"...Most games are about US$4, and
things like Office 2000 sell for US$16!..." |
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Bronwen 12/8/99
So...where are we? We are in Asia, for the first
time ever. We are currently in Malaysia, but we leave tonight for
Thailand. We just came from the island-nation of Singapore. It was a very
well run city and we really enjoyed our time there. It was clean,
friendly, easy to get around with lots of public transport, and had
incredible shopping centers, of course. Pirated
software is a big industry there. Most games are about US$4, and things like Office 2000
sell for
US$16! Incredible. We heard that every once in a while a representative
from Microsoft or some other company will come and close down the pirated
software stores, but they just start right up again. They do a roaring
trade too. We saw a non-pirated software store once in a huge electronics
building, and they just didn't have that many customers. Before
Singapore we came from Indonesia where we left some cameras in a taxi, two
of them. They were never returned. In Singapore we spent a day buying new
ones, some big decisions. I think we contributed our amount of money to
the local economy. We always seem to manage to do that. We went to a six-story electronics
store to buy the cameras. It had so many little stores! There are an
incredible number of cameras in Singapore. Aside from the software,
Singapore isn't such a cheap place, although I guess we were comparing it
to Indonesia, which is incredibly cheap. There was very good cheap food in
Singapore though, especially the Indian food, which is great. Indian and
Thai foods have to be my favorites. We had a great time. We go to
so few big cities, and this was an especially nice one. It was all so
clean too, which we loved. On the trains you can be fined about US$350 for
littering.
One of our first stops in Malaysia was at a marina, a very
nice one. It just started up a year ago, and gets minimal business. It was
a huge condo thing and leisure club as well. It was all very clean and well
kept and extravagant. And we got to stay there for US$10 a night! There
was a clean, clear, interestingly shaped pool, beautifully kept, that we
could use for free. A place like this in the US would probably be at least
$40 a night, the type of place we just don't go to. The food is very
cheap in Malaysia, as is everything else. We have been mostly eating at
Indian restaurants. The sailing continues to be lousy, hopefully that will
change soon. Most people have at least a little bit of English, thank
goodness. We are now in Langkawi, a shopping oriented town, which is not that
special. Before that we were in Georgetown, on Penang. It was really busy,
and full, and small. To get to and from town there is a water taxi
service, but it isn't very reliable. One time we sat on shore for almost
two hours, waiting, while everyone we talked to told us that the driver
was eating. Some long meal! We bought more software there (it was even
cheaper than Singapore), and saw 'Toy Story 2', which I think was better
than the original. We also went on rides through town in trishaws, which
are bicycles with carts on the front. It was exciting just because the
driving is so crazy. We went the wrong way down a busy street, and the
motorcyclists here never signal, so we were kept very tense. Anyway, it
was a fun stop. We are now on the fast track to Thailand, to meet that
plane flight deadline. We should get there tomorrow, and then it is only
150 miles until we arrive at Phuket. We should arrive in plenty of time to
catch our flights on the 17th. We are really looking forward to Thailand;
we have heard that it is great. So far, Malaysia seems pretty good too,
and we are not seeing or feeling any of the pirate threat we had heard
about here in the notorious Straits of Malacca. We are very sick of towns,
and really looking forward to some beaches, clear water, and anchorages,
which there are supposed to be plenty of in Thailand.
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