We got back on the ship and took lunch at our usual cafeteria to save lunch money and one more reason. It was terribly hot for us and we wanted to change our underwear. Then I went out for a private tour to feel the island's history. Although I knew only two phrases "Thank you" and "See you again" in Malay, I thought English would be useful for communication with local people.
The first destination was Fort Cornwallis, which was located at 5 minutes' walk from the pier. I found a clock tower on the way, which looked historically significant, but there was no description in my travel guide, and additionally, it was in the center of a traffic circle. It looked dangerous to cross the street in the chaotic traffic conditions so I passed it, but its description board was in the Fort.
I saw the same kind of clock tower in Kota Kinabalu on Borneo Island last summer. I wondered then and also on Penang why the local people in Malaysia were able to be so generous to Brits who had conquered them and ruled them with a rod of iron. Reading the description carefully, however, I noticed that it said the simple fact neutrally without their feelings. Remembering that humiliating inscription in Hiroshima, I felt that the Japanese should learn something from Malaysian people.
(Vocabulary)
roundabout intersection, traffic circle ロータリー交差点
マラッカ海峡クルージング記： ジョージタウン観光 ヴィクトリア女王記念時計塔
一旦船に戻り、船のレストランで食事をしてから（街中で食べても良いのだが船で食べると食べ放題、かつ無料）、一人で外出した。マレー語は『ありがとう』と『また会いましょう』しか知らないが、英語は通じるだろう、、、、
まず最初の目的地はコーンウォリス要塞。埠頭から徒歩５分。途中に時計台があった。手元のガイドブックには説明が無く、なにか歴史的意義はありそうだったがロータリー交差点の真ん中に建っており道路を横切るのが危険だったこともあり、パス。と、その説明が要塞内部にあった。コタキナバルにも同様の時計台があったが、かつて原住民を虐殺し、圧政を敷いたイギリスに対してマレー人たちがどうしてこうも寛容になれるのか、不思議に思ったのだが、その説明には単に事実が書かれているだけで尊敬の文言はなかった。日本が広島に建てている原爆に関するあの卑屈な恥ずべき碑文を思い出して、マレー人に見習うべき点があるのではないかと思った。
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