Calypso, Farewell!

4 October 2009


A final day in KL, which started well with breakfast at Steven's w/ Louise and Denis. The three of us had your typical roti-and-dhal (Malaysia really is delicious). And David? The man who never met a local food he didn't want to make friends with? He had ABC. This is short for Air Batu Campur. It is supposed to be desert. It consists of a head-sized pile of shaved ice topped with a delightful array of deeply random stuff. These include: noodles made with green bean paste, chili beans, peanuts, brightly colored jelly, cream, and palm seed kernels (natch.) Even David couldn't do this one justice.

Anyway, on to the Museum of Islamic Art, in a building style best described architecturally as 'Persian Diner', and with an amazing collection of manuscripts, scale models of the world's great mosques (very pleased with myself as we wandered this hall announcing to awestruck fellow visitors, "Been there, been there, been there." I think I may technically qualify as muslim after this trip.) The textile collection is especially well done, and ranges from Ottoman velvets to Malay songket, by way of Chinese jewellery and Uzbek suzani.


We also made it to the National Museum (entry fee: 57 cents), which had a good few rooms on the trading colonies established here by the Portuguese and Dutch and British. We're in Malaysia during Hari Raya, the celebration of Aidilfitri (Eid), the end of Ramadan, and the museum had a little temporary exhibit on the foods of this festival as well. Malaysians are eaters, that's for damn sure. Just to keep it surreal, there is also a model of Stonehenge.


Today we're out of KL and down the west coast to Melaka, the colonial city on the Straits of Malacca. Here for 3 nights, so more to follow.

Here, however, is where we finally part ways with the loyal blue truck, Calypso. She's brought us so far with no issues at all, and for this we are grateful. Well, there was the engine trouble in Kazakhstan, but that was down to crappy Azeri petrol, so she can't be blamed. And there was the tire that exploded on the dodgiest mountain-iest road in China. Fortunately we were parked for lunch, but it was very loud, really. We've collectively eaten, sheltered, shivered, sweltered, slept, been rained on and pretty much lived in the truck for 27,000+ kilometers. Some of us have tossed our cookies on her, lots of us have gotten fairly drunk on her, many games of backgammon have been staged, we've occasionally cleaned her and regularly stored all our unwanted crap on her, she's come through 19 borders and 22 countries, crossed a sea and several deserts, and been up to Mt Everest (17,090 feet) and down to Turpan (98 feet). She's getting new seat cushions and I imagine a good clean, and a deserved rest on her cruise back to London. Farewell, big blue truck!