Alex Quinn's Japan Journal

12/29/2004, Malaysia trip day 3: Kuantan - lazy day, mosque

We woke up to heavy rain.  So, we were in no hurry to go out into the world.

Akemi took this picture of me dozing well into the morning.  (I figured if I posted it here, it would significantly reduce its blackmail value.)

When the rain slowed a little, we went out, bought an umbrella (≈$2.08, ≈¥208), and went for a walk.  We stopped in a CD store.  The people there were very friendly and very eager to sell us something.  The entire time we were in there, 2 or 3 people were attending to us, asking what sort of music or movies (they sold them, too) we might be interested in.  They ran around the store looking for movies with English subtitles and music that suited our desires, all the while consulting with each other.  We were sold.  We picked up a CD of popular Malaysian music and a movie.  It was more a gesture of acceptance of their enthusiastic offering of culturally significant things than anything else.  The money, ≈10.27 or ≈¥1027 for both, was nominal.

We proceeded the national mosque ("Masjid Negiri"), the main sightseeing attraction of the town.  We were hoping to go inside, but we really didn't think it through.  Akemi's hair was uncovered, a no-no in Islam.  And, we were both wearing shorts.  And, we weren't Muslim.  We walked around outside, peered inside, and considered asking somebody permission to enter.  Around the time we decided for ourselves it was totally inappropriate, a very kind and polite man came from inside and explained that Akemi's uncovered hair was improper at the mosque.  He suggested an area where we might be able to purchase a head scarf.  We gave up and did some more walking.

As we did some more walking, we went past a kindergarten and some other very normal, non-touristy places.  Out of a house came a dark skinned Malaysian man who spoke very little English.  He asked where we were going.  We told him we were taking a walk, but were ultimately in search of lunch.  He pulled a couple sandwiches from his shirt pocket.  Concerned about food safety and not wanting to waste his offering, we declined with thanks.  Ultimately, he tried hard to discourage us from continuing up the street we were walking.  He flagged down a man in a nice car and apparently asked for his assistance in discouraging our walk up this street.  That man also emphatically pronounced that there were no interesting attractions or restaurants in our intended direction.  When we said we just wanted to see normal neighborhoods where normal people live, he suggested a nearby village in which to observe normal living conditions.  We were a little spooked by these people's emphatic requests that we not proceed up this very normal street.  Was there something dangerous up there?  Perhaps, a crime center of some sort?  Was there something shameful?  We had no idea, but we bowed to their request and headed in the direction they advised.  We never did get an answer to our question.  We went ended up at a tourist information center where we booked our next day's tour.

I like taking pictures of signs and normal parts of a place that differentiate it from home.  Now, ask yourself this.  Have you ever seen a "Bank Christian" in the United States?  How about a "Bank Buddhist" in Japan or a "Bank Catholic" in Mexico.  This "Bank Islam" sign was a small symbol to me of how entrenched religion is in their society.  I've heard the Chinese minority have their own bank.

This tri-shaw was on the porch at the tourist information center.  These things are sometimes used in tourist areas of Malaysia to take tourists around on short tours.  Not our cup of tea, but they are pretty neat looking for what they are.

Dinner

For dinner, we hit another area of Kuantan on recommendation of our new friend Anwar.  We landed at "Phuket", another Malaysian seafood restaurant.  We figured being on the coast, seafood was a safe (e.g. sanitary) and tasty bet, so we stuck with it.

I took this picture, not to capture Akemi, but to capture a little of the ambience of the place without making the customers feel like they were the subject of my photography.

If you zoom in, you can see this guy walking around the restaurant peddling bootleg DVDs.  Bootleg DVDs are everywhere in Malaysia.  There is apparently no enforcement.  And, since nodody could afford full price American DVDs anyway, I find it hard to object too much, myself.  But, it is interesting.

Akemi took this one of me, for the same reason.  Since we spoke only Japanese, nobody could understand our discussions as we conspired to take these very sneaky pictures.

This employee asked where I was from.  As always, I told him I lived and worked in Japan.  He pressed me hard for a better answer.  Finally, I admitted I was an American, not a real popular identity in a place like Kuantan, I guess.  He was friendly, but we both felt there was something a little fishy about him.  We never could pin it down.  He insisted on calling us a cab, rather than letting us flag one down as we wanted to do.  When it became obvious that he planned to solicity a commission, we got in the way, jumping in the cab as soon as it pulled up, giving him no time for discreet negotiations.  We saw that kind of informal commission collection all everywhere in Malaysia.

Akemi and me in front of the "Phuket" restaurant.

This time a little closer.

National Mosque (Masjid Negiri)

That night, we went back to the mosque to take some night photos.  It was dark, so we used a tripod and a time exposure.

Mesjid Negeri (mosque)

and again,

and again.

I also took a few photos of city from the same location.

Not sure what this is, but it was in Kuantan.

Something else in Kuantan, also near the mosque.  Notice a little blur on the left side.  A guy walked by, but he was mostly erased because of the time exposure photography I used.

The same photo a minute later, without the guy.

<Previous     -     Index     -     Next>