Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Canopy Walkway and Jungle

　　I wanted to see or step into the jungle in Borneo. My father-in-law was working on the maintenance of military planes during the Great East Asian War on Shortland Island near Bougainville Island. His unit faced a serious shortage of food after the military logistics was broken and its supply route was severed. After the loss of all the planes he worked searching for food in the jungle with the help of local people. Wild oxen were evidently delicious. Anyway, the United Nations headed for the Philippines directly after the seizure of Guadalcanal Island, passing Bougainville Island, but the unit didn't know about this. My father-in-law was preparing for the UN's attack on Bougainville Island and he was going to kill a multitude of soldiers in exchange for his own life.
　　I had heard about the real life and the hunting in the jungle from him before his death. I wanted to feel the atmosphere of the jungle, and I walked on the canopy walkway built in the trees in the Poring Hot Spring Area. The ground was beneath me, but I wasn't able to see it hindered by bushes, leaves, and due to the lack of sunlight. Moving and living in such a severe condition, my father-in-law and his fellows survived. I recalled their unimaginable difficulties.

(Vocabulary)
Bougainville Island ブーゲンビル島　南太平洋西部、ソロモン諸島北端の火山島。
Shortland Island ブーゲンビル島の南にある小さな島
military logistics  兵站
Guadalcanal Island　ガダルカナル島《南太平洋 Solomon 群島中の島》　大東亜戦争の激戦地の一つ

マレーシア旅行記：　ジャングル、キャノピーウォーク、そして大東亜戦争へ思いを馳せる
　
ボルネオ島ではジャングルそのものを見たかった。義父が大東亜戦争中、ブーゲンビル島とそのそばにあるショートランド島で軍用機のメンテナンスをしていた。飛ばせる戦闘機が無くなった後はジャングルで食べられるものを探して歩き、部隊を支えたという。地元の人たちの助けを借りて捕獲した野生の牛はごちそうだったという。アメリカ軍はガダルカナル島を攻略した後、ブーゲンビル島をパスしてフィリピンへ向かったが、そのことを知らない義父たちはアメリカ軍が上陸してきたら少なくとも一人当たり二人のアメリカ兵と差し違えようとジャングルで準備をしていたらしい。
　
生前、義父からジャングルでの暮らしをよく聞いた。どのようなところなのか自分の目で見てみたいと思い、ポーリン温泉の奧にあるCanopy Walkwayを歩いてみた。地面は遙か下にあるのだが、見えない。こんなところを移動しながら食料を確保し、生き延びた義父たちの苦労が偲ばれた。

Mt. Kinabalu Area

　　The road to the Mt. Kinabalu area went up along the gorge. I found the signboard saying "Nabalu" on the way. I understood that it was the name of the place or village. I'm not sure, but it might be from the name of the indigenous people. After about 30 minutes' additional drive, I found a statue of a Chinese cabbage at an intersection. This area would be a prominent product site of highland vegetables. My map showed that I was in the village of Kundasang. Kundasang is the base for climbing Mt. Kinabalu, but the mountain was behind the thick cloud.
　　We arrived at the busy town of Ranau and enjoyed a short sightseeing trip. I happened to see "Sandakan" on a sighboard at an intersection, which would be the most well-known town to Japanese on Borneo island. To tell the truth, I'd like to have visited Sandakan too, but Japan's Foreign Ministry issued a travel advisory about Sandakan and around the city several years ago and even now the warning is valid. I heard that the cemetery for Japanese people had been ruined, so I wanted to offer even a single flower to people lying buried there.
　　Then we reached the Poring Hot Spring Area, which was located deep in the rain forest and was found by the Japanese Army in the Great East Asian War. The soldiers would have healed their wounds whether physically or mentally. Looking up into the forest, lots of durians were growing.

(Vocabulary)
Nabalu　ナバル(地名)
indigenous　〈人・慣習・文化などが〉（土地）固有の, 土着の;〈動植物などが〉 自生の
Kundasang  クンダサン(地名）
advisory  警報, 注意報
travel advisory  渡航自粛勧告
Sandakan　サンダカン(地名)

マレーシア旅行記：　コタキナバル～ポーリン温泉へ

ガソリンスタンドを出て谷沿いに走り道はすぐに登りになった。地図を見るとナバル村とある。ナバルとは先住民族の一つの名前ではなかったか？帰国後調べてみよう。さらにしばらく走ると開けた土地に出た。白菜のオブジェを見つけた。おそらくは高原野菜の産地なのだろう。地図にはクンダサンと書いてある。ここはキナバル山の登山基地となっている町だ。キナバル山を左手に眺めるはずが雲に隠れていた。

更に走って少し大きな街に着いた。Ranauである。車窓から街の中を観光した。道案内看板にはSandakanの文字が。日本人にはボルネオ島の中で一番知られている街だろう。今回の旅で立ち寄りたいと思ったが、治安の悪化のため外務省から渡航自粛の勧告が出ており立ち寄りをやめた。日本人墓地が荒れていると聞くのでせめて花の一輪でも手向けて冥福を祈りたかった。

そして今日の最初の目的地ポーリン温泉に到着。戦時中、日本軍が見つけたもので、ジャングルの中に位置している。兵隊たちは疲れた身体を故国を思い出しながら癒したことだろう。周辺はジャングルで、さすがに熱帯雨林、見たことも無い植物ばかりだ。見上げるとドリアンもたわわに実っていた。

Toilet For Muslims

　　Mt. Kinabalu, the southeastern Asian highest mountain, 4,095 meters high, is one of the symbols of Malaysia. I knew it when the strong quake jolted the northern area of Borneo Island in June of 2016. More than a dozen climbers, including guides and Japanese, were killed at that time. The distinctive shape of Donkey Ears Peak was really attractive for me. I asked N chan to take us to the base of Mt. Kinabalu.
　　By the way, I saw a toilet for Muslims for the first time on the way to Malacca, but I didn't take a picture because I didn't carry my digital camera at that time. I wanted to shoot one, so that I can say that I've seen it. I happened to find it luckily at the gas station on the way to Mt. Kinabalu Park. The toilet was equipped with a hose to wash your anus. I thought that Japanese toilet seats with the washing nozzle are ideal for Muslims, but the voltage of electricity in Malaysia is 200 volts and they are apparently afraid of electric shock accidents. Anyway, don't they wet their clothes? Oh, it was none of my business!

(Vocabulary)
Donkey Ears Peak 　ロバの耳　キナバル山の特徴的な岩

マレーシア旅行記：　いよいよキナバル山麓へ　その前にトイレ休憩
　
２０１６年６月の地震がきっかけでその存在を知ったキナバル山。東南アジア最高峰と聞く。せっかくボルネオ島へ行くのだから間近で見てみたいとお願いして、この日はキナバル山麓へ連れて行っていただいた。
　
ところで、マラッカへ向かうときに初めてムスリム用のトイレを見たのだが、そのときにはカメラを持っていなかったので撮影できず、話のネタにするためにどこかで写真を撮っておこうと思っていたらキナバル公園に向かう途中で寄ったガソリンスタンドにあったので撮影。日本のようにトイレに洗浄機を付ければ良いのにと思うが、電源が２００ボルトなので感電が心配なのだとか。肛門を洗うときに下着を濡らしたりはしないのだろうか、、、、あ、余計なお世話だな。

Real Rain Forest and N chan's Papa's Sauce

　　Borneo would make most Japanese people evoke the rain forest. I am one of them. N chan's family took us to Marimari Cultural Village which was established to show tourists their original culture and was located deep in the rain forest 20km away from KK. When we visited the village, however, all the performances had unfortunately finished. The second picture was shot in front of the ticket booth of the village. Though I didn't see inside of the village, I was able to see the deep rain forest of Borneo on the way to the village. It was darker and greener than the Japanese forest. Seeing the rain forest and local people's life along the way really drove my curiosity.
　　Going back to our hotel, we took a rest for about an hour. Then, N chan's family guided us to a seafood restaurant, which is shown below. The restaurant was so noisy, and we were overwhelmed by its heated atmosphere. We would hesitate about entering the restaurant without N chan's family. They were really helpful. We might have made do with box lunches from the shelves of a convenience store if they hadn't helped us. At this restaurant, the customers chose their food from the lots of kinds of displayed live materials at first, then order its cooking method, such as simmering, grilling, and so on. We just obeyed their suggestion. My Mandarin, which didn't help in Taiwan, was useless also this time. I wasn't able to understand what people around were talking about. Their language wouldn't be Mandarin, but I didn't even know that the language was Chinese or Malay or another.
　　The last picture shows a plate of soy sauce, roughly mashed garlic, and some spicy seasonings like red peppers. How do you think you eat it? It's N chan's father's favorite. I followed his way of eating. He mixed these materials into soy sauce and put them on the rice. It was an unpredictable taste, and I tried it. Now this became my favorite. His recipe is called N chan's papa's soy sauce in my house. It's served only on the previous night of holidays, ,,you know, due to foul breath. However, the taste of this special sauce is different between KK and Japan, though I tried various seasonings with soy sauce. I'm not sure, but soy sauce in KK might not be made from soy beans, but from fish. Fish sauce, which is made from fermented salted fish, isn't popular other than a certain restricted area in Japan. I'll resolve this question on my next visit to KK.

(Vocabulary)
red pepper  [C] 赤ピーマン; [U] (粉末の) トウガラシ
foul　〈におい・味などが〉むかつくような, ひどくいやな, 悪臭のある
fish sauce 魚醤

マレーシア旅行記：　超ローカルなレストランで
　
ボルネオと聞いて多くの日本人が想起するのは熱帯雨林だろう。熱帯雨林やボルネオの文化を知るために彼らが連れて行ってくれたのがマリマリ文化村。ただ、この日は主なショーが終わっていて文化村の中を見ることはできなかった。しかし、そこまでの往復は圧感。車窓に映る熱帯雨林、日本の森林とは別物だった。熱帯雨林とそこで暮らす人々の暮らしを眺めながらのドライブに好奇心をかき立てられた。２枚目の写真は営業を終えて閑散としていたチケット売り場の前で全員で撮ったもの。
　
ホテルへ戻り、１時間ほど休憩して夕食に出かけた。で、写真のようなレストランに入ったのだが、我々二人だと注文することさえ怖じ気づいてしまうような熱気だった。Ｎちゃん家族がいてくれて本当に助かった。二人だとコンビニ弁当で済ませていたかもしれない。レストランは食材を選び、調理法を伝えるようだった。どのような調理法が適しているのかもわからない。Ｎちゃんご家族にお任せするしか手は無かった。料理はどれも美味しく、大満足。台湾でも通じなかった付け刃的僕の北京語。今回も全く聞き取れず、多分北京語ではないと思うがマレー語なのかシナ語なのか？それさえもわからず(^_^;)
　
最後の写真は醤油とニンニク、唐辛子などの香辛料。これをどうするのか、Ｎちゃんパパを見て真似てみた。なんとこれを醤油に混ぜてご飯に掛けて食べる、、、あり得ない食べ方だったが、試してみると結構いける！我が家では今、『ニンちゃんパパの醤油』と名を付け、休日前の食卓に並んでいる。なぜ休日前か？わかりますよね。その強烈なニンニク臭が、、、ただ、この写真をヒントにいろいろ薬味を混ぜてみてもＫＫで食べたこの味にはならない。ひょっとしてこの醤油は魚醤だったのか？これも次回のＫＫ旅行で確認しなければならない。

Fruits? Vegetables?

　　I'll provisionally call the Malaysian schoolgirl, whom I wrote about in the last entry, N chan and "KK" stands for Kota Kinabalu in the following entries.
　　Our plane landed softly on the soil of Borneo Island. N chan and her mother were waiting for us at KK International Airport. They took us to our hotel, the Jesselton Hotel. The driver was her father. His car was a luxury four-wheel-drive Japanese made car. I didn't see any other similar car in the streets, so it would be rare there.
　　We checked in the Jesselton Hotel, and then went out for a walk with N chan. Her parents went to pick N chan's grandparents up and would get together later.
　　While walking around the hotel, we found an interesting stall, which sold fruits or vegetables. I didn't know even their names. Carrot? Cucumber? Anyway, everything is full of wonder in foreign countries. We tried some. They were half snacks and half quenchers of your throat on the tropical island. Then N chan's grandparents got together and we had a late lunch.
　　By the way, I'd like to write the general story about imported cars in Malaysia. The Malacca tour guide told us about his company's car, which was a product of Japan. It had a heating system, despite the car being used in tropical Malaysia. I asked him why the car had it. When he answered, he didn't use the word, "import", but used "bring as is" to explain the car. There might be two different ways to use foreign countries' cars in Malaysia, and it might be considerably cheaper to bring the cars as is from Japan than to import them through the official dealers.
　　The N chan's family car was equipped with an external navigation system, though their luxurious car surely has a built-in navigation system in Japan. I assumed that it might have been brought as is and hadn't the map data of Malaysia. Anyway, I'll ask them about the above idea next time.

マレーシア旅行記：　コタキナバル(ボルネオ島最大の街）

先の記事で書いた高校生の名前を仮にNちゃんとしておく。空港の到着ゲートにはNちゃんとお母さんが待っていてくれた。お父さんの運転する車でホテルに送ってくれた。車は日本製の高級四駆。他に走っているのを見かけなかったから当地ではかなり珍しい車ではないだろうか？
　
ザ・ジェッセルトン・ホテルに旅装を解いてホテル周辺をNちゃんと散策。途中の店で野菜なのか果物なのか、食べてみた。食べてもよくわからなかった。(^_^;)　ご両親は他のご家族を迎えに一時別行動。その後母方のおじいちゃん、おばあちゃんも合流して遅めの昼食
　
ここから先は勝手な思い込みかもしれないが、車の輸入には二通りある？マラッカを案内してくれたガイドが、ツアー会社の車の説明をしてくれたのだが、車に暖房もできるエアコンが設置されていて、マレーシアに暖房は要らないのについているのは、日本から直接持って来た車だからとのこと。彼は輸入とは言わなかった。直接？関税が安いのかな？この高級四駆も暖房できそうだし、ナビは内蔵とは別に外付けになっている、、、次のＫＫ訪問時に詳しく聞いてみよう。

 

Viva! Kota Kinabalu!

　　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。

Borneo!

　　At 5 o'clock in the morning on September 1st, I left our hotel for the Kuala Lumpur International Airport(KLIA), giving up a delicious breakfast in the hotel, which was included in the hotel charges. The taxi driver was good and spoke to us in a friendly way. His knowledge of Japan was great. While chatting with him, I had several surprises about the Malaysian way of thinking. Let me raise an example. He said, "When Japanese people take their shoes off, they surely place them properly. Its tidiness is great." The manner was too common to me, and his opinion was new to me.
　　He continued, he sometimes guided a few people all day. When his passengers were in a certain facility in which it was required to take off their shoes, such as Buddhist temples, and he didn't see if they were still in or already out of the facility, he would check their shoes if they were Japanese. If he found shoes of the number of people arranged, he was able to decide that they were still in the facility. I got it, and I'll arrange my shoes politely at least overseas.
　　The pictures were shot at KLIA. I found a signboard written in Japanese! We are going to visit Borneo!

マレーシア旅行記：　いざボルネオへ

９月１日の朝５時、ホテルの美味しい朝食(宿泊費に含まれている)を我慢してクアラルンプール国際空港へ向かった。感じの良い運転手は自分の持てる日本に関する全ての知識をもって話しかけてくる。そんな風に思うのかという新鮮な驚きがいくつもあった。一つ例を挙げるなら、日本人は靴を脱いだとき、必ず揃えるという。見ていて気持ちが良いという。

時折数名の客を一日掛けて観光ガイドをするらしいのだが、靴を脱がなければならない、例えば仏教寺院など、で自分の乗客が出てきて外にいるのか、それともまだ中にいるのかわからないとき、日本人グループなら人数分の靴が揃えてあるのでまだ中にいると判断できるのだという。（笑）なるほど。これから海外では特に靴を揃えよう！

写真はクアラルンプール国際空港。国内線への途中で見つけた看板。日本語が書いてありました！これからボルネオ島へ向かいます。

Royal Selangor and Malaysia Tourism Center

　　The last place we visited was the head factory of Royal Selangor. This company was apparently the biggest one in the world in the field of pewter products. The guide's explanation recalled the fact that Malaysia had developed with the production of tin, but unfortunately it plunged the country into the pit of misery as a colony of Britain at the same time. I walked along the sightseeing route, admiring the skillful work of craftswomen, and reached the souvenir shop. The items on the shelves were great. I wanted some, but I had a long way to go yet. I gave up buying them. When I got back to our hotel, our laundry was delivered as I show you below. The laundry fee of 59 Ringgit (1550 yen) was high or low? It was not dark yet, so we went out for a walk around the hotel.
　　There was the Malaysia Tourism Center behind our hotel. This colonial building was built as a mine operator's residence in 1935, but it was converted to the British Army's Office, then it was used as the Headquarters of the Japanese Imperial Army until 1945, the defeat of Japan. The center was out of service, but I was able to enter the facility and it was bigger than I expected. It had a theater and a restaurant inside. The KL Tower and my hotel were seen from the garden of the center. I didn't climb up the tower, but I would visit KL again. The last picture is the Petronas Twin Tower which was glowing with the setting sun. The area around the tower was swarming with people who were celebrating their Independence.

(Vocabulary)
Royal Selangor　ロイヤル・セランゴール
tin [U] ([化学記号] Sn) スズ, (金属元素) ブリキ

 

マレーシア旅行記：　ロイヤル・セランゴール本社工場　旧日本帝国陸軍本部

最後の訪問地はロイヤル・セランゴールの本社工場。この会社はピューター製品の分野では世界で最も規模が大きい歴史ある老舗だとか。そういえばマレーシアはスズの生産で発展した国だったと思い出した。そのために英国の植民地ともなってしまったのだが。職人の鮮やかな手さばきにほれぼれしながら、最後はお決まりの土産物コーナー。どれもこれも素晴らしく買って帰りたいのだが、残りの行程が長いため我慢した。ホテルへ帰ると洗濯物が届いていた。これだけで５９リンギット（１５５０円）は高いか安いか。きれいに仕上がっていた。まだ十分明るいのでホテル周りを散策した。
　
ホテルの裏手にマレーシアツーリズムセンターがあった。このコロニアル建築は１９３５年にスズ採掘業者の邸宅として建てられたもので、イギリス陸軍オフィス、そして大東亜戦争中は日本陸軍本部として使われた歴史上大きな役割を果たしてきた建物。時間外だったが中に入ることが出来た。シアターやレストランもある大きな施設だった。同センターから宿泊したホテルとＫＬタワーが見えた。結局ＫＬタワーに登る時間は取れなかったが、また来ることもあるだろう。最後の写真は西日に映えるペトロナスツインタワー。独立記念日のためだろうか、大勢の人たちで賑わっていた。

 

Batu Caves

　　I visited Batu Caves, the Hindu sacred place, which was a big limestone cave and was 10km away from the downtown of Kuala Lumpur. The moment our car went into the parking lot, a golden statue with a snake, must be a cobra, around its neck caught my eye. It must have been a statue of Shiva. Additionally a long and steep stairs. The stairs were long and steep enough to scare my wife, and she didn't go up and waited for me downstairs. When I climbed up 272 steep steps, I reached the orifice of the cave, inside of which Hindu deities were enshrined. There was a small temple honoring Saint Subramanian in the back.
　　In shrines in Japan, you should walk on the edge of the approach. The approach to a shrine is used by the deity, so it's considered proper etiquette for visitors to avoid walking in the middle so as not to get in the way of the deity. In Hinduism, however, I didn't know about its proper manner. I just followed other people. It seemed all right to take snapshots and take some drinks in the cave, but I saw a monkey snatch a nylon bag of juice from a young girl. You must watch monkeys and I put my digital camera into my pocket.
　　After coming back to my wife I found terrible pictures at a cafe. They were of the Hindu Festival, Thaipusam. It apparently takes place every year at Batu Caves.

(Vocabulary)
Batu Caves バトゥ洞窟、ヒンドゥー教の聖地
Saint Subramanian　聖者スブラマニアン
Thaipusam　ヒンドゥー教の大祭タイプーサム

マレーシア旅行記：　クアラルンプール市内＆郊外観光　バトゥ洞窟

クアラルンプールから１０ｋｍほどの距離にあるヒンドゥー教の聖地を訪れた。バトゥ洞窟と呼ばれる鍾乳洞。大きな金色の銅像が目に入った。コブラだと思われる蛇を首に巻いているその姿からシヴァ神だろう。そしてその横に長い階段。この階段を見た瞬間、カミさんは怖じ気づき下で待っているからと言うので一人で登った。２７２段の急な階段を上ると鍾乳洞の入り口が有り、中にはいたるところにヒンドゥー教の神々が、そして奧の寺院には聖者スブラマニアンが祀られていた。

日本の神社は階段の端を歩くのが作法だが、ここでは？ヒンドゥー教の作法など全くわからないので他の人に倣って歩く。カメラも飲食も問題ないようだが、ナイロン袋に入ったジュースを猿に取られた人がいた。猿には注意が必要。デジカメをポケットの中へ隠した。（笑）

降りて近くの喫茶店で休憩中にとんでもない写真を見た。Thaipusamというヒンドゥー教の大祭で、この地で開催されるらしい。興味のある方は"Thaipusam, Malaysia"で画像検索をしてみてください。見たいような、恐ろしいような、、、そんなお祭りのようです。

Masjid Negara (National Mosque)

　　We visited the National Mosque (Masjid Negara in Malay) next. The entrance fee was free. We entered a mosque for the first time and naturally we didn't know the manner of entering. A staff member of the mosque gave us a brief lesson. My wife had to pull cloth over her head with her bag on. The picture shows the main prayer hall, which non-Muslims were prohibited to step in. The 2nd picture is the Malayan Railway Administration Building, which looked as if it had a long history. I wanted to see inside, but I had not enough time to do so. I also wanted to climb up the Petronas twin towers, but didn't for the same reason. We hurried to Batu Caves, a sacred place for Hindus.

(Vocabulary)
Masjid Negara (National Mosque) 国立モスク
Malayan Railway Administration Building  マレーシア鉄道ビル

マレーシア旅行記：　クアラルンプール市内＆郊外観光　国立モスク

次に訪れたのが国立モスク。入場料は無料だった。モスクに入るのは初めてで、イスラム関連のしきたりを十分には知らない。不安を覚えながら受付で作法を学んだ。カミさんはバッグなどを身につけたまま頭からすっぽりと布を被らされていた。写真はムスリム以外立ち入り禁止となっている祈りの場所。入り口に立って内部を覗き込んだ。２枚目は通路から見えたマレーシア鉄道ビル。長い歴史を感じさせる建物だった。内部を見たかったが先を急ぐため概観のみ。ペトロナスツインタワーも概観のみでシバ神に会うために郊外の鍾乳洞へ向かった。

National Monument

　　We moved to the National Monument on foot. It was a few minutes' walk from Istana Negara. This monument was built for paying tribute to the departed who dedicated their lives to Malaysia to grasp the independence of their country. Seven soldiers were depicted on the base. It was a really good opportunity to visit the monument on their Independence Day.
　　This monument reminded me of the Iwoto Memoriall in Arlington National Cemetery, which had been built for the dead in the battle of Iwoto Island in the Great East Asian War. Both monuments were really alike. I elaborately examined its base and found the sculptor's name on the stone, which is shown in the following picture. The National Monument and Iwoto Memorial were produced by the same sculptor.

(Vocabulary)
National Monument　国家記念碑
Istana Negara  王宮

マレーシア旅行記：　クアラルンプール市内＆郊外観光　国家記念碑

王宮（Istana Negara）から歩いて国家記念碑へ移動した。これは、マレーシア独立戦争で命を失った兵士たちの功績をたたえるために作られたもので、国旗を持った７人のマレーシア兵士が描かれている。独立記念日にこの地を訪問できたこと、何かの縁かも知れず、手を合わせた。
 
この像を見て思いだした。硫黄島の戦いで倒れた米兵を追悼するためにアーリントン墓地に建てられている合衆国海兵隊記念碑（Marine Corps War Memoriall （USMC War Memoril）、通称硫黄島記念碑（Iwoto Memorial）。非常によく似ていた。台座に刻まれている説明をじっくりと読んでいて４枚目の写真の文字を見つけた。同じ彫刻家の作だった。Iwoto Memorialは１９５４年に建てられているので、こちらはその後で建てられたものと思われる。

Sightseeing in Kuala Lumpur

　　We were going to visit several famous tourist spots in Kuala Lumpur on Aug. 31st, the Independence Day of Malaysia. The first spot we visited was Thean Hou Temple, though I wasn't so interested in the Chinese culture. I became sick of its flashiness. When I was walking in front of the temple, a dozen choppers passed over me. The temple was located away from the city center and I was able to see the sky widely. Naturally the flight of those choppers was for the celebration of the foundation of their country and their own military force. Additionally a military aircraft with two vertical tails - F/A-18 Hornet or Russian Su-30MKM I think - arrived over Independence Square and soared almost vertically. It was too fast to take pictures. There stood some statues of deer in the corner of the parking lot. I wrote about the relationship between this country and the deer in a previous entry.
　　We came by Istana Negara, the Royal Palace, where the sitting king lived. On the previous day, our guide joked that he had been living in that house, pointing at this Palace. Anyway, we were not permitted to enter through the gate, both sides of which were guarded by two mounted policemen. Malaysia is comprised of 13 provinces and 9 of those have their own Sultan. Nine Sultans are supposed to come to the throne by turn.

(Vocabulary)
Thean Hou Temple  天后宮　
vertical tail  垂直尾翼
Istana Negara 王宮
mounted〈警官・兵士などが〉騎馬の
mounted police/officers/soldiers 騎馬警官隊［騎馬警官，騎兵］
be composed of sth   ＜要素＞から成る, で構成される
be comprised of sth/sb  ＜…＞から成る, で構成されている
consist entirely/solely of sb/sth  完全に［もっぱら］＜…＞から成る
「…で構成されている」の意味で，受け身形be consisted ofは不可．常にconsist ofの形で用いる．

 

マレーシア旅行記：　クアラルンプール市内＆郊外観光

シナ文化にはあまり興味は無かったが、立ち寄ってはみた。やはり、あまりのけばけばしさに気分が悪くなってきたが、ちょうど空の開けた場所にいたため独立記念日祝賀式典に向かうヘリコプター編隊を眺めることができた。その後、垂直尾翼が２枚ある軍用機、F/A-18Dか、Su-30MKMだと思ったが市内中心部の空に飛来した。この駐車場に鹿の像があった。紙幣に描かれていることは以前の記事で書いた。やはり、マレーシアと鹿は繋がりが深いようだ。この意味のわからない方はマラッカでの旅行記を参照ください。

次にIstana Negaraと呼ばれる現国王の住居へ立ち寄った。昨日のガイドが遠くからこの場所を見て、『あれが私の住んでいる家』と説明していた場所。（笑）国王の住居であるとともに、王室行事が行われるという。騎馬兵が警護するこの門から先へは立ち入り禁止となっていた。マレーシアは１３の州から構成されていて、うち９つの州にスルタンがいる。彼らが交代で国王を務めることになっているとのこと。

Independence Day's Eve

　　It was getting dark, but I headed for the city center. As I got close to the city center, the number of police and military vehicles increased and traffic control was also getting tight. I knew that it was the preparation for the  Independence Day ceremony, but the operation was not good for sightseers. I decided to approach the site of the ceremony as close as possible.
　　When I passed an intersection near Independence Square, young soldiers were chatting. They might have just finished their task today. I knew that the next day was their Independence Day, but to be clear I asked them about the strict traffic regulations. Naturally they replied "They are for the Independence Day's Ceremony!". To hear that, I promptly said, "Congratulations!" Then I continued to say "I'm a sightseer from Japan. I'm sorry not to be able to step in the square today." To my surprise, one of the soldiers showed the way to sneak into the square. I was able to walk around the square! I'll show you pictures with few staff members. I was jumpy all the way in the square.
　　By the way, we had dinner at a Japanese style restaurant in our hotel. I wanted to visit Alor Street again, but my wife didn't want to go out. The restaurant was apparently run by Chinese and the dishes were far from Japanese.

マレーシア旅行記：　立ち入り禁止の独立広場へ侵入できた件

徐々に薄暗くなってきたが、更に中心部へ向かうと警察や軍の車両が増え、規制されている箇所が多くなった。独立記念日祝賀式典の準備であることはわかったが、独立広場などを見学できないのは観光客にとっては辛いなあと思いつつ、行けるところまで行ってみようと独立広場へ向かった。

広場横の交差点にさしかかると、若い軍人が数名、仕事を終えたのか、雑談していた。わかってはいたのだが、念のため、交通規制の訳を尋ねてみたらやはり独立記念日祝賀式典の準備だった。『おめでとうございます！！！』と即座に返答した。『ありがとう。』との返事に続けて、『初めてマレーシアに来たが、独立広場を歩けないのが残念だ』と話すと、広場内への狭い通路を教えてくれて、歩くことが出来た。良かったのだろうか？端から端まで足早に通り抜けた。緊張した。

この夜はカミさんが疲れたというのでホテル内の日本料理店で食事。よくあることだが、シナ人経営で、日本料理とは呼べないものだった。アロー街で食事をしたかったのだが、、、。最後の写真はホテル前から撮ったＫＬタワー。

Wandering around the hotel

　　I was dropped off at the hotel about 5 o'clock. I was lucky to be back before the peak of the traffic jam. My wife wanted to take a rest in the hotel, but I was high-spirited thanks to a short doze in the car. I went out for a walk alone in the busiest streets in Kuala Lumpur. It's a great pleasure for me to wander around strange cities. I didn't carry my gps data logger and took lots of snaps for recording my walking route. I would be able to trace the route on the map later with the assistance of those pictures.
　　I moved from the nearest monorail station to Bukit Bintang by monorail and started to walk from there. While I was walking, I found myself at the gate of an Arabian street. As I was always checking my position at every corner on the Google Map, I didn't feel uneasy. I went into the street. Ten minutes later, I got to one of the destinations, Alor Street. The 2nd and 3rd pictures show the street. When I arrived, the local cuisine restaurants and street stalls had just started their business. The Malaysian national flags were raised everywhere. "Merdeka" in Malay in the 4th picture apparently stands for "independence". I saw a few police motorbikes at an intersection and I wanted to look at them closely, but I was afraid to be challenged. They were Honda products.

マレーシア旅行記：　クアラルンプール市内散策

５時頃にホテルに着いた。渋滞の始まる前に帰ることが出来て運が良かった。カミさんは疲れたので少し休むと言うが、僕は車の中で寝ていたので元気いっぱい。一人でホテル周辺を歩いてみることにした。知らない街を、国内でも国外でも同じだが、ぶらぶら歩くことはこの上なく楽しい。ただ、旅行の時にはいつも持ち歩くデータロガーを忘れてきた。日本出発前に十分に準備できていなかったことが悔やまれる。仕方が無いので歩いたルートを後日グーグルマップ上でたどることが出来るように風景写真をたくさん撮りながら歩いた。

ホテルの最寄り駅からモノレールでブキッビンタン駅まで移動、それから歩いて１０ｋｍ以上の散歩となった。グーグルマップを開いて自分の居場所を地図上で確認しながら気の向く方向に移動。アラビア語の表示の多い地域に迷い込んでしまった。やがて目的の場所の一つ、アロー街へ出た。写真の２枚目、３枚目がアロー街で、露店が営業を開始した直後らしい。またマレーシア国旗が至る所に掲げられていた。４枚目の写真の真ん中の単語『Merdeka』は独立という意味だそうだ。白バイが数台交差点に止まっていた。近づいて車種を見たかったのだが、何か疑われても嫌なのでやめた。ホンダのバイクだった。

Lunch and our tour guide

　　We arrived at the restaurant in the Equatorial Hotel in 10 minutes' walk from Porta de Santiago. Meals are always one of the pleasures on trips and our lunch was supposed to be representative local dishes, which was generally called Nyonya cuisine. I'll show you the pictures of the restaurant, the menu and some of the dishes.
　　At the moment when I tasted the first spoonful of soup, I felt something weird, but while eating dishes served one after another, I began to feel good. The mixture of spicy taste, sourness, sweetness, the flavour of various herbs,,,,I hadn't been able to even guess their tastes in advance. Can you imagine the taste of "Udang Lemak Nenas", fresh prawns and pineapple simmered with coconut cream? The dessert was "Cendol", sweet bean jelly and coconut cream with shaved ice. All the dishes were new to me. I understood that they were actually a mixture of various cultures.
　　The required time to Kuala Lumpur was estimated to be about two hours. In case of being involved in a traffic jam into the bargain, we left Malacca just after lunch. The route was the same as the route which we took in the morning. I was a little tired after taking a walk in the streets of Malacca, and I carelessly took a nap though I wanted to very much talk with our tour guide.
　　However, I'm going to make a note of his words and my thoughts, though I won't write about anything too private. The guide, who speaks four languages as I wrote before, was from Ipoh, which is located to the north of Kuala Lumpur and is well-known as the place of production of tin. His father is Chinese and his mother is Malay. He was the youngest but one among a dozen siblings. I asked lots of things mainly about historical matters.
　　One of his stories was; When he was in the third year in his primary school -- approximately 8 to 9 years old -- he apparently taught letters to his mother because she was neither able to read nor write letters then. Judging from his age of the middle forties, it was only about 40 years ago and about 20 years after Malaysia became independent from Britain. I think this stuff eloquently tells us about  Britain's atrocious reign.
　　He answered my questions as if he was carefully choosing his words and probing for my political background until he knew it. After he had understood my fundamental thoughts toward the Great East Asian War, he fluently talked about his way of thinking of their own culture and history.
　　I wondered if the Japanese Imperial Army, which landed at Kota Bharu in the Great East Asian War, might have passed his home town of Ipoh, and people in Malaysia might have welcomed the army as their saviour.
　　His strong affinity toward Japan, his sincere attitude toward Ten-noh, the priest king of Japan and his gratitude for Japan as well as his confident pride as a Malaysian touched me.
　　To my regret, however, I fell asleep unintentionally on the way to Kuala Lumpur, though I was meaning to continue to chat with him. Next time I visit Kuala Lumpur, I'd like to ask him to guide me in his home town of Ipoh. I'd be pleased to pay him a double fee.

(Vocabulary)
tin [U] ([化学記号] Sn) スズ, (金属元素) ブリキ
atrocious  extremely bad
Kota Bharu 日本軍が大東亜戦争で上陸したマレー半島北東部の都市
saviour  (困難・危険などから) 救ってくれる人［もの］, 救世主

マレーシア旅行記：（マラッカはこれでおしまい）
　
サンチャゴ砦から徒歩数分でエクアトリアルホテルに着いた。食事は旅の楽しみの一つ。我々の昼食はツアーにセットされている地元の料理。ニョニャ料理と呼ばれている。ガイドブックに載っている料理が並んだ。最初は妙な味だと思ったが馴れてくると美味しくなってきた。スパイシーさに酸味や甘み、ハーブの香り、、、エビとパイナップルのココナッツミルク煮(Udang Lemak Nenas)なんて想像すら出来ない味だった。デザートは小豆とゼリーのココナッツかき氷(Cendol)。なるほど多文化の融合した味であると実感した。
　
クアラルンプールまで２時間を要する。また渋滞に巻き込まれる恐れもあり、昼食後はすぐに帰路についた。来るときに見た同じ景色だったのと、歩き回って疲れていたためか、寝てしまいガイドと十分に話が出来なかった。残念だった。
　
それでもガイドから聞いたことを、あまりにもプライベートなことは伏せるがメモしておく。先に書いたように４カ国語を話すガイドの出身地はイポー(ipoh)というクアラルンプールの北にある街。スズの産出で栄えた街だ。父親がシナ人、母親がマレー人。大勢の兄弟のしたから２番目。歴史的な質問をたくさんした。その答えの中で、自分が小学３年生の時、母親は文字を書けなかったので自分が教えたという。４０代半ばの彼の歳を考えれば、ほんの４０年ほど前の話だ。イギリスの手を逃れてまだ２０年くらいの話。イギリスの植民地時代の現実がこの一事でも偲ばれる。
　
こちらのバックグラウンドが不明な間は慎重に言葉を選びながら答えてくれた。
　
大東亜戦争でコタバルに上陸した日本軍がシンガポールに向かうとき、イポーを経由したのではないか？人々は日本軍を温かく迎えたのではないか？マレーシア人としての誇りとともに、彼の中に存在する親日感情、天皇陛下を敬う態度、日本に対しての感謝の気持ちは僕の心を揺さぶった。
　
しかし、これらマラッカへ向かうときに交わした会話の続きを帰りにするつもりが、、、、寝てしまった。今度は彼の故郷、イポーの案内を頼むことにしたい。彼のガイドになら普通の倍のガイド料を払ってもいいと思う。素晴らしいガイドだった。

Porta de Santiago

　　I went down the hill toward Porta de Santiago, which was the ruin of the fort. The area around was full of life. It seemed not only that the area was the principal sightseeing spot, but due to the preparation to celebrate the coming Independence Day. The numerous national flags of Malaysia were flying over the area. Additionally several dozens of tents were set up and folding chairs were arranged in them. The Independence Day Ceremony would be held there - just in front of the Proclamation of Independence Memorial - on the next day.
　　The fort was originally built by Portugal in 1511 against the Netherlands, but Portugal lost the conflict with the Netherlands and left Malacca. The Netherlands partially destroyed it, but the next dominant country, Britain, intensified its defences. This fort has its complicated background and historic importance. It used to be enormous and covered Malacca's coastline, but it's only this small block that remains at present. It's very regrettable.
　　While touching the wall which had survived 500 years of warfare and weather, I walked in and around the ruin. What scenes had this wall seen in the past 5 centuries? I was happy to be there. After a short explanation about Porta de Santiago, the tour guide took us to the Equatorial Melaka Hotel, where our lunch was served. We passed the Proclamation of Independence Memorial on the way. I was afraid to bother staff members who were working on setting up the celebration and I refrained from taking pictures of the building. You can see it in the last picture. The building in front of which dozens of flags were flying in the left side of the picture is the Proclamation of Independence Memorial.
　　When I was going down the hill, I viewed the Strait of Malacca again. I thought I'd like to observe the scenery of the coastline of the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra from a ship on the Strait. I'm writing this trip memo in November, and now I'm searching for a reasonable cruise tour which navigates the Strait of Malacca. I visited Borneo after Kuala Lumpur and became a Malaysia fan. Naturally my wife, too.

(Vocabulary)
A Famosa ファモサ要塞跡 (別名)Porta de Santiago  サンチャゴ砦
full of life   活気に満ちて, 元気いっぱいで
Proclamation of Independence Memorial　独立宣言記念館
defenses 《複数扱い》 (兵力・兵器としての) 防衛力, 防衛施設［手段］

マレーシア旅行記：　（なかなかボルネオ島に到達できません）

サンチャゴ砦方向へ丘を下った。周辺はとても賑やかだったが、これはマラッカの観光の中心地と言うだけではなく、翌日の独立記念日のためのようだった。マレーシアの国旗がいたるところに翻っていた。いくつものテントが張られ、折り畳み椅子が並んでいた。明日ここで独立記念日のセレモニーが行われるのだろう。
　
この砦はポルトガルが１５１１年オランダとの戦いに備えるため築いたものだが、オランダは占領後、砦の機能を弱体化した。しかし、次にやって来たイギリス軍により強化されたという複雑な歴史を持っている。もともと海岸線を覆う広大なものだったらしいが現在残っているのはこの部分だけ。残念なことだ。
　
５００年間の戦乱や風雨に耐えた壁に触れながら中と外を歩いてみた。この壁はどのような風景を、人を見てきたのだろうか？自分もまた、この土地を訪れた無数の人間の一人になれたのだと感慨にひたった。砦の説明を聞いた後、独立宣言記念館の前を通り、昼食の場所エクアトリアルホテルへ向かった。セレモニー準備の人たちの邪魔になりそうで記念館の写真は撮らなかったが、最後の写真の左にちらりと写る国旗の並ぶ建物がその建物である。マレーシアの独立宣言は確かここで行われたはずだ。
　
丘を下るときにマラッカ海峡をもう一度眺めた。この海峡を通る船からマレーシアやインドネシアを眺めてみたいものだ。１６世紀とは違った風景であることは間違いないのだが。この記事を書いている１１月現在、クルーズ船を探している。マラッカのあとで訪れたボルネオ島などの人々に接してマレーシアのファンになってしまった。今度は西海岸を訪れてみたい。

Headstone of Yajiro?

　　I entered the empty ruin which consisted of only the outer wall and the roof. Immediately I discovered a wire-netting box as you can see in the following picture. Apparently it was for the protection of the place where St. Francisco Xavier's body was laid for nine months in the 16th century. At the same time, it seemed to be used as a donation box. It had six slots for coins. Peeping into the place, lots of coins were scattered.
　　The ships in those days were driven by the wind and they weren't able to navigate to the west without the westward wind. The cargo ship to Goa, in which Xavier had wanted to rest eternally before his death, had to wait for the wind for nine months to take his body to Goa. Consequently, his body was preserved in the church. His body was not embalmed, but didn't go bad. It was a kind of miracle, and it was one of the reasons why he was canonized.
　　I want you to focus on the rectangular stone plates leaning against the wall in the first picture. They were headstones collected around Malacca and used to be placed on the ground. One of them caught my eye on which the Jolly Roger was drawn.
　　I wrote about a Japanese whose name was Yajiro in the previous entries. He had lived his mysterious life in the 16th century and he was able to freely move between Japan and Southeast Asian countries. As far as I had learned, he showed up on the stage of history as a pirate and was influenced by Xavier. On the other hand, Xavier was inspired to visit Japan by his decency. Then Yajiro followed Xavier to Japan as an interpreter and disappeared into history after Xavier's death. Some historians insist that he got back to being a pirate and died as a pirate.
　　The tour guide pointed at the lower part of the headstone, where I found the incomprehensible word of "JAPONENSIS". Was that Latin? Anyway, I didn't understand the word, but I assumed that the word meant "Japanese". Was that the headstone of Yajiro? The tour guide didn't answer clearly. Is this headstone the evidence insisting that Yajiro had lived his pirate life after Xavier's death? When I stood in front of the headstone, I was inclined to believe this common view.
　　After coming back to my hotel, I looked into the history or origin of Jolly Roger on the net. As far as my study went, the Jolly Roger was invented after Yajiro's era. That is to say, this headstone can't get Yajiro's seal of approval. Was that an item for Japanese tourists to have fun? I don't want to assume in that way, and there might have been another Japanese pirate in Malacca after the Jolly Roger was in use.
　　Who was Yajiro, and who drove St. Francisco Xavier to propagate Christianity across Japan? He's really a man of unfailing interest.

(Vocabulary)
Jolly Roger  どくろと長管骨２本で構成された海賊のマーク
be inclined to believe  信じても良いような気がする
That means their produce gets the organic seal of approval.
つまり彼らの農産物はオーガニックであるとのお墨付きを得るということです。
unfailing 〈援助・支持などが〉 変わらぬ
unfailing support  変わらぬ支持
—unfailingly [副]   変わることなく

マレーシア旅行記：　セントポール教会にて
　
屋根と外壁だけが残るがらんとした教会の廃墟の中へ入った。すぐに一枚目の写真に写っている金網の覆いに気がついた。囲われている場所の約１メートルほど下にザビエルの遺体が９ヶ月間安置されていたという。上から覗いてみることが出来た。
　
当時の船は帆船で、西向きの風を待たねばインドへ向かうことが出来ず、９ヶ月の風待ちのためこの場所に安置されていた。この９ヶ月間、そして今も、何の処理もせずに遺体は腐敗しなかったという。これがザビエルが聖人とされた奇跡の一つ。もう一つ、注意して見てほしいものが写真にある。壁に立てかけてある石板は、周辺から集められた墓標である。地面の上に仰向けに寝かせておくものらしい。その中の一枚に目が留まった。海賊のマークだ。
　
少し前の記事でヤジロウについて書いた。１６世紀に日本と東南アジアを自由に行き来できた日本人である。日本で調べた限りでは、海賊として歴史に登場し、ザビエルに感化され、またザビエルはヤジロウの人柄、学識に触れて日本にあこがれた。ヤジロウは通訳としてザビエルに同行し、ザビエル亡き後、歴史から消えた。再び海賊に戻り、海賊として亡くなったと書いている歴史家もいる。
　
この墓標の下の方には日本人と書いてあるようだ。多分ラテン語だと思うが読めないので確実ではないが、多分日本人と書いてある。ではこれはヤジロウか？ガイドはわからないと言っていた。通説となっている海賊として亡くなったという根拠がこの墓石なのだろうか、、、、
　
この夜、ホテルに戻ってJolly Rogerの歴史をネットで検索した。どうもこのマークは１６世紀には存在していなかったと思われた。ということはこの墓石をヤジロウとすることには無理がある。日本人観光客向けの偽の墓標？とは考えたくはないが、Jolly Rogerが使われ初めて以降に日本人の海賊が実際にいたのかも知れない。ザビエルを日本へ誘ったヤジロウはどんな人物だったのか、興味は尽きない。

Ruin of St Paul's Church

　　I climbed up to the hill on which St. Paul's Church stood. As I went up, the church came into my sight. The first thing which caught my eye was the statue of St. Francisco Xavier, whose right hand had been broken by tree branches in stormy weather. Mysteriously, the present mummy of St. Francisco Xavier in Goa in India lacks his right hand. Was the defect of the right hand of the statue done deliberately or accidentally or by God? Anyway, according to the information board, the church began only as a chapel. It was built by a Portuguese sea captain as a way of giving thanks for surviving an enemy attack while sailing the South China Sea. Thanks to St. Francisco Xavier, the church became well-known globally. He was accommodated in it during his stay in Malacca in the middle of the 16th century, and his body was laid to rest here for 9 months waiting for the westward wind to move his body to Goa in India, where he had wanted to stay forever himself.
　　I was able to view the Malacca Strait clearly from the top of the hill. That day's morning heavy rain seemed to sweep the haze away completely and then I fully understood the words which our tour guide told us this morning; "This heavy rain will favor you guys."
　　When I flew into the Kuala Lumpur International Airport a few days ago, I overlooked the strait and found four container ships. The strait looked not so narrow for them as I had heard before, but it would be narrow for enormous and deep-draft ships.
　　This strait is the main artery of the energy bound for Japan. I'm really afraid of the Chinese military presence in the South China Sea. If it would be completed, all the tankers would have to detour through Lombok channel and it would send oil prices soaring in Japan. It would surely cause a recession.
　　Now, we walked toward the ruin of St. Paul's Church. Before entering, I touched the outer wall of the church, which had been exposed to the weather and survived it for more than 500 years. That evoked my feelings of nostalgia. I was at the right place which I had learned about in history class in my high school days. I wasn't able to even imagine at that time that I would be able to visit Malacca. I'll write about the inside in the next entry.

(Vocabulary)
draft 喫水
Selat Lombok (channel) ロンボク海峡

マレーシア旅行記：（まだまだまだ続きます）
　
　セントポール教会へと丘を登った。教会が見えてきた。まず目に飛び込んでくるのがザビエル像。像の右手はある嵐の日に木の枝が当たり折れたらしい。これは現在のザビエルのミイラの状況と奇妙に一致している。自然(神)によるものなのか、人為的なものなのか、、、、さて、設置されている案内板によると、この教会は、敵からの攻撃を生き抜くことが出来たことに感謝してポルトガル人船長により建てられたものとのこと。これほど有名になったのはザビエルが滞在し、死後彼の遺体が９ヶ月間安置されたことによる。
　
　丘の上からはマラッカ海峡が見えた。クアラルンプール到着時、飛行機からマラッカ海峡を通航する４隻のコンテナ船を見た。そのときはマラッカ海峡は意外に広く感じたが、大きなコンテナ船にとっては狭いのだろう。それにしても遠くまでよく見える。朝の雨で煙や靄が消えたためという。この海峡が日本のエネルギーを運ぶ大動脈。南シナ海をシナに押さえられたら、タンカーはずっと東のロンボク海峡あたりを通らなければならなくなる。そうなったら輸送コストが大幅に増大し、生活が厳しくなるだろう。
　
　教会の建物に向かった。入る前に外壁に触れてみた。５００年以上風雨に耐えてきた、ザビエルも触れたかも知れない外壁。突然、高校時代の歴史の授業が脳裏に浮かんだ。当時、まさかここを訪れることが出来るとは夢にも思えなかったが、今自分はその歴史の舞台に立っている、、、、なんという幸せ。

Cheng Ho Gallery

　　When we went up to St. Paul's Church, I unexpectedly discovered the Chinese characters "鄭和" on the wall of the adjacent building of the Stadthuys (link). My travel guidebook didn't refer to this building and I also didn't mind the space on the map in the guidebook, but the characters along with a big human statue in the following picture, which I found on the net, caught my eye. It was Cheng Ho Gallery. I knew about Cheng Ho, who was the famous Chinese admiral in 15th century, but I asked my tour guide about him expecting some other findings. He talked to us about him or her! Her? Almost all of you might well ask "Why her?" He was a eunuch, simply a castrated officer, so the guide used a Japanese word implying a woman. He was really excellent as a tour guide. If the tourists were Chinese, he would take them to the gallery and explain the collections inside.
　　Let me write about Cheng Ho. He was a Naval Admiral in the period of Ming and lead the Ming's fleet all the way to the African Continent by the order of Yongle Emperor in the early 15th century. He dropped in at Malacca on the way, and the gallery evidently seemed to impress people with his achievement.
　　I have a funny story about his achievement. Chinese Communists insist now that the South China Sea and associated islands belong to China. Their evidence is apparently the maiden navigation of the Ming's fleet led by Cheng Ho. If they are right, India and the Indian Ocean should be Portuguese territory and America and the Atlantic Ocean would be Spanish territory. I can say that the Chinese Communist Party doesn't know what is right and what is wrong.
　　Anyway, putting it aside, my question was sure to lend a historical flavour to his guidance. While talking about Cheng Ho, the statue of St. Francisco Xavier on the hill came into our sight. I encountered a headstone of interest to me. I'll write about it in the next entry.

(Vocabulary)
Cheng Ho Gallery　鄭和記念館
鄭和（ていわ、拼音: Zhèng Hé, 1371 - 1434）
Stadthuys　スタダイス
eunuch /júnək/ (昔の) 宦官(かんがん)
Ming （シナの）明, 明朝《1368—1644》.
Yongle Emperor  永楽帝（えいらくてい）は、明の第３代皇帝。

Derivation of "Malacca"

　　Malacca Sultanate was founded by a member of the royal family in Palembang on Sumatra island at the end of the 14th century. He was expelled from his home for some reason and dropped in at Malacca on his escape. When he was taking a rest under a tree, named as Melaka, he saw a deer kick a hunting dog out. He might have projected his condition onto the deer, and established Malacca Sultanate there and its name was derived from the tree. I remembered that a few deer were drawn on the Ringgit bills. However, why is this story on the bill? Malacca is only a part of Malaysia.
　　Independence Day of Malaysia is set on Aug. 31st. Though Britain acknowledged the Federation of Malaya as an independent nation on the day in 1957, actually the declaration of independence was read by the first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, in 1956 in Malacca. That is to say, Malacca is the starting point of Malaysia. That's evidently the reason why a few deer of Malacca are on their Ringgit bills. I got it. The building in which the declaration was issued is now used as the Proclamation of Independence Memorial, in front of which we passed by an hour later. I wished I could enter the Memorial. Then we headed for St. Paul's Church on a small hill.

(Vocabulary)
Malacca Sultanate　マラッカ王国
Federation of Malaya　マレー連合州
Tunku Abdul Rahman　トゥンク・アブドゥル・ラーマン（１９０３年２月８日 －１９９０年１２月６日）は、「マレーシア独立の父」であり、１９４７年に結成され１９５７年に独立したマラヤ連邦の初代首相。
Proclamation of Independence Memorial  独立宣言記念館