The beer run

Lacking any dramatic tales of vicious attacks by Komodo dragons we will continue our Indonesia odyssey with a moment nearly as dramatic - our emergency beer run.

Note: in this part of the world the provision of alcoholic beverages should always be taken very seriously and can never be taken for granted.   

After long, hot day of dragon spotting and snorkeling we found ourselves with a desperately low beer supply. Doing our best not to panic, we managed to communicate our situation to the teenage cook on board our boat.  

Half an hour later we docked at a very small, very isolated and very Muslim village. My heart sank. 

We were instantly swarmed by hordes of gorgeous local children. Some proffering cheap trinkets at extortionate prices others drawn by the sudden presence of a red-head in their midst. 

Yes, Amelia was an instant hit and children lined the dock to stare at her while she tinkered around on the boat.

The cook beckoned Ian and Jeremy to follow and he led them on an extended expedition through the village. Tucked away in a far corner of this town was a single shop. When Ian and Jeremy entered, the shopkeeper's face was radiant with joy. She knew she was about to make a killing. 

In the back of the shop, buried under dust and debris was a single case of Bintang. She asked an outrageous price and the boys didn't bat an eye. Sensing she might be able to fund her retirement in a single transaction she began offering to sell virtually everything but the shop itself. They politely declined offers of dusty sunglasses, cigarettes and expired cat food.

Twenty minutes later the dream team came parading back down the dock looking slightly dazed and extremely pleased with themselves. 

I almost couldn't believe my eyes. If there was a single village in all of Southeast Asia that didn't have beer for sale, I would have guessed this was it. 

Happy and now with refreshment we travelled a short distance to a quiet bay where we would spend the night. We had a delicious dinner of stuffed squid (and beer) and retreated to the top deck of the boat where miles away from any light pollution or obstruction watched the stars appear in their thousands.

The Taj Mahal

We are 'home' and our little spurt of holidays is (unfortunately) on hold as contrary to popular opinion, we do have jobs.  Anyway, it does give me the chance to go back and cover my time in India. I blogged a bit about Delhi and after an all too brief exploration of that truly enormous city we set out for Agra - or more specifically, the Taj Mahal.

We hired a driver and mini-van and despite some hair-raising lane changes we made it there safely in about 4 hours. Agra was the capital of the Mughal empire before moving to Delhi in the 1620s. Despite the presence of the Taj and other architectural gems, this relatively small city of about 1.7 million is a verifiable dump - a status confirmed by being the 19th most polluted city in India.

Aware of Agra's bad reputation we didn't plan to stick around for long. In fact, I was thoroughly prepared to be underwhelmed - envisioning the blistering heat of the Indian summer, vast crowds, relentless tour touts - all those standard elements that can suck the joy out of any large tourist attraction - but here, as with everything in India, I expected it to be particularly in your face.

We arrived and inevitably the anticipation started to build. The large onion shaped domes of the Taj were just visible from the hotel, and once we'd our first glimpse we were eager to be on our way. The Taj Mahal was built by the slightly unhinged and architectural-obsessive Shah Jahan. The Taj is a mausoleum built for his third and favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

 The perimeter of the Taj is surrounded by red sandstone walls and a covered walkway with ornate entrances and mosques at the front and either side of the Taj Mahal itself.  The rear of the Taj is left exposed to the Yamuna River, which is far less picturesque than it sounds as the Yamuna is the dumping grounds for 80% of Agra's sewage (the smell was considerably less bad than anticipated).

The story has it that this perimeter shields the Taj like a veil from prying eyes, thus maintaining modesty - an important characteristic of any devout Muslim wife, and apparently one that should be maintained even in her not-so-modest final resting place.

Shah Jahan's other, less popular, wives are interred in tombs outside these walls.

Eager to get to the main event we didn't linger outside.

We were all - even Ankit who hadn't been since he was a small child - completely amazed.  The Taj Mahal is by all accounts, impressive.

The size and the symmetry are the first things that strike you - like a much bigger and better version of Sacre Coeur in Paris. But it doesn't take long - even from a distance of a few hundred meters for the sheer attention to detail to set in.  The craftsmanship is easily on par with any European church, castle or monument. 

It was crowded, but not overly so, no jostling for that perfect photo.  It was even possible given the right angle to get a view completely devoid of people.  For this, we could thank the weather - it was hot - very hot, and apparently most sane people avoid travel during the summer months in India.  As a result, there were remarkably few Western tourists but plenty of Indians, who had come from far and wide to see their most treasured national monument.

We soon discovered that the Taj was not the only tourist attraction.  Like other tourist attractions in India, there is an Indian nationals and PIO (Persons of Indian Origin) price and a tourist price.  So whilst entry to the Taj set me back about $30, it only costs Indian around $0.30, thus making the entry fee affordable for all but the very poorest citizens (don't forget this is a nation with 1/3 of the population on $1 a day).

It goes without saying that I am more than happy to pay this price, I think it is completely fair - not only economically, but maintaining buildings like the Taj doesn't come cheap - someone has to pay and I'm certainly willing to do my part.

I digress. Given this low entry fee for locals, means that many people from small towns and villages make the trip - for them this is a real two-for-one deal - not only do they get to see the Taj, but for many of them, this is the first time they will have ever seen a white person.

It is easy to get annoyed with the staring, leering and photo-taking, but it's all part of the experience.  My blond-haired, blue-eyed travel companion easily had the worst of it, with entire families queuing up to have their photos taken with her.  She gracefully declined, if she'd consented, I suspect we'd still be there.

Hot fun in the summertime

Well we are surviving our first Ramadan without too much disruption. The only real change is that the driving is even worse than usual. Our drive home from work is plagued by starving, dehydrated maniacs trying to get home so they can overdose on food the moment the sun sets.

Fortunately we'll be escaping the chaos that descends with the end of Ramadan by nipping off to Cambodia for a week. Should be a good time and hopefully the fact that it's the middle of the rainy season won't be too much of a hindrance. Rumour has it that the rain confines itself to torrential downpours in the late afternoon and it is otherwise hot and sunny. They say Angkor Wat looks best in the rainy season too as the jungle is extra green and lush.

The food should be awesome, but I have heard tales of eating tarantulas, crickets and duck foetus so I suppose one much choose wisely. In any event, cheap beer should more than make up for any culinary mishaps.

Ramadan

Well, Ramadan is off to a roaring start (courtesy of the AP & New York Times)

Malaysia Ramadan TV Ads Axed Amid Racism Complaint

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A Malaysian television station has axed a series of commercial to mark the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan after angry viewers complained the ads insulted non-Muslim ethnic minorities.

The commercials began airing recently to remind viewers of Ramadan, which began Aug. 1. Muslims refrain from eating and drinking from dawn until sundown during the month.

The three 30-second clips depicted an ethnic Chinese girl eating in public, wearing revealing clothing and being loud. It ended with messages urging viewers to avoid doing such things in respect of the Muslim holy month.

The ads sparked outrage in the Muslim-majority country, with many slamming private station 8TV on its Facebook page.

The TV station withdrew the ads and apologized late Tuesday.

St Valentine's Day Massacre, Malaysia-style

Generally speaking, living in Malaysia is very easy.  Everyone speaks English, I feel safe, I have a nice home and a good job - everything feels pretty normal.  Then occasionally you hear about things that remind me just how very far from home I actually am. 

On the morning of the 15th I heard about this:

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has arrested nearly 100 Muslims in a religious crackdown on Valentine’s Day, officials said Tuesday, after Islamic authorities warned the celebration encourages “vice activities”.

Raids across the capital and central Selangor state, saw 96 individuals detained for “khalwat”, or “close proximity”, an Islamic law barring Muslims from being alone with someone of the opposite sex other than their spouse.

The mass arrests came after religious authorities in the Muslim-majority nation warned against “immoral acts” during Valentine’s Day, saying they wanted to promote a sin-free lifestyle.

In Kuala Lumpur, religious enforcement officers raided budget hotels and public parks ahead of Valentine’s Day detaining 16 Muslims, mainly teenagers, a spokesman from the Federal Territory Islamic Affairs Department told AFP.

“The operation was part our regular raids to stop ’khalwat’,” said Asmawi Umar, adding the teenagers had paid around 50 ringgit ($15) for a hotel room for two hours.

In Selangor, 80 Muslims were rounded up during raids between midnight and 6am on Valentine’s Day, according to media reports, quoting state religious authorities.

They face up to two years in jail and a fine if convicted in an Islamic sharia court.

Under Malaysia’s dual-track legal system sharia courts can try Muslims for religious and moral offences. More than 60 percent of the nation’s 28 million population are Muslim Malays.

Religious authorities last week launched a campaign called “Mind the Valentine’s Day trap” to condemn the celebration and said they would reject anything that contravenes Islamic teachings.

“In reality, as well as historically, the celebration of Valentine’s Day is synonymous with vice activities,” said Wan Mohamad Sheikh Abdul Aziz, head of Malaysia Islamic Development Department, which oversees the country’s Islamic policies. - AFP

Read more: Muslims arrested in Valentine's crackdown http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/MuslimsarrestedinValentine_scrackdown/Article/#ixzz1EU7ilBEQ

Needless to say, this was a much-discussed topic of conversation amongst the expats at work the following day. Things like this don't seem to happen in KL too often and the religious authorities frequently seem to be a bit less zealous here than in other parts of the country. That being said, the call to prayer from our local mosque is loud, very loud and sometimes the mullah likes to just get on the mic and pontificate a bit so you can hear this rambling in Arabic being projected across Bangsar.  Apparently, some local authority figure complained and then the mosque burned an effigy of this guy.  I think he dropped the complaint.

So, the whole dvd/cd debacle isn't quite so tragic as it may seem.  It is the only way to get Ian to part with these:

Unfortunately, the dvd's are already packed, but suffice it to say, I'm thrilled that Starship Troopers is staying behind.

I've also been studying up on the basics about Malaysia.

1. Malaysia has a population of about 28 million and covers an area just larger than New Mexico.
2. The average life expectancy is 73 for men and 76 for women (the US is 76 and 81)
3. The ethnic breakdown looks something like this: Malay 50.4%, Chinese 23.7%, indigenous 11%, Indian 7.1%, others 7.8%
4. Roughly 60% of the population is Muslim and there are separate laws that apply only to them (ie no booze) but are enforeced to varying degrees in different regions.
5. There are Sharia Courts for Family and Civil cases (if you so choose) but choose carefully as if you don't like that decision you are unable to appeal through the 'regular' court system.

Okay, must pack.