Scott in Malaysia: CHRISTMAS AT HOME--TOM VISITS--ANGKOR WAT

The work in Malaysia continues. It’s often difficult and frustrating, but I’m learning a lot. Of courser, it’s mostly learning what NOT to do, but it still drives the message home. It’s a little sad and worrisome at times—we are behind schedule and probably over budget. Hopefully those trends will reverse…
Christmas was spent at home in Portland. Thanks god! I really needed a break.
Sophie’s team won their basketball tournament the weekend I got back. Jessica and I got a nite in the Governor Hotel, and saw Mannheim Steamroller do their Christmas show. I took the kids out Christmas shopping for Jessica, and got a Christmas tree too.
It was so nice to be home. I felt, from the moment the car started to pull away from the SunPower site, a sense of relief. I felt a renewed sense of perspective about the job having been home, gotten away. And I needed it. December seemed to be a grumpy month—lot’s of crappy emails flying around, tension just hanging heavier.
And naps. Jet lag means naps. And nothing is better than a nap in your own bed….ahhh!
Christmas was a lovely day. Watched “A Christmas Story,” and the movie “Up’” which has the most touching first 10 minutes—a boy and a girl meet in childhood, bond, fall in love, cannot have children, and grow old together. Then the girl who was so energetic slows down, and dies, leaving the quiet boy alone. I cried. I cried at times during “A Christmas Story”—it’s such poignant Americana, and I cried the night before watching “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Just a sensitive guy.
The kids had a nice time, and the jewelry I bought in Indonesia was a hit. Which was good, because there I was, on Christmas Eve, wrapping away at the last minute--enjoying and creating the stress this season. Ha!
And another year came to and end. We spent the last few days at the cabin on Mt. Hood. We call it The Cozy Cabin. A friend of Jessica’s rents it to us. It’s an old WPA cabin, with no insulation, but a great wood stove. It’s a wonderful place to build new memories. This trip, we took the girls up to Timberline Lodge, and they took snowboarding lessons. They dug it! Talk about a change: 90- degree Malaysia to snow on Mt. Hood! While they were out falling in the snow, Jessica and I hung out in the lodge—reading and dozing. Nice!

___

FAMILY-WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT!_______HOME!____________THE HAPPY COUPLE

____________________

YOU DON'T SEE THIS IN MALAYSIA_________________THE COZY CABIN

Then it was back to Melaka. The place where my condo is—Everly—was having some work done on the electrical system, so I stayed at a local hotel, the Renaissance. My fish ponds are without power, so Afizul, my driver, had the folks from the Shan Ying fish store take my fish. So the fish were ok, but the ponds became a green algae mess. After finally having things go right for a while, they were a mess again. Rats. Riley, my cat, did ok while I was gone, but clearly was a little lonely. In a way, it was nice to be back at work. I received hearty greetings from a lot of folks, and it’s always nice to know you were missed.
But not a lot happened over the holidays at work—progress remained regrettably slow.
My friend Tom arrived from the States on Friday January 15. This is the first stop on his SE Asian “walkabout.” He bought a one-way ticket, and is off to see, feel, and experience the area. He’s got a real keen interest in all things spiritual, and is focusing on that aspect during his travels. Ah, to be young and single! He plans to be gone from Portland for up to a year. And Malaysia makes a nice “soft landing” in this part of the world—it’s pretty tame.
Saturday Tom and I wandered over the historic portions of Melaka. We saw A’famosa fort, St. Paul’s Church, the maritime museum, the Christ Church and City Square. Then we went off thru China Town, looking in art galleries and temples. He had a bite to eat, and ended up walking Jonker Walk, the open air market that is held on weekend evenings. Whew!

RIDING THE BIG BIKE__________I'M IN MALAYSIA!__________MELAKA

On January 26, I ended up in the Philippines. Bizarre. I had expected Malaysia to be more like this—jeepnies (converted WWII jeeps that serve as the local version of the min-bus, and there are hundreds of them everywhere), crazy traffic, smoky buses, poverty, electrical wiring like cobwebs along the street, horns honking, and guys sweeping gutters clean in front of tragic slums. Luckily, Malaysia is cleaner, saner, and much more prosperous. It has really exceeded my expectations.
What’s really weird is why I came. They sent me over to see the their “flagship” building, Fab 2, to develop an understanding of the level of quality they expect, and to find some of the Fab 2 specs that may help in our effort. Now, I’d seen their original Fab 1 years ago, but had never seen this building completed. It was very similar to Fab 1, and was exactly what I expected. But it was good to get some pictures of this building, to show to contractors to help them understand the kind of quality SunPower expects. There’s a cute coffee bar near a stairway that they’ve called “Stairbucks,” and the lobby is simple and elegant.
The following weekend Tom and I went sightseeing in Kuala Lumpur (“KL” locally). We stopped in Seremban on the way up and saw the museum there, where they’ve preserved a couple of pretty amazing old houses. No nails, just wooden pegs; beautiful carvings; and a living history of how the construction and ornamentation progressed. Very cool. The museum itself has the very high pointed roofs that were indigenous to the area. Nicely done.
Then we went on to Batu Caves. This is a Hindu shrine, with a golden statue of Shiva in front—it’s got to be 100 feet tall! Next to the shrine are the steps—I think I heard once that there are 268 of them! Up and up they go. At the top is a natural grotto in the sandstone, with stalactites, and a huge open space. There are several small shrines scattered around the space, and the light thru the main opening and fissures high up in the wall casts an ethereal glow on the walls. Up a few more stairs, and a great portion of the roof has opened up, and a sinkhole hundreds of feet deep holds yet more stalactites and shrines. A tribe of monkeys has moved in and makes a good living mooching from the tourists. It’s a very spiritual place, but like most such sites, suffers a bit from its popularity as a tourist destination. But it was still great. Tom is very into Hinduism, and was really impressed.

____

___

SHIVA AND THE STEPS_________BATU CAVES_________THE FACE OF DEVOTION

Next we went to the KL Tower. It’s one of the tallest free standing masts in the world, and is perched on a hill to boot. The view is outstanding, and you begin to see how KL is a conglomeration of smaller areas, and it speaks volumes about the way locals perceive locations. In the West, we think in terms of street numbers and intersections (“the corner of 4th and Main,” or 235 Se Vermont Street). Here they say it’s “by Bukit Cina” (China Hill). And they seem to cognize the world by landmarks and places, not addresses. Looking down on KL, at downtown and Mid Valley, and KL Sentral, it started to make sense. And the streets that run over ridges and thru valleys to connect these areas, that twist and turn and seem completely random, almost started to make sense as well. A scattering of little towns that grew together, and they paved over the walking paths and wagon tracks to knit it into a tapestry that is the city. It was pretty amazing. Beyond that, they are building everywhere. It seems difficult to believe that Malaysia was hit at all by the world’s recent economic downturn. Several of the projects seem quite large. And of course, it provided a marvelous vantage point for viewing the Petronas Towers—surely the only place higher up. Which was our next stop.
Seems like every time I visit, I’m more impressed with the Petronas Towers> It’s interesting, because I’ve been there at least 6 times. Took the required picture of Tom “holding up” the 2 towers, and we went into KLCC, shopped for a couple of things, and hung out at Starbucks for a while.
Met a couple of guys I’ve befriended, and stayed at dinner until nearly eleven then drove home, arriving at the condo about one.
I’ve decided to stay another month. I was supposed to finish this assignment at the end of January. I really wanted SunPower to sign up for 2 months, so that, at the end of March, Jessica and I could go on a “second honeymoon” to Bali. Ya, without the kids! Tony just wouldn’t go for that, but by staying one month, it puts me/us that much closer. And Rob suggested we be sure and renegotiate in mid-February, and seemed certain they’d still want me then. Kind of “eating the elephant one bite at a time.” And if I can get thru March, that’s it. Period. Even tho my attitude toward work has been pretty positive. I’ve realized, especially given my experiences before Christmas--when I took responsibility for things that were not mine to own, and got all worked up for nothing—that I’m powerless over some things, and have come to accept it. And that’s good—keeps me sane, and makes me more effective in the tasks I do take on.
At the end of January, Tom and I went to Singapore. It was great. Love that city! It’s and architect’s wonderland. Friday nite we went to Orchard Road, and it is, as always, amazing—especially the Ion Building with its lights and curving shape.
Saturday we did Little India, and the Thiapasan Festival was going on. There were guys with meter long steel pins stuck all over them—human pin cushions—some wild kind of demonstration of devotion. Another fellow had hooks thru the skin of his back, and was dragging a cart behind him on chains. Bizarre! We walked thru the Civic Center Area, and came across the LaSalle Art School—an excellent building—really cool. Finally we ended up in Chinatown, had dinner with some people I know there, and that was great.

_____________

__________THIAPASAN: MERE PRAYER JUST DOESN'T DO IT!_________________

At dinner, we met a guy from Thailand who was very informative about traveling in that area—Tom loved it. Met another guy who owns a scuba center in Sulewasi—which is the strangely shaped island just east of Borneo for you map freaks. And he’s located on the north east tip of the island in the Sulewasi Strait. Give me a break! Check out their website: http://www.lembehresort.com/welcome.php .Wow, what a life! Why am I working for a living?
Tom and I spent the first Wednesday and Thursday of February touring Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, and several other temples in Cambodia. Let me just say that it was fantastic. Off the chart amazing!
First of all, these suckers are big! There’s no way to truly understand the scale of these things without going there. “Oh, Angkor Wat is 1 kilometer on a side.” Ok, that’s big. But to walk it, move thru the endless enfilade of spaces--it’s incredible. Across the moat—no small feature in itself--thru the gateway, and into the main body of the temple. Then along a stone causeway, past the libraries and the water lily pools, and to the main temple. And the bas relief carvings along the arcades the wrap the main temple are unbelievable. How many people worked on these things? They say it took about 35 years to build. Given the degree of ornament—everything is carved—it must have taken jillions of workers. And the craftsmanship—each stone fits to those around it perfectly, and the carvings flow seamlessly. At times you can’t even see the joints between the blocks. Then you move from the outer arcade to the inner grassy courtyard, and up to another stone courtyard, and there the main temple structure, the bakan, sits. One darned big pile of rocks! Up and up the stairs, very steep, to the top complex. 4 courtyards, with a surrounding arcade, and hallways on the axis of the center structure, which is surrounded by 4 temples. And in the center a mysterious space you cannot enter, but can only glimpse thru the 4 temples. And everywhere, carvings and more carvings. Buddha’s, dancing courtesans, fern leaves, abstract rosettes. Incredible. And by this time, you’re quite high up, and the view across the complex, thru the formal side you enter from, or across the informal side beyond with its huge trees, is just breath taking.
Throughout the journey, there is an air of the spiritual, the mystical, the sublime. These are temples, holy places, and they almost seem to focus a tranquility, a sense of connection to a world much larger than our own. This focus is directed at each individual, you can feel it, it’s palpable. Moving slowly around, thru doorways that you have to step up and duck thru simultaneously, clearly to emphasize the processional nature of the journey, and then up, and up, and thru, and up. As if you’re moving ever closer to god. Nice!
On the way down, we walked the informal area a bit, thru huge trees, and then came across the temples that are currently in use. Here we meant a monk, who was relaxing and having a cigarette. A cigarette? Well, whatever. We talked with him a bit, and he had lived in the States over 20 years, and had returned to focus on his meditation. And he was, frankly, a bit weird. He talked about finding a mathematical solution to the universe. And he drew a cross in the dirt with a stick and talked about several differing faiths and numerology and points of the compass and mathematics. Not some high-powered physics, but simple stuff. He confirmed the end of the world at 2012—maybe too many movies, eh? And he truly believed he had latched on to something--and maybe he has, but just can’t explain it too well. I walked away feeling this guy was full of, well, to put it politely, baloney. The guy was a whack job! But it was fascinating, and entertaining to say the least.
Then there were the urchins, the vendors, constantly chanting “hello sir” in that irritating, high pitched SE Asian tone. We finally figured out to just ignore them, pretend they just didn’t exist. It made me feel like a prick, but it was the only thing that worked even passably well. Luckily, at each place, they seemed to regulated to a specific area, so it wasn’t constant, but like ruins in Mexico, there was no way to get to the places you wanted to go without running the gauntlet of trinket hawkers. God, it’s annoying. Tho in a way, it forms some kind of strange balance with the serenity and holiness of the place. On leaving, it a sort of brisk re-entry to the “real” world. You may be here for some history and spirituality, but in the meantime, hey, people gotta make a living.
We also went to Prae Khan on Wednesday. This is the temple that was featured in the Angelina Jolie movie “Laura Croft, Tomb Raider.” I’ve seen the movie, and can only remember a lot of action and Angelina Jolie in skin tight outfits. It doesn’t mean much to me, but they sure play it up to the visitors, and apparently to positive effect. At any rate, this is the temple where the trees have grown on top of, and over, the buildings--wrapping the structures in roots like fingers and snakes. It’s eerie. And the trees are big—really big. Hundreds or years of growth show how the jungle has tried to reclaim its rightful place, and even how our best efforts are always, always, reclaimed and subsumed by nature. In that some sense of humility, and the small scale of even our grandest efforts. With each temple we saw, the architecture and the ornament was a little different, as if each king had to leave his unique mark. It was here that a little fellow took it upon himself to be our guide, and thanks to him we saw some things we might have missed: a little Buddha’s face peeking out between the roots, and then the famous “Cambodian dinosaur.” This small detail is a real trip—amidst all the other ornament, one circular carving, maybe 10 inches across, has what looks to be a stegosaurus. Holy cow! Holy dinosaur! Come across one in the jungle like some “Land of the Lost” story? How in the heck did these people know about those things? [SEE TOP OF THIS POST] Come across one in their archeological diggings? Did they have archeologists back then? It just can’t be anything else. Amazing! Of course my cynical side thinks it was added more recently, but the part of me that stills hangs on to my childish awe just loved it.
After that, we saw Banteay Kdei, another older temple—yet still different once again. Across the road we finished the day at Srah Strang, which the guide map calls a “small” man made lake. If ½ a kilometer long is small, ok. Remember, all this was built without the aid of power machinery—whew! The boat landing forms a stage up a bit over the water, and you could almost imagine the kings watching boat races from the dais.

______________________

______ANGKOR WAT___________________________________PRAE KHAN

BAS RELIEF CARVING WALL________DETAIL______________THE MAD MONK

BATMAN TUK-TUK_________PARTNERS IN CRIME_____PETS ARE GOOD FOR KIDS

That evening, we took a tuk-tuk into central Siem Reap from the hotel. Tuk-tuks are little 2-seater surrey-like carts pulled by motorcycles that serve as the local taxis. They bounce and jostle quite a bit, but are a good cheap way to get around. We went down to Pub Street, an area crawling with nite life—lots of restaurants and bars, and great food. And of course the ubiquitous souvenir shops. It’s quite the happening place in the evening, and we had a great meal. Then it was home to bed.
Thursday we visited Angkor Thom. This is the biggest temple complex in the area, it’s about 3 kilometers on a side—that’s about 1.8 miles for us westerners. It’s huge! At the exact center lies Bayon—a large temple with the smiling face of Buddha cared on the sides of the towers. Many Buddhas on many towers. Big brother is definitely watching. Hopefully watch over us benevolently….
The surprising feature of this temple was that the central tower was circular in plan—the only circular structure we saw. Everywhere else it’s squares and more squares, but here, the square temple, and inner courtyards, rise up to a circular structure. What a shock and a surprise. And of course, it’s wonderful. This was probably the most impressive temple, along with Angkor Wat.
After that we worked our way down the road, to Baphuon, a beautiful pyramidal structure that is under restoration, and then to the Elephant Terrace, where what must be 200 elephants are carved into the base of the terrace. Walking up, you then cross a long causeway that’s supported on columns, to the Phimeankas, which is another tall pyramidal temple, and also under reconstruction. The terrace forms the front wall of an area called the Royal Palace. Tom and I wandered back behind the Phimeankas to the back wall of the Royal Palace area. The Palace is surrounded by two parallel walls and we worked our way between the 2, and followed a little trail to the back corner, up over the wall, and thru the old moat. Then it was up the other side, and back toward the front of the complex—jungle trekking in Cambodia! Finally we got back to the front, but it was a nice little adventure in the wilderness.
After the Royal Palace and the Elephant Terrace, we were at the Terrace of the Leper King, which is fronted by a high walls depicting what I thought were Buddhas, but later learned were the inhabitants of the underworld. There is a narrow passageway, about 3 feet wide, open to the sky 30 feet above, that turns and jogs its way thru this spot. The carvings are more protected from the elements, and very nice.
After that we headed off to Preah Khan, which was a sort of religious university, and had one “library” that was a free standing two-story structure—the only one like that we saw. No hint of steps, so I’m not sure how they got up to the second story. This spot was pretty tumble down, and it was fun to “boulder” over the stones and peek into old arcades and courtyards. Again, the trees had started to reclaim some of the structures. This would be our last temple, and we crossed the street to enjoy a lovely lunch in a little open air restaurant. Like the day before, lunch was fantastic, and cheap.
From lunch, we headed to Tonle Sap, a large lake in the middle of Cambodia, that covers some 110 x 35 kilometers. Ya, very large. And according to Mao, our driver, twice as large during the rainy season. On the lake is the Floating City—a conglomeration of house boats used by the local fisherman. Many are painted is bright colors and it’s really remarkable how these people live on the water. There are even pig pens and dogs running around. There is a school, a church, and a floating basketball court. Wow!
So, after watching the sun set, it was back to the hotel, then back to Pub Street for yet another excellent meal.
What a trip!
The next morning we had an early flight back to KL. Once there, we went to the Butterfly Garden—an amazing place in its own right. Then we went to the Hard Rock Café for a big fat burger—ahhh, western food! And finally back to Melaka.