Tour 2003 - A Burma Shave

Dear Family and Friends,

The details of my old age are quite inconsequential.  Winters in Rangoon, sailing on the Irriwaddy, hiking up Mandalay Hill....  Pretty standard stuff.  (With apologies to Austin).

My plans for this trip were quite hastily and casually made.  Not having visited before, I booked a short trip to Myanmar.  I have now spent one furious week there, trying to see in seven days a country that deserves at least one month. 

Tour 2003 - A little of this, a little of that (Malaysia & Thailand)

Hello Everyone,

I have become a slob.  I'm sure many of you will find that hard to believe, knowing the sense of style I display on Savary.  But the heat, the humidity, the humping of heavy bags on and off public transportation, all cause one to sweat like Phil Esposito by the end of a tough game.  Each day I set out with new fresh clothes and literally within minutes, no matter how I try to keep cool, my clothes are sopping, stuck to me, and I'm standing in a puddle of sweat.  It's simply true; we travellers generally look a disgrace.  The locals, on the other hand, all look crisp and cool.  Personal appearance is very important to people in these countries.  Judging from the clothing choices tourists and travellers make, an entirely different value system is at play.  

Anyway, I have nothing of real excitement with which to follow up my Borneo adventure.  But to bring you somewhat up to date, on leaving Sarawak I flew to Kuala Lumpur, a leap into a hot, crowded, noisy, busy big city.  (Flying with Malaysian Air as I am, Kuala Lumpur is an obligatory stop, but it otherwise holds little interest.)  While there I, of course, visited the twin Petronas Towers, the world's tallest buildings at 1,452 feet (even when the World Trade Center was standing).  Both towers are 88 stories high but visitors can only go to the 41st floor where a sky-bridge joins the two towers.  Clad in polished aluminium, they are striking on the skyline, particularly with the sun reflecting off them.  As you can deduce from their name, they are owned by a large Malaysian oil company.  

Tour 2003 - Bloody Borneo & Bong, James Bong

Dear family and friends,

There were five of the little buggers on my leg when I looked down.  About an inch long, brown, skinny as a matchstick, and flipping themselves up my leg to find the juiciest spot to hook themselves on and fatten themselves up on my blood, filling themselves to more than ten times their original size.  Leeches.  Ugh.  In their search for fresh blood, these leeches can squeeze through a shoelace eyelet or the fabric of your sock.  All you have to do is brush a small branch and they can drop on you and they are quickly heading up your leg or down your neck.  I thought to myself "Merv, you are wearing shorts and sandals, you have only walked 20 meters into the jungle and you already have five leeches on your legs.  Don't you think you should at least consider the possibility that you may not be properly outfitted for this?" With that thought I pretty much stamped as paid my interest in jungle trekking, and scurried back to the boat which I had just left.  I was on the Menangul River, a tributary of the Kinabatangan River, at 560 km long, the largest in Sabah, the northern state of Malaysia Borneo.

Around the World in a 60s Daze. China - The Last Chapter

May 2, 2002.



Dear Family and Friends,

As my great friend Craig Ferguson might say, "You could write books on what I don't know about China". Having spent four weeks skipping around China like Svend Robinson on a Trade Mission, I am hardly qualified to comment on this vast, culturally rich, diverse and ancient land. Nonetheless, I am going to do so, but somehow doing so reminds me of the sign Gerry Ennis used to have in his office at Shell, "To yeers ago I culdn't even spel enjineer, now I are one."

Four weeks ago China existed for me largely as the Mysterious East, exotic, inscrutable, teeming. And of course, as characterised by American press, it was Red China, the Evil Empire, repository of all things Communist, and anti-Christ. Well, today I do have a slightly more informed and realistic view of China and its people. This will be a long message to tell you about it. I hope you will accept my apology for being so wordy, but I never use four words when a thousand will do.

Around the World in a 60s Daze. Chapter VIII - Laos & More

April 5, 2002

Dear Family and Friends,

My last chronicle ended as Carole and I arrived in Laos. I can only imagine your anxiety waiting to receive the next instalment, so here it is. Laos has the smallest population of any country in Indo China (5.4 million), and only Cambodia is smaller in area than Laos; but Laos manages to border on Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. The Mekong River called the Nam Khong here, and so important everywhere in Indo China, runs the full length of the country. All those countries just mentioned have been involved in the rule of Laos over the past millennium. A good portion of the Ho Chi Minh trail, leading from North to South Vietnam, was in Eastern Laos, so Laos became a major target for American bombers during the Vietnam/American War. Laos has the unhappy distinction of being the most bombed country in the history of the world. Only in 1975, shortly after the fall of Saigon, did the Pathet Lao secure Vientienne and create the Lao People's Democratic Republic, a regime closely connected with Vietnam.

Carole and I flew in to Vientienne, the capital, for a short visit of this landlocked country. Vientienne is certainly the smallest national capital I have ever been in, and after the frenzy of all the other cities I have visited, flying in to Vientienne is like arriving in Powell River and stepping into a time warp. I don't know how many people live there, but it can't be much more than 100,000. From the first moment at the airport, we knew we were dealing with different people than previously. There was no rush of taxi drivers trying to get us to go with them, rather a couple of them just let us know they were there, should we ever decide to go downtown. No pressure, no bargaining. Traffic is very light and it is easy to walk around the whole downtown, which borders along the Mekong River.

Around the World in a 60s Daze. Chapter VII - The Nam

March 24, 2002.



Dear Family and Friends,

Swarms of motorcycles, straw woven conical hats, very narrow buildings, rice paddies so green they seem to glow, fresh baguettes, Hill Peoples in traditional dress, remnants from decades of war, all will be my enduring memory of Vietnam. These letters may be getting boring to many of you, but I am going to persist anyway, and hope there is something of interest for you.

Lorraine, Carole and I arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) nearly three weeks ago and we have had a whirlwind tour of the country, south to north. With a population of 80 million, Vietnam is the 9th most populous country in the world, and, or course, it dominated world news for most of the sixties, seventies, and even eighties. Today these determined, hardworking people have put that struggle behind them and are now looking towards a prosperous future. They seem to be a country of entrepreneurs and there is really little evidence of Communism save large billboards urging workers on. Vietnam is full of tourists, Australians, French, German, Dutch, Scandinavians, and lots of Canadians. In fact, we met two pairs of Newfoundlanders in one hotel. I can't recall ever meeting someone from Newfoundland on any of my previous trips.