Our flight to Kota Kinabalu(KK) was short, about a few hours, and the departure time was scheduled at 9.05 hours. We didn't expect a lot from our in-flight meal, but it was really filling. I shouldn't have had breakfast in Kuala Lumpur International Airport. By the way, the second pleasure next to the meal in flight was the scenery from the window. The sky was clear and we were able to see downward to the South China Sea. The flight route from Kuala Lumpur was roughly straight to KK. The Borneo Island was approaching us from the front right side. My heart began pounding with expectation and pleasure to see her again! ....HER?
Until last December, Malaysia was a far away country whether in distance or sensation to me and my family. I didn't even want to visit it. However, the circumstances had dramatically changed. A Malaysian schoolgirl stayed in my house for about a week last December. She was a what-you-call trigger for us to know about Malaysia and was just like a diplomat from Malaysia for my family. No Malaysian ambassador who ever came to Japan stirred us to visit Malaysia, but she did. That schoolgirl lives in Miri which is located on the north shore of Borneo Island and is adjacent to Brunei. One of the purposes of this trip was to see her again. She was supposed to wait for us in KK International Airport. We looked for Miri from the plane when it came close to Brunei, but it was too far for taking pictures.
Borneo Island came close. The picture was shot about 10 minutes before landing. Judging from my map, it shows the area of Kuala Penyu. We would visit Papar near the area by train. The second picture looked like an oil camp and I photographed it. Looking up the map, it was Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal, which reminded me of the Great East Asian War. Japan, which was imposed with a total ban on US crude oil imports, expelled Britain from Borneo Island to get oil and established its military administration on the island. They say that the condition of the island was peaceful while Japan was dominant in the war. The island has its several tribes like Taiwan. What history does it have? I wanted to visit some museums.
(Vocabulary)
establish a military administration 軍政を敷く
マレーシア旅行記： コタキナバルへ向かう
９時５分発の数時間の短いフライト。食事は期待しておらず、空港で朝食を取ったが失敗だった。飛行機の中で朝食が出た。結構食べ応えのあるサンドイッチだった。晴れていて眼下にきれいな海が見える。飛行ルートはクアラルンプールからほぼまっすぐにコタキナバルへ向かっている。右手遙か前方に見えたボルネオ島が近づいてくる。『彼女』に再会すると思うと胸がどきどきしてきた。
昨年の１２月までマレーシアは全く知らない、縁の無い国だった。行きたいと思うこともなかった。しかし、昨年１２月、我が家にマレーシアから女子高生が１週間滞在し、そのことでマレーシアに興味を持つようになった。我が家にとってはマレーシアから派遣された外交官に等しい高校生だった。その高校生が住む街がボルネオ島北岸の中央部に位置するミリ。今回の旅の目的の一つは彼女と再会すること。その彼女は今、コタキナバルで我々を待っていくれているはずだが、彼女の住むミリはどの辺りかなと目を凝らす。モニターに映る現在位置から判断して、ブルネイのすぐ隣だからこのあたりかと飛行機から島を見下ろした。
コンパクトカメラでも撮れるくらいに陸地に近づいてきた。写真は到着１０分くらい前に取ったもの。手元の地図から判断するとKuala Penyuという街らしい。この近くまで実は鉄道を使って行ってみるつもりでいる。石油基地らしいものがあったので撮っておいた。地図を見るとSabah Oil and Gas Terminalとある。そういえば先の大戦時、アメリカからの原油輸入を止められた日本はボルネオからイギリスを追い出しこの地に軍政を敷いた。戦争前半の日本が優勢な時期には平和な時代だったと聞いている。ボルネオも台湾などと同様限られた面積に多くの民族が住んでいた。どのような歴史を持つのだろうか。歴史博物館も楽しみだ。
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