Book Review: Taikor by Kheng-Hor Khoo

While awaiting a flight back home to Bombay, I came across this wonderful book in the book shop at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Taikor (elder brother) follows the life of Ya Loong from British Malaya through to the 1980s. Loong who is raised partly in Penang and partly in Shanghai, becomes a triad after the Japanese occupation of Malaya ends and over time turns into a legitimate businessman. The story also follows the lives of 3 Malays, who are the children of a farmer, each one making it big in modern Malaysia.

If you're interested in Malaysia and the pride that it takes in its multi-racial society, this book is a must-read. Moreover, I would recommend this book for those who like the city of Penang. Kheng takes the readers into the shady lanes of the heritage city in the 1950s and 60s and gives the reader a great insight into the Chinese culture of the island. The gang-wars and violence isn't graphic and there is a great flow in the book that keeps the reader interested.

The section dealing with the Japanese occupation of Malaya seems much like a first person account, without any of the malice that Chinese-Malaysians of those times (justifiably) feel towards Japan.

The author skirts through the race-relations issues of the 1960s and one of his protagonists, Suleiman, a politician with Malaysia's ruling party, grows to oppose the affirmative actions policies of the government.


TAIKOR: Valour,Honour,Suspense, Betrayal and Love, the Definitive Malaysian Saga


The author was a leading business consulant and has a chequered career in writing books in the business realm but Taikor has definitely shown that he has a creative side as well. Kheng-Hor Khoo, now retired, lives in the mountains.

Jakarta Diaries:- A solution for the worst traffic jams

And the verdict is in. Jakarta, by far, has the worst traffic on earth. The city's gridlock makes Nairobi look like a city without traffic problems. I had the misfortune of heading to the northern part of the city from the Golden Triangle in what proved to be the most frustrating ride of my life. That's when I struck a conversation with the cab driver, who told to ditch cabs after this particular ride.

"Take the Trans-Jakarta," he said. The Trans-Jakarta is a wonderful bus service that connects the whole city and uses a specific lane that's closed to all other vehicles. Since I heard about pick-pockets on buses in the city, I asked the cabbie if it was a good idea and he told me that there's a guard in each bus and that my fears were misplaced.

So the Trans-Jakarta it was. There's a unique system of buying a ticket before boarding the bus and then queing up to get in. The guards allow a fixed number off people into the air-conditioned bus at each stop. This ensures that the buses aren't packed like Bombay's local trains. What's even better is the fact that there's a bus coming in to each stop every few minutes. The system is as good as a metro rail network considering the fact that the whole city is connected.

I saw a similar system in place even in Yogyakarta, which has virtually no problems with traffic. It's a complete win-win to use this system. You save time, money and a whole lot of nerves.

Bravo Indonesia!

My travel article on Saigon in the Free Press Journal

http://www.freepressjournal.in/news/11277-ONE-OF-ASIAS-BEST-KEPT-SECRETS.html

Jakarta Diaries - Shah Rukh Khan

Although India and Indonesia have civilizational links that go back thousands of years, since the days of bonhomie between Nehru and Soekarno, there has been a large disconnect between the people of these 2 great countries.

Indonesians, especially the Javanese, consider the Ramayana as their own and there is Sanskrit everywhere in Indonesia, in the language, in the names of people and coporations. In the 21st century, Indonesians in general seem to know little about India but there is an undeniable warmth towards India in the streets of Jakarta.

The most popular Indian in the country since Pandit Nehru is undoubtedly Shah Rukh Khan. Right from the customs officer at the Soekarno Airport to cab drivers and random people I met on the streets, India is now synonymous with the Bollywood actor.

The most pleasant Bollywood-related experience I had occurred at the Tamah Fatiullah, a cobble-stoned square near thee Old Dutch Town Hall in the northern part of Jakarta. On a peaceful weekday afternoon, Agosh, a balloon seller approached me and asked me if I was from India. When I replied in the affirmative, he became excited and started singing Hindi songs and speaking to me in excellent Hindi.

Agosh

Within 5 minutes, we started singing the song 'Yeh Dosti' from Sholay. He told me about it was his greatest dream to visit Bombay and have street food on Chowpatty Beach. Agosh is still in school and I am sure that his dream will come true.

Wherever I went in Java, people told me about how much they love Shah Rukh Khan. Bollywood might just be a great way to bring these wonderful countries together again. The next time I go to Indonesia, I will carry many photos of Mr Khan to present to his adulating fans.

Yogyakarta

The heart and soul of Javanese culture can be found in Yogyakarta, which is an extremely pleasant place to spend a few months.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7444188@N05/sets/72157627043719347/

A look at Vung Tau, Vietnam

My article about the wonderful city of Vung Tau, Vietnam on the Free Press Journal

The Free Press: VUNG TAU- VIETNAMS INTERNATIONAL RESORT TOWN

Sights of Jakarta

Indonesia's capital and largest city is a microcosm of the country. It offers the best and worst of the archipelago. Glitzy high-rises, heritage buildings and party zones go hand in hand with crowds, pollution and possibly the worst traffic jams on earth.

Although ignored by tourists, the city has plenty of offer to visitors.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7444188@N05/sets/72157627012483705/

Lost in translation in Bukit Bintang

One of the best things about Kuala Lumpur is the wonderful food options. You can see people eating at any given point of day in any corner of the metropolis. There's the option of great Malay food at a Nasi Kandar or Chinese at many of the chicken rice shops and of course, delicious Tamil food in many parts of the city like the old Little India.

A Chinese friend and I had decided to have dinner at one of the street-side restaurants in Bukit Bintang. Looking at the elaborate menu, which included deer meat, I wanted to go simple with chicken and prawn fried rice.

For some strange reason, the waitress had a difficult time understanding the combo we wanted in our rice. And my friend was Cantonese and couldn't speak Mandarin. So we ordered and ate our delicious chicken and prawn rice. The chicken seemed extra tender and the taste was different in some way.

When it was time to pay the bill, there was a Mandarin-Cantonese argument between my friend and the waitress. When I asked for a translation, I was told it was something minor.

12 hours later, I get a phone call from my friend asking whether I had used the bathroom since dinner and after I replied in the affirmative, she told me that we were served frog and prawn. The waitress heard the prawn as frog and then got confused with the chicken part and finally chose to make it prawn and frog.

Since the food was well-digested, I didn't feel like throwing up. As much as I love meat and fish, I am wondering if I shouldn't look for vegetarian food once in a while.

Fun at the Kuala Lumpur Half-Marathon! MERDEKA!!!

After a heroic effort at the Mumbai Marathon in January, I decided that I wasn't quite ready for 42-kilometre runs just as yet. I needed to have a few more half-marathons under my belt before I took the great leap and KL, my favourite city on the planet provided me with just the right opportunity.

Training for this half-marathon was by no means easy. I had to train in Bombay in the month of May, in hot and humid conditions, although the summer was relatively mild. And then came the monsoons in the second day of June and my training virtually ended. But I was able to stay healthy in the lead-up to the KL half-marathon and that's what counted the most.

The atmosphere at the Merdeka Square was electric. The authorities illuminated the Abdul Samad building in different and changing colours and that was the inspiration I needed. It felt different to run overseas and that too in a place that had almost no air-pollution. But my familiarity with KL helped me estimate distances better.

About half an hour in to the run, it started drizzling ever so gently and the warm Malaysian rain helped me get a spring in my step. The run started at 6:15 am and it was still pitch-dark on the roads of the great city but by the time the drizzling stopped and there was daylight, I was given a great treat by Mother Nature in the shape of a beautiful rainbow.

As I crossed the boundaries of wooded and hilly Bangsar, I started to tire and the momentum and adrenaline were running short. It was at that moment that I saw a wonderful Sikh gentleman in his late-70s running hard. I wished him in the respectful Sikh way  (Sat Sri Akal) and then powered ahead.

The run was so scenic, with us crossing some of the green neighbourhoods of the city, as well as the new Little India, and some of the great symbols of the city like the Petronas Towers and the KL Tower. And the closer I got to the finish line, the more I started noticing the encouraging fans and cheer-leaders.  The crowd gave me the final burst of energy and I crossed the finish 9 minutes earlier than I did in Delhi last year.  Being 10 kgs lighter than I was in Delhi helped me but not as much as I thought it would. The experience helped me understand that long distance running is as much about the mind and heart as it is about the body.

I've joyfully replayed the wonderful finishing moments in my mind time and again. I kept telling myself that the Merdeka (Freedom) Square was close and that I would finish soon. "Merdeka, Merdeka, Merdeka!!!!" I repeated that word in my head before I saw that finish line and all of a sudden, I sprinted past the line, hands in the air, knowing that I had run the best race of my life in my favourite city.

To the organisers and the people of Kuala Lumpur, all I can say is thank you for doing such a wonderful job and turning up in large numbers. In my humble opinion, there isn't a finer city in the world.

MERDEKA!!!!

Kuala Lumpur

This wonderful Malaysian city is definitely my favourite city on earth. I love its mix of tradition and modernity, the wonderful ethnic neigbourhoods of Chinatown and Little India and the modern city centre that includes the Petronas Towers.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7444188@N05/sets/72157626981264557/

Welcome to my new blog

I love traveling around this magnificent continent and have decided to have a specific blog to document my trips to Asian countries.