but did accomplish getting extension pages for our passports and a swim and lunch at the golf club with Marjatta and the kids.  Read and relaxed in the afternoon while Marjatta ran around preparing for a dinner party they were putting on for Citibank that night .  I borrowed something from her to wear and Bryan wore one of Ward’s batik shirts.

The food was delicious including Shrimp Armand and delectable Coconut Squares, which incorporate lots of butter, sugar and coconut baked in a crust with applesauce. (I copied down those recipes.)

Mar. 25-26, 1978 - Malaysia

Yesterday I got a bit too much sunburn so we decided to move on.  We took a bus into Jerteh – about 20 minutes – and then changed money.  After that we stood in the sun waiting for an air conditioned express bus to Kuantan down the coast.  No bus but finally a car stopped and offered us a ride.  The driver was a police officer from Kota Baru going to Kuala Lumpur for a training course.  He drove us safely and quickly down a beautiful coastal road.  We stopped and got a lunch and took it for a picnic under trees like this.

After 4 hours we arrived in Kuantan where our driver let us off on the road for the Hotel Merlin – a deluxe class hotel we had decided to treat ourselves to.  That night we had lobster and relaxed near the pool

The next morning we slept late, swam in the ocean and the pool and had a lovely buffet lunch: Malay food, curries and beautiful fruit.  Swam more, napped and read.  The weather is still hot but not as challenging as Bangkok.

Mar. 24, 1978 - Malaysia

Took a morning taxi from Kota Baru to Jerteh, where our friend Mike Frank worked as a Peace Corps Volunteer.  He told us that when we got to Jerteh, just take a taxi to “the rest house.”  We weren’t very certain that these directions would be explicit enough but, sure enough, our taxi driver from KB asked us in Jerteh if we were going to the rest house and we said, “Yes!.”  He drove us to the door of a lovely hotel on the beach with a view of the ocean from our room.  These are government run hotels and quite cheap.  We ate rice and vegetables and other Malay-type food.

That night there was to be a total eclipse of the moon so we took our blanket onto the sand.  The moon was perfectly round and bright so we went for a moonlight dip.  About 10pm the first “bite” was taken out and by 11pm the moon had disappeared and been replaced by a dull brown circle.  It was very dark and there was drumming which we were told would bring back the moon from the belly of the snake that had swallowed it.  It worked after about 2 hours.

Mar. 23, 1978 - Malaysia

Took an early train to the Thai border – 5 ½ hours through jungle country.  Unfortunately no bottled drinks were available and fruit sellers weren’t in sight after the first few stops.  We each had 2 slices of pineapple and then nothing for the next 5 hours!  We got terribly dehydrated, more than I’ve ever been.  Once we arrived at the border town of Sungai Kolok I didn’t feel satisfied until 2 cokes, 2 fresh lime juices, 1 can of grapefruit juice and 1 lime juice freeze later.

We then walked 1 km in the 1pm sun to the border.  We couldn’t find transport so we lugged the suitcases.  After the Malaysian immigration it was an easy thing to get a taxi to Kota Baru, 1 hour and 2 police checks away.

Kota Baru is a peaceful, unspoiled town that produces the prettiest batiks I’ve ever seen.  Unfortunately banks had closed so we couldn’t change money so we didn’t buy any.  Tomorrow, Friday, everything is closed because this is a Muslim country.  Fortunately we had changed a small amount before we left Thailand.  We stayed at the Prince Hotel but found a better hotel named the Kesina.  Ouch! I just got bitten by a nasty little thingie that burrowed in my leg and Bryan had to tweeze it out. I hope he didn’t bring along any friends; I wish we had found the Kesina first.

I just finished reading The Mountain Is Young by Han Suyin.  She wrote about Nepal in the 50s.  It is a love story novel and in it she quotes Anne Morrow Lindbergh:  When you love someone you do not love them all the time, in exactly the same way, from moment to moment.  It is an impossibility.  It is even a lie to pretend to.  And yet, this is exactly what most of us demand.  We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of life, of love, of relationships.

Mar. 21-22, 1978 - Thailand

Happy Vernal Equinox.  This morning we took an organized tour to the floating market which was an enormous traffic jam of tourist boats.  We didn’t get out on the river until late and by then the market ladies in their straw hats and narrow boats loaded with produce were back home again, except for a few enterprising women who stayed to sell bananas to the tour guide to distribute to the tourists.

We got to our train heading south from Bangkok at 4:00 with 10 minutes to spare and found our private compartment.  It had elegant wood paneling and louvered doors.  We had a coke in the dining car with fresh flowers on the table and watched one of the prettiest sunsets I’ve ever seen as we rolled through the countryside south of Bangkok.  The only mistake we made was not to ask the ticket seller what time the train got into Hadyai because he spoke English.  We asked the ticket puncher conductor and understood him to say between 4 and 5am.  Whoops.  So we slept fitfully, afraid we would miss our stop and finally at 3am got dressed and opened the door and window and dozed, looking out every time we slowed down.  We had lost our Thailand map so didn’t know exactly where we were.  Well, the next morning we found out arrival would be about 10 or 11am.  Boy were we dumb.  We finally arrived at 2pm

After a wash-up at our hotel – the Orient – we took a bus to Songkla and had a great crab fried rice dinner on the sand and Bryan swam in the Gulf of Siam.

Mar. 16-20, 1978 - Thailand

Spent the day lazing around by the pool.  Lunch was an enormous milkshake at a Foremost ice cream shop – 15 flavors, including rocky road, to choose from.  In the afternoon I went Thai Silk shopping but couldn’t make up my mind.  There are so many beautiful prints at $6 a yard which tailors will make into a dress for $20.

The Thai people are great and don’t pay extra attention to you.  Unlike Burma where everyone wore a sarong, Bangkok residents dress western.  The women wear dresses almost entirely and tall heels. Bryan’s stomach is better (could it be the ice cream?) but he still has a miserable cough left over from an Afghan cold.  I feel very healthy now, having recovered from my bout in India.

What a lovely place for relaxing; it is so hot you have to slow down in the middle of the day – a minimum of 90 degrees and 75% humidity.  We swim in the pool daily, eat hamburgers and ice cream and wander through the air conditioned stores.  We have a map of the bus system and have been taking the buses around. How lovely to relax.  One morning we had breakfast at the pool and in the afternoon we ordered fresh iced mandarin juice.

Monday we went to the post office to mail home our sweaters and some Thai silk.  The beautifully organized place even had a packing service and for 35 cents we got a box, had it taped and banded.

We bought train tickets in the well organized train station – take a number rather than stand in line – and bought a first class sleeper ticket down to south Thailand for Tuesday.  Time for a bit of beaching.

Mar. 15, 1978 - Thailand

Bryan spent a sick night so I went to meet Chesno in the morning to say we couldn’t go with him.  He accepted and asked if he could do anything for us and I thanked him.  What a gracious representative of the Burmese people; we were fortunate to meet him.

We decided that with travel so restricted in the country and with Bryan sick we would go on to Bangkok.  Bryan stayed in bed while I went out to change our reservations.  I was able to get a flight on Burma Airways with no problem for 3:00 in the afternoon.  We walked around until 1:00, looking at the shopping center – a big covered market.  They make delicate wickerwork baskets and lights.  We noticed the women and children had a fine yellow-beige powder spread on their cheeks and forehead which we were told was sandalwood to protect from sun and insects.

We found the people of Rangoon to be open, friendly and polite and exit procedures at the airport were much less complicated than arriving.  When we entered the country, we had made a list of all jewelry, radio, camera and money which was a real hassle, even wedding rings.  Going out I had to show it all again, but they took our word on the money.  We found out the black market was 25 kat to $1, not the 12 offered by our enthusiastic taxi friend.  The higher exchange rate would have made life and souvenir buying very cheap but we didn’t want to risk it.

On a scale of 10/10, Thailand’s airport rates a 10 for helpfulness and efficiency; all services were there and open – hotel booked, money changed and whisked the 25 km into town in a prepaid taxi to the hotel door.

Our excellent hotel, The Opera, ($9 for one bed) was recommended by a friend as a Peace Corps hotel.  There is a swimming pool, air conditioning and a 24 hour restaurant and bar.  After a needed shower we went down to the restaurant and looked at the menu, looked at each other, smiled, and ordered simultaneously: grilled cheese sandwich, fries and a chocolate milk shake – real comfort food.  Bangkok is great!  Neon lights, shopping and comfort food.  The hotel even has music piped into the room by the bed.  There is a knob you can turn which some joker had neatly labeled “roudness.”  FM rock music lulled us to sleep.