This morning we headed over to a little tourist area just went of the marina called Oriental Village. On the way, we passed an inviting beach with white sand where ox were languidly meandering along. The parking lot for Oriental Village was packed. We found a spot and went inside. It is basically a shopping center, but the shops are in cute little Asian style buildings with tall roofs an Asian version of Seaport Village in San Diego. The shops are all situated around a small pond with lotus flowers in it. There are three bridges to cross the pond. It is an attractive site. We browsed the shops briefly. They mostly sell clothes, food, handicrafts, and assorted souvenirs.

Our real destination was the Continue reading →

Continued from yesterday¦ In the foyer there is a brief biography about the prime minister and his wife. We knew the prime minister was a doctor who was instrumental in revolutionizing Malaysia from a country based on commodities to one based on industry. We knew nothing about his wife. She was one of the first female medical students in Singapore, one of the first female doctors in Malaysia, and the first female head of two state government departments relating to women’s and children’s health care. After her husband became Prime Minster, she became actively involved eight organizations geared at health care (physical and mental), family planning, rehabilitation of handicapped kids, and the like. In addition, she campaigned tirelessly for drug abuse control and adult literacy. And in between, she managed to bear and raise 7 children. Wow.

The museum was almost shocking. It is absolutely enormous and completely full of an eclectic assortment of items. They came from everywhere around the world, from governments and private individuals. They also came from within Malaysia, again from government agencies and from private individuals. The majority of the gifts were bowls and vases literally too many to possibly count. There were lots and lots of hanging art pieces, including Continue reading →