I had an interest in highways in Malaysia. What were they like in comparison with those of Japan? The surface of the road was alike, but accompanying facilities were considerable poorer. As we went out of the downtown of Kuala Lumpur, the cars on the opposite line, which were heading for the city center, were heavily stuck. Traffic seemed to begin to build around eight. They would be late for their work, but it looked like they didn't care. If in Japan, people would leave for work earlier enough to arrive at their workplaces in time. It might be the Malaysian way of life.
The next day was the Independence Day of Malaysia. Lots of national flags were raised everywhere on the way. All the city was decorated by their flags. The guide told us that we were lucky to see the ceremony, but it was not by chance, but intentionally.
About 30 minutes after we started, the rain stopped and the sky got light. People in Malaysia seemed to welcome such rain. Do you know why? I wrote about the slash and burn agriculture having been adopted in Indonesia in the past entry. This type of cultivation generates smoke pollution in the areas of the leeward direction, such as Malaysia. That was what blurred the scene from our room. The short-time heavy rain washes the haze away and makes the air clear. The guide told us that we were lucky to see the beautiful scenery of the Strait of Malacca. I'm going to show you some pictures taken in Malacca later.
A break for using the rest room. When I saw our van in front of our hotel, I found the letters "BAS PERSIARAN" on its body. I assumed that it was the name of the tour company, but I was wrong. Lots of vans and big buses, which I had seen in the streets, had the same phrases on their side wall. It appeared to mean "sightseeing vehicle". The tourism trade would be now prosperous in this country.
When I saw some Malayan expressions on the signboard, I found that Malay might be comparatively easy to learn. It seemed to resemble English and also German, in which the spelling and the pronunciation of words coincide. The pronunciation of vowels in Malay was just like that of Japanese. However, that doesn't mean I'll start learning Malay now, but I learned two expressions from the guide, "Thank you" and "See you again" in Malay.
Our first destination in Malacca was a short cruise on the river run through the city, but it was closed for some reason. Regrettable! The next spot was a museum showing what the Peranakan culture was like. Do you know the word "Peranakan"? It was not so long ago when I had come across it. Anyway, the museum didn't fall short of my expectations, nay it surpassed it, but photography was not permitted inside except in the entrance. I'll write about it again in the next entry.
(Vocabulary)
leeward :
1: the leeward side of something is the side that is sheltered from the wind; [≠]windward:
We camped on the leeward side of the mountain.
2: technical a leeward direction is the same direction as the wind is blowing; [≠]windward:
to leeward(= in a leeward direction) The ship cruised slowly to leeward.
Malayan マレー語の
Peranakan プラナカンとは欧米列強による統治下にあった（現在のマレーシアを中心とする）東南アジアの各地域に、１５世紀後半から数世紀にわたって移住してきたマレーシアに根付いた主に中華系移民の末裔を指す。
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