Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

We may be fully co-dependent at this point. I am not sure, but today feels something like the famous scene in Strange Brew when the brothers split up for the first time in their lives to go off and fight the forces of evil conspiring to rule the world through an additive in Candian beer. They look at each other, a look of uncertainty written on their faces, as if their world is changing. That is how today feels, for Christine and I are splitting up for two weeks of travel ON OUR OWN.

Well, not fully on our own. I am flying back to Indonesia to join a friend we met in Vietnam, who also happens to be a surfer, for almost two weeks of surfing on the island of Sumbawa. Christine is meeting his wife here on the Malaysian Peninsula. They plan on travelling up to the Perhentian Islands together, where they hope to take a dive course. Boy trip and Girl Trip 2007 is about to begin.

So we will see how it goes. We left Penang last night on the overnight express train to Kuala Lumpur, where we now are, killing a few hours before our respective transports whisk us away from each other. Penang, while not a particularily slow and relaxed city, was a very slow and relaxed stop for us after what felt like weeks of constant GOING on Borneo. We didn't do a whole lot of anything except wander around the dirty city and ponder the clash of cultures occuring there. We were raised to see America as the great melting pot, but we have nothing to this part of Malaysia, with its mix of Indian, Chinese and Malay people. Many hold tight to traditional modes of dress and language, while at the same time creating a unified national feeling. Most folks are at least tri-lingual.

While in Penang we did do as much exploring of its history as possible. Georgetown, where we stayed, was founded by the British East India Company as a foot-hold in a strategically important location during the late-1800's. The fort they established (which is still there and just a few blocks from where we stayed), is named fort cornwallis - named after the very same Cornwallis that surrended to the American revolutionary forces in Yorktown, just a few miles from where my parents live. By the time the fort was established he was Governor-General in India, with control of British Interests in Malaya. The history of European intervention in Malaya is fascinating, starting with the Portugese, then the Dutch, then the British. It mirrors, in some ways, the collusion between private global corporations and governments that we see nowadays in the oil industry and, for that reason, we find it fascinating to try to learn about. Not a lot on that particular subject in the museums in Penang, though. What a surprise!

Less than a month remains for us in Asia. We fly to Paris on the 24th of May. We've made some very exciting arranagements in France, and have connected with some people through some on-line travellers networks who are going to lend us their bicycles. We plan on spending about 2.5 weeks cycling in southern france and basque spain. pretty cool.

so we continue with our miserable life style, doing lame stuff...how are we ever going to return to work?

-ian