A Bit of Catching Up

I haven't blogged much lately because we've been busy and because there is only one computer in our hotel.

We left Singapore last Wednesday without breakfast and walked to the Golden Mile Bus Terminal. I did manage coffee thanks to Neely. It's a $30 dollar ride across the bridge into Johor Bahru which is the most southern pennisular Malaysia state. We went out of Singapore immigration and directly into Malaysian immigration. So, the students now have new passport stamps.

The trip to KL was about 6 hours with a stop for fruit along the way. I'll have to admit to being pretty hungry by the time we arrived. The bus drop, not really a station, is Pudra Raya. Basically, they stop the bus, you hop out, and you flag down a cab. This was a new and helpful, if not intimidating, experience for the students. We had teksi prep before arrival.

We have been staying at the University of Malaya which is the top university in Malaysia. My friend Dr. LooSee Beh has treated us royally. We had a nice visit with her faculty yesterday and then took a van to Putra Jaya.

Putra Jaya is pretty amazing. The government of Malaysia is moving administrative offices from the hustle and bustle of KL to this new city. It's about 12 years old and not yet finished. It is an carefully planned city designed to impress foreign investors, government representatives, etc. I suppose Kristin Froemling with her interests in visual communication would enjoy the conscious effort to portray Malaysia as a happening place. I'll post pictures if/when I can get to a faster connection.

One highlight of this venture was a boat ride through the man made lake to see the impressive array of buildings, agencies, corporate buildings, and mosques. One mosque, based on one in Baghdad, is complete and holds some 10,000 worshipers. Another is being constructed which is to hold 20,000 and, I am told, is the size of a football field. There are seven bridges in this developing city, each designed on the theme of a famous bridge in another country. So, one of them draws from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

There's another new community nearby which is called Cyberjaya. This is a sort of planned Silicon Valley project designed to produced technological innovation and investment. By the way, Jaya means "success". So, cyber success.

The food here is very good and diverse: Malaysian, Indian, and Chinese. Of course, there are various groups of each culture and often the food is a fusion of Indian, Chinese, and Malayian. Last night more traditional Chinese with Professor Beh.

I think the students are holding up pretty well although last night I thought everyone was tired and I'll admit that I was too. Today is a free day and I think some will go to Batu Caves and National Mosque. I'll have lunch with Dr. Beh and then return early.

We leave at 3 a.m. for the airport and our flight to Siem Reap. Part of the problem is that the airport is about 60 km from KL and so we must leave early.

I'll have more to say from Siem Reap.