The home of the Perak royal family in Kuala kangsar where I was a guest for two months in 1980.
Tuesday 21 October 2008
ISTANA ISKANDARIAH AND THE UBUDIAH MOSQUE, KUALA KANGSAR, PERAK, MALAYSIA
The home of the Perak royal family in Kuala kangsar where I was a guest for two months in 1980.
Wednesday 1 October 2008
THREE MONTHS IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA;NOVEMBER 2008-FEBRUARY 2009
This is a journal of my trip to Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. It is still about four weeks until my departure but I thought it would be a good idea to tell you some of the background history as to why I have chosen this part of the world to visit.
In 1978 I attended Hull University and was one of thirteen students who were chosen to be 'guinea pigs' for the Bachelors Degree of B.A Special South East Asian Studies. Sounds rather fancy does it not!Apart from The London School of Oriental and African Studies no other university in the U.K. offered such a degree. To be perfectly honest I did not have a clue what subject matter this degree would cover but was assured by the admissions officer that it contained a large element of history and politics which was what I really wanted to study. I had infact failed one A level which prevented me from doing a pure history or politics degree and entered Hull University through what was known as the 'clearing' system. Therefore rather than me choosing my degree it was, study this, or repeat my final year at Plympton Grammar School to gain another A level.
My parents took me to Hull in early October 1978; I had decided to accept the place that was offered to me. The decision to go to Hull was the beginning of my fascination with S.E.Asia. The course enabled me to study the geographical area known as South-East Asia, which is Singapore, Malaysia, Phillippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Burma(Myanmar as it is now called), Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. As well as history and politics I studied the geography, sociology, social anthropology, religion and economics of the area.
I lived in a terrace of four houses owned by the university with ten students in each. Ten girls lived next door and consequently the social life was somewhat hectic but I still managed to fit in some studying around the pub crawls and endless house parties! I got to know one of the residents very well; a Malaysian guy called Azli Baki and his friend Ahmat Othman from Kuching in Sarawak. We would often sit up to the early hours talking politics and they would regale me with stories of life in the tropics. Azli was a pure Malay and Ahmat was half Chinese, quarter Malay and quarter Iban, an indiginous headhunting tribe of Sarawak. Their political differences were marked and on some occasions they almost came to blows; I was always piggy in the middle and could usually diffuse the situation with an offer of another can of Hull Brewery bitter and a badly rolled 'smoke'!
At the beginning of my second year I had returned early to Hull and had a notification from the accommodation office that a new student H.R.H. Sharuzzaman Idris was to be staying in the house. I thought it was probably one of my friends playing a joke; it was true though and Shah, as he liked to be called, duly arrived at 98 Cottingham Road to begin his three year degree.
Over the months I got to know Shah very well and he showed me some amazing photos of the palace and mosque in his home town. Shah was from the town of Kuala Kangsar in Perak. His father was the Sultan of that state. I was invited to go and stay as a guest of the Perak royal household in August 1980. I secured some funding from the University of Hull on the condition that I undertook a small project whilst there. My parents paid for the air fare and off I went for a truly memorable two month holiday.
In 1978 I attended Hull University and was one of thirteen students who were chosen to be 'guinea pigs' for the Bachelors Degree of B.A Special South East Asian Studies. Sounds rather fancy does it not!Apart from The London School of Oriental and African Studies no other university in the U.K. offered such a degree. To be perfectly honest I did not have a clue what subject matter this degree would cover but was assured by the admissions officer that it contained a large element of history and politics which was what I really wanted to study. I had infact failed one A level which prevented me from doing a pure history or politics degree and entered Hull University through what was known as the 'clearing' system. Therefore rather than me choosing my degree it was, study this, or repeat my final year at Plympton Grammar School to gain another A level.
My parents took me to Hull in early October 1978; I had decided to accept the place that was offered to me. The decision to go to Hull was the beginning of my fascination with S.E.Asia. The course enabled me to study the geographical area known as South-East Asia, which is Singapore, Malaysia, Phillippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Burma(Myanmar as it is now called), Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. As well as history and politics I studied the geography, sociology, social anthropology, religion and economics of the area.
I lived in a terrace of four houses owned by the university with ten students in each. Ten girls lived next door and consequently the social life was somewhat hectic but I still managed to fit in some studying around the pub crawls and endless house parties! I got to know one of the residents very well; a Malaysian guy called Azli Baki and his friend Ahmat Othman from Kuching in Sarawak. We would often sit up to the early hours talking politics and they would regale me with stories of life in the tropics. Azli was a pure Malay and Ahmat was half Chinese, quarter Malay and quarter Iban, an indiginous headhunting tribe of Sarawak. Their political differences were marked and on some occasions they almost came to blows; I was always piggy in the middle and could usually diffuse the situation with an offer of another can of Hull Brewery bitter and a badly rolled 'smoke'!
At the beginning of my second year I had returned early to Hull and had a notification from the accommodation office that a new student H.R.H. Sharuzzaman Idris was to be staying in the house. I thought it was probably one of my friends playing a joke; it was true though and Shah, as he liked to be called, duly arrived at 98 Cottingham Road to begin his three year degree.
Over the months I got to know Shah very well and he showed me some amazing photos of the palace and mosque in his home town. Shah was from the town of Kuala Kangsar in Perak. His father was the Sultan of that state. I was invited to go and stay as a guest of the Perak royal household in August 1980. I secured some funding from the University of Hull on the condition that I undertook a small project whilst there. My parents paid for the air fare and off I went for a truly memorable two month holiday.
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