Category: Other

Journal 24 Day 3: Malaysia

Today I plan on hopping aboard an open-top bus and shooting the town.  Originally, I thought I would stay in KL for a couple days.  But we will see how things go.  It’s not really all that important to do the museum and shopping mall treks for me.  My view right over the strip of the late night eats here in the hotel provided me with enough inspiration to carry me through at least the idea of getting some good photos of the town.  At the minimum, I will try and get some shots of tomorrow night’s action from up here in the hotel room.

I got the cheapest room in the hotel.  It looked like they reserved the room for workers to sleep when they had an overnight or early morning shift.  But I was okay with that.  It cost me about US$9, it was clean and even right next to the elevator.  The bad news was that it was on the opposite side of the hotel from the restrooms – the only room without one.  But the showers were hot and they had western toilets, so the comfort level made it worth the hike.

Singapore is coming soon.  But I would also like to see the west coast.  So maybe I’ll see as much as I can now and do the countryside on the way back through Malaysia.  Or maybe I will head to Indonesia for the trip back north?  I love freedom.

Okay, so this city is really big.  Impressively so.  I started off the morning with a tour of the city.  Midway, I stopped just past the world famous twin towers (the ones in the action movie [title here] that have a skywalk connecting them) for lunch and sat in a mall the size of Mars and watched all manner of people walk past.  The diversity as well as the new trends in fashion is really something indescribable.  Even the Muslim women who are supposed to dress very conservatively with their head garb covering their most attractive parts, find ways (still within the rules) to make themselves look so exotic.  This is an ironic and strange twist.

All over the place I am seeing these coincidental names.  I started reading a book before I planned this trip by Nathan Mills.  It’s called The Third Attempt and it chronicles a high speed thrill as several main characters interact across an international stage in an attempt to kill a mutual enemy and betray one another.  It’s a pretty good book.  I recommend it.  But anyway, it talks about the same places that I am currently visiting.  And if that wasn’t enough, the man everyone’s trying to kill, Azlan (the son of the Sultan of Melaka), shares his name with the first person that I see when I sit down to read the newspaper.  On the front cover of The Nation, in a victory over Pakistan’s Khan in the men’s individual squash final, Azlan takes the gold in the Asian Games’ last match held the night before.

The descriptions in the book seem mostly accurate, though the author is careful to note that the bridge and river described in KL are fictitious.  But nonetheless, the coincidence is still noticeable.  I even came upon the book by accident, finding it in a “free” stack at the guesthouse in Bangkok where I was put up by the school I was interviewing to work for.

Couldn’t I have just as easily read this book earlier or later in life?  Might I have simply chosen a different book from the “free” stack?  The things I ponder…

I think I shot more than 600 photos of KL infrastructure.  I shot mostly in JPG, deciding that I would take up the space of RAW files when I could find more intimate subjects.

I am noticing that fashion is much different than in Thailand – even in Bangkok.  The economy is much better.  The cars are nicer.  The shops are higher class; Gucci, Este Lauder, Burberry, Prada, Cincere, Canali, Mont Blanc, Boss, Bulgari, Versaci, Juicy Couture, Ralph Lauren, Coach, Aignes, and on and on.  These six-story block-mountains loom over their ant-like fund-raisers traversing the consumer network below.

And the major difference between these shops and the ones in Thailand is that they are legitimate.  Their huge signs were actually sanctioned by their company chairs.  In Thailand, anyone at anytime can put up any sign without fear of lawsuit.  From Rolex to BMW, shops simply advertise whatever is popular enough to bring in customers.  It is truly unreal.  But here in the mega-mall that is Kuala Lumpur, the “anything goes” façade pales behind the diamond-glow of the true ritzy exports of the glamorous gems of the west.

I might be interested to find out the working visa requirements for Malaysia.  The area seems nice wherever I go (north to south along the west coast so far) and the schools seem to be reasonably funded.  But there is still a lot of work to be made in this still-developing country.  In the news I am reading that, in Petaling Jaya, month-long elections closed in chaos.  This sort of leaves me unsettled.

But still, there are a lot of other things that make news here which indicate that crime is still taboo.  Heavy policing and censorship are common here, but even in the inside sections of the paper, they are talking about youth’s crazy driving being a nuisance for the status quo.

This is paired on the same page as a story of a Malay Fengh Shui Master who is called upon to act as principle consultant for the Malaysian Institute of geomancy to predict such popular items ranging from economic country status to general election outcomes.  They sure have a different way of looking at things in the Far East.

More in the news today: Tamil exodus underway.  Swarms of refugees from Sri Lanka are landing in Thailand on their way aboard merchant vessels-for-hire to Canada where they will seek asylum from the devastating scourge that is taking place in the tiny country off the south coast of India.

[Walking through the book store, I note that I want to buy these books when I get the chance: The Grand Design, Stephen Hawking (who might finally have his answer to the theory of everything), How to be Free, Tom Hodgkinson and others.]

Here’s a strange sight: Chinese Shaolin monks sitting auspiciously at the KLL Twin Towers.  I am not sure what they are doing there.  But they seem quite out of the ordinary.  Perhaps monks take tours, too.

Journal [23]: Day two:

Not sure where I am.  Somewhere near Hat Yai which has been under water for the last month in the rainy season here in the south of Thailand.  The train has passed through Surat Thani overnight and I wasn’t awake to wave hello to all of my friends there.

It’s morning and I have been opening the door and leaning out to snap shots of the passing landscape.  The clouds are drifting upward from the leeward side of the mountains in the distance.  Fields of bright green grass and rubber trees are shooting by disguising and encircling their workers, sweating and hunched over in the patty fields.

The shoots from the rice fields are impossibly green.  They are so bright it looks like they are a color that has been bent from the reflection of the sun.  I can’t tell if it’s each of the tiny droplets of morning dew sending a thousand fractals of light through each blade of grass or if they are simply illuminated because they exist in this beautiful and foreign place.  The luminosity is so radiant it looks like it has to be my imagination imparting some fantastic, unintentional transcendence that might not be with me had I grown up around these fields and walked among them every morning.

It’s rained so much here that the fields are puddle, the ditches are overflowing and even the train tracks are sunken down in places forcing the train to slow down over certain places as it leans dangerously far to one side or another.

I was just interrupted from writing as a lady with a bamboo dish full of fried chicken asked me if I would like any food.  I tried to bargain with her over her tiny, overpriced food and she simply got up and left as I was reaching out to take a piece.  I just got dissed by the fried chicken lady.  Sad.

[Now in Malaysia on a bus headed south to Butterworth]

There was a really cute, little Vietnamese lady sitting next to me.  I suspect she speaks English.  She sort of over-pronounced an unintelligible articulation of numbers and simple words.  Generally, Asians simply nod yes or no if they want to say something.  This saves them face when speaking to a westerner who might otherwise realize that they simply don’t speak English.  But this lady was persistently trying to get my attention – which had, up until that point, been focused on my latest book – and initiating conversation.  And then she couldn’t really deliver anything in depth or completely clear.

From what I could tell, she was traveling to Kuala Lumpur in order to attain employment as her boss had refused to pay her her last paycheck.  I took this to mean that she was leading up to asking me for money – or at least hoping that I would offer it.  This is a common tactic of Asians in poverty.  But I wasn’t buying it.  Not only were we on a pretty expensive bus (for the region), but her attempts at mangling her English were not coming through convincingly.

Then, as I was walking around the back of the bus to get my backpack at our last stop, I walked right into the middle of a perfectly coined American phrase rolling right off her tongue as if she was leaning up against the end of some up-city, American bar and chatting away with an old friend.  Our eyes met in confirmation that she’d got nothing past me.  I knew it the whole time.  And I was glad that she got to see me pass her with an affirming smirk pasted across my face.

[First night in Kuala Lumpur]

I haven’t seen all of KL yet, I am sure.  But from what I can tell, this place isn’t really all that impressive.  It just sort of looks like any other large city.  It’s kind of abandoned, other than the restaurants.  There are no street vendors or late night shops open.  Just a bunch of metal walls staring down stoically at the dirty street.

I am finally settling down into my hotel room.  I took a cab with a pretty cool Japanese guy who quit his teaching job to come travel around SE Asia for a couple months.  Kashioto, I think his name was.  He was silent on the bus ride over to KL, but get him into a cab and he full of questions.  Best of luck and nice chatting with you Kashi!

The view from the hotel room was pretty cool.  It overlooked what looked like the happening place in China Town.  I Will have to go out tomorrow and check out the sights down there when people and vendors are around.

It’s about twenty minutes to midnight on Sunday and having boarded my train at about 11 a.m. yesterday, I plan on falling asleep just before my head hits the pillow.  [And I basically did.  It was a long trip.  There were two buses, two trains and a cab – plus some heavy walking in between rides to get to money-changing stations and different transport terminals all while trying not to get lost and keep a schedule on a malnutritioned mental capacity.  The people in town were nice enough.]

Journal 22: Malaysia; Day One:

Tomorrow I will be leaving on a sneak-op to Singapore.  I have gotten two job offers at two very good, very prestigious schools and during this trip I will be thinking about which one I will be taking.  I will also be extending what is supposed to be a simple “visa run.”

I just finished out my “thirty days” at the company in the south of Thailand so that I could move to Bangkok and finish taking my master’s classes and to earn a little more money to make life a little more comfortable while doing so.  So this trip not only symbolizes the celebration of one year of living here in Southeast Asia, but it also fills the gap between my jobs in order to clear the way for a fresh start at a new job and in a new town.  And let’s not forget the wonderful photo-opportunity that this gives me.  I plan on taking my new D700 for a nice ride through some jungles: urban and fauna-filled.

I might even be able to add some images to my soon-to-be-published Religions of Asia book.  We will have to see how things pan out.  I feel bad choosing my master’s classes over being able to put money toward the publishing of the books that I have produced to date.  But I believe in timing of things and I can see this as an opportunity that simply was not visible when I dedicated myself to my book production.  And in that, I find solace as a non-slacker.  The books will simply have to be postponed, bulked up and published with all new content from this region.  Already I see some good content for my On the Road in Southeast Asia title.

At any rate, this is my fourth trip to Malaysia.  And as for what’s happening in the world outside of Malaysia – and what’s being blasted all over the news – is that Suu Kyi has finally been released from her house arrest.  She is considered the latest in revolutionary femmes to dazzle the world with her staunch but peaceful resistance to tyranny.  A Burmese woman and innovatory freedom fighter has been seeking democratic solutions to the government’s history of abuse, slavery, war and genocide for many years.  And it was her latest letter that covered the entire “columns” section of The Nation. Her letter, translated into English, was a call for a peaceful resolution for the continuing growth of her country.  It will be great in a year or so to find out what progress she has made in shaping the country’s views toward a national program for freedom.  And since I plan on being there about this time next year, I will be able to report a personal account of just that.

I hope to be going back to the U.S. in April for a visit to friends and family.  I plan on that trip being very nice and I want to spend quality time with my family whom I have not seen in at least three years, now.  I would also like this April trip to be very thoroughgoing because after that, the way things are looking, I might not see anyone for a good many years as I make my way farther into the reaches of our world.

But I am no longer talking about Malaysia or my trip.  Sorry I trailed off there.  These are the things that I think about when I am lying awake in my sleeper car aboard a rickety train headed toward new and foreign places [still transcribing from my notes, I promise].

Southeast Asia Journal 21: Introduction to the trip through Malaysia, Singapore and three islands in Indonesia

Well, it’s back on the road for a trek through another few Southeast Asian countries.  It’s been quite a while since I have been able to publish journals because I have been very busy taking classes to finish my master’s coursework these last few months.

My last big trip was through the countries of Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and then back through Thailand.  I did happen through a small part of Myanmar for a quick stop at a market that was said to be abutting the northern tip of Thailand, but I would not be receiving an official stamp of entry for that one.  But I will have to make the official trip into the land of the Burmese on the next trip.

Other than that, I did take the motorbike for a seven day jaunt through the south of Thailand in October, which was great.  It rained the entire time, but it still made for an interesting and nearly-tourist-free trek to the Andaman side where I got to snap some shots of the Thai Vegetarian festival.  A blog of that trip will be accompanying this one.  And, when published, they will appear together and in the correct order.

Once I can rewrite the order, get all my entries into sync and organize all the material, I will just have to keep adding to this journal.  Once all the photos are edited (maybe in a month or so), I will hopefully be able to get it all uploaded in one quick shot.

Until then, though, I will be finishing this blog.  So far, it’s been amazing.  And I have had to wait until the eighth day of this trip to do any writing because I thought that Indonesia would use the same electrical plugs as Malaysia.

I was wrong.

And so I had to find a place that had an adaptor for my adaptor.  So I am currently powering my laptop with my charger which is plugged into one adapter made for changing the connections from a western plug to a Malaysian plug and then from a Malaysian plug to an Indonesian plug.  The stem to the wall is beginning to look a lot like a National Lampoon’s Christmas tree light arrangement.

Nevertheless, once again I find myself sitting in a little shack of a hostel with a breeze for a fan and a flickering bulb for light ticking away at my laptop, scanning through photos with a hot tea on whatever ramshackle, little end table that happens to be in the room.  And I find myself so pleased with the way my life is leading me into the most amazing memories that I can ever imagine having been humbled and privileged enough to somehow deserve in this lifetime.

I only came to Indonesia on a whim after changing my mind at a moment’s inspiration.  And this has been the recipe that’s paved the way for the most memorable times of my adult life.

The warm people, the diverse cultures, the jaw-dropping landscapes have all been my kind company throughout my travels.  And as the sun bathes the clouds cresting the horizon of the Indian Ocean in a deep red blade that spans the whole of the Javan peripheral, I am reminded of all the wonderful memories in all the wonderful places that I have acquired up until now.   And this definitely sets the pace for my time that has been mostly spent here in Indonesia.

Malaysia, as in my last three visits, has always been interesting and different each time.  And Singapore was also a vastly different place.  But those journals follow and will hopefully add to the color of this, more detailed journal which will mostly cover the islands of Java, Bali and Sumatra in Indonesia.  I wish I had more time to travel here, because the people are simply great, warm, friendly people.  And they make the entire trip worthwhile.

The bombings by radical Muslims killing hundreds of westerners last year and the years previous seem so impossibly foreign to the feeling that I get from almost all the people that I have encountered so far.  I, of course, have not had an entirely problem-free trip.  And that aspect has indeed taken its toll on how much I am able to trust the rest of my encounters with people here.  But the vast majority of the people here are more than willing to stop and help, to offer assistance and in most cases just simply stop and talk to you.  But all of this will be detailed in the following blog.

Thanks for staying with me for these last years and I hope that you enjoy this blog.  From here, I will be transcribing my notes from the pad that I have kept for the past six years of travel.  I filled the entire thing up completely just this afternoon and it will be a shame to see it go.  The duck tape I used as its binder is warn and faded and the book itself more resembles the shape of the bag it’s been carried in for at least that many years (and even the bag, a military gas-mask bag that I sewed a zipper and strap onto, has also been through quite an ordeal protecting my camera while disguised as a ratty hippy-pack.  It can be seen in almost all the photos of myself throughout my travels these last years).

Greetings,

It’s been a while since I wrote, so I thought I would drop you a line and let you know what I have been doing.

Some of you I have known for years and some of you I have met just for a brief moment along my travels. In fact, some of the more than 1300 people receiving this email may not even remember me. But no matter how long we’ve known each other or whether or not you’ve been keeping up with my travels, it’s been my honor and privilege to know you.

I am currently writing this letter from Southeast Asia, where I have been living and working for the past nine months. And since it’s been a while from the time I’ve last updated my blog, I thought I would invite you to come and see what I have been working on.

In the last three months since my last correspondence, I have been quite busy. I have finished the last of 10 cinematic, documentary photo-films, produced 10 books of photography, one non-fiction print edition book of my travel journals and a collection of more than 22,000 images (more than 200 Gigabytes) for my worldwide catalog of photos of the ever-increasing database which is “Cyle O’Donnell Photography.” And the most important part of these last three months of work has been my plan to publish one of each of my books every month for the next ten months.

The first edition, Moving Stills Volume 1: Hill Tribes of Vietnam, is the

headliner of the ten-volume set and is available now. At least one book each month will become available for purchase from now until May of 2011, if not sooner. So please keep your eyes open for the next book in the Moving Stills series. To buy a book, see what’s coming next month and for more information, go to the Photo-Books page of my website.

For those of you who haven’t been reading the blogs or been able to keep in touch, I have been riding my bicycle, traveling, photographing and journaling my way through more than 20 countries and four continents over the past five years. I have filled my passport and had to add pages since being here in Asia. And I am nowhere near finished. In fact, along with introducing my soon-to-be-available 10-volume series of books tracing my travel over the last half-decade, I wanted to let you know about the next big adventure coming up in early 2011.

At the end of March next year, I will be back on the road headed across the Gobi Desert in China, into the Himalayan Mountains and through Tibet to Nepal. From there it’s over to India where I will hopefully be able to catch a freighter or cargo ship to Madagascar and into Africa. Once headed north, I hope to make it to Morocco and fly home from Portugal.

This will complete my first complete circle around the world in one direction. And it will be the longest stretch of land that I have ever covered in one shot. So between now and February of 2011, I am hoping to sell enough books, movies and photos in order to sustain my travel as long as it takes to complete that journey.

Along the way, I will be updating the Blog section of my website. So please keep up with me as I detail daily mileage, upload a gallery to vote for the best photo of the week, eat creepy foods, document interesting cultures and

customs, highlight little-known and amazing facts and of course, contribute countless more photos to my endless search for the perfect documentary image.

Please help support my travels by purchasing a photo-book, photo-film or a print of a photo from my website.

Almost everyone needs money to sustain their way of life. But I am not in this for the money. I am traveling as a photojournalist because that’s what I love to do. And to prove it, I am also inviting anyone receiving this email to download any of my fixed media free of charge or fear of copyright infringement. Access to my website, my blogs, and my online images will always be free and you may feel free to download any of the displayed media with my compliments. I have purposefully removed the flash code

(eternal8;) that protects my photos from being saved to your computer. Of course, I would rather you buy the full resolution, high quality print directly. But I don’t travel with money in mind. So if one of my images grabs you or one of my blogs moves you, feel free to save it, share it or use it in any way that is not negative or derogatory toward any of the people/cultures that are mentioned, denoted or pictured in any of the the online content. I must insist that you credit the creator of all downloaded works, as that is only fair to the author. But my purpose has always been for others to enjoy my work freely.

If, however, you can’t contribute financially to my trip, never fear; there is still one more thing you can do to help. We have all seen those forwards with pictures of cute, cuddly kittens or stories of soldiers in the Iraq War or the emails that guilt you into passing this along to eight people with the promise of something lucky happening. Well, here is one that you can pass along that you can keep up with – follow me on the road as I travel through amazing places and see and do amazing things. This is one that you can send along and see if it makes its way around the world all the way back to me. This is an email about which you’ll be able to say, “I know this guy, he’s really out there riding his bike and traveling around the world and writing about it.”

So please send me along to everyone in your contacts list. Help me get my name and my artwork out there for others to enjoy.

My name is Cyle O’Donnell and it would be my great honor if you would visit my website and blog and tell others about it. Here’s where to find me:

• cyleodonnell.com
• cyle@cyleodonnell.com
• cyleodonnell@gmail.com

This is a one-time bulk email, so I apologize about its impersonal nature. If you would like to be removed from my email list altogether, please reply with “unsubscribe” in the subject line.