the missing country

having a frustrating time finding tourist info for malaysia on the web.
Starting to realise that northern malaysia, internet-wise, is probably
as well-advertised as pulau bukum. And probably as popular.



never really paid much attention to travelling in malaysia. Been to
taman negara twice (once in sec sch, once to climb tahan), been to JB
probably twice (way back in pre-puberty days, so can't really
remember), and that's about it. So when ppl talk about all the fun
stuff they did on their travels in our immediate neighbour country, all
I can do is adopt an attitude of academic interest.



anyway it kinda sucks not being able to find decent info on the web.
Borrowed a couple of travel guides from libraries yesterday, but
they're rather disappointing. The (western?) backpacker's forays into
malaysia seem to have been limited to KL and a few other spots,
mainly along the coastlines. From their perspective, the rest of the
country might as well be labeled 'wastelands of Mordor'.



so now I'm wondering what else I can do. Feeling quite sian to continue
searching but then I promised to help my platoon mate (I bet you
thought I was planning a holiday. You're right, but it's not my holiday
that I'm planning. Sucks.). Basically it's your classic everyday moral
dilemma: to do the unpalatable but right thing, or the much more
enjoyable but wrong one. The fate of the world lies in your hands. Come
to the dark side, Luke. You know, that sort of thing.



on another note: thanks to The PSC Scholar's (Not-so-private) Private
Blog Post, ppl have found a new adjective to describe scholars; got
suan-ed the whole week by platoon/wing mates for being 'racist'. Jokes
aside, I was surprised by the guy's naivety more than anything else:
nothing is private on the web, not even with password-restricted
access. As for the criticism, well, IMO, there are very very very few
ppl who are not racist at all. The important thing is to recognise
racist feelings for what they are, and try to correct them. Not to
exonerate him or anything, but I feel that those ppl who're
demanding the poor guy's head on a platter are being over-enthusiastic,
and probably pretentious. Give the man a chance lah.



alright, enough procrastinating. Time to get back to work. Give in to the dark side? Never!

erm, well, later can or not?