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Author Archives: Dr Marty Klein
Last Day in Malaysia
I reluctantly left the grand E & O hotel and spent my last two days in Penang at the Bayview Beach Resort at Batu Ferringhi beach. Both the hotel and the beach were a letdown. But let’s start with the … Continue reading
Malaysia, Day 5
Religion is everywhere in Malaysia. And that means ethnicity, and that means politics. When you saw someone on the street in Boston 200 years ago, you immediately knew most important things about them, based on their clothes and grooming: their … Continue reading
Malaysia, Day 4
My website is censored in Malaysia. You can’t even go to my shopping cart and buy a webinar on doing better intake sessions. Having thought it over, I sincerely say, “Fuck the Malaysian government.” This isn’t the first time I … Continue reading
Malaysia, Day 3
Have I mentioned how hot and humid it is here? I’ve a new appreciation for the word “enervated.” Even the enormous coconut trees seem to sway languidly, almost reluctantly. So I strolled, equally languidly, through Georgetown today. I basically took … Continue reading
Posted in 2022 Singapore & Malaysia, Uncategorized
Tagged Georgetown, penang, street scenes, tourism
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Malaysia, Day 2
Penang is a thumb-shaped island off the northwest coast of Malaysia. In 1786 the British East India Company founded a port there on the budding commercial shipping lane between India and China. Structured as a tariff-free port, it quickly became … Continue reading
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Malaysia, Day 1
Weatherwise, it’s always Groundhog Day in Malaysia—95 degrees, 95% humidity. Gin & tonic anyone? Malaysia occupies the southern half of a long narrow strip of land that points into the crescent bowl of Indonesia’s many islands. The northern half of … Continue reading
Leaving Singapore—Through Little India
There are a half-million Indians and Bangladeshis in Singapore. On my last day here I do believe I was jostled by most of them. South Asians have been coming here for almost two centuries, and continue coming today. Especially today, … Continue reading
Big News In Singapore! (And a Raspberry to Indonesia)
Yesterday, Singapore decriminalized sex between two men. Gay men will continue to face a certain amount of social stigma, but not jail time, fines, or court-ordered beatings. The law that was just rescinded dates from British colonial times, the very … Continue reading
Singapore: Tropical Humidity, Futuristic Architecture
Singapore is 1 degree latitude north of the Equator. The sun sets at the same time 365 days per year, and the tropical weather–extremely hot and humid–is constant throughout the year as well.
The country’s main variety comes from its staggeringly diverse, futuristic skyscrapers.
And did I mention it’s incredibly hot and humid all the time, even at night? Continue reading
Singapore: The Town That Became a Country
A thousand years before Marco Polo travelled the Silk Route between Venice and China, there was a little town in the strategic location of Singapore. In 1320 the Mongols shopped for elephants there. As Europeans scrambled for footholds in the … Continue reading
Posted in 2022 Singapore & Malaysia, history
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Day 13: The Final Battle
So Richard became king. He had many supporters, but many enemies. One was his dead brother Edward’s widow Elizabeth Woodville—mother of the nephews in the tower, head of a family abruptly out of power. Another was Margaret Beaufort, great-great-granddaughter of Edward … Continue reading
Day 12: A Day With King Richard
This rainy morning I walked to Leicester Cathedral. Far less grand than York’s, it was tastefully built in 1086 in a beautiful brown stone I hadn’t yet seen in England. I was here to see Richard. Decade by decade, the … Continue reading
Day 11: A Day in the Country at Conisborough
Today we drove south into Yorkist country, and headed for Conisborough Castle. It sat on the sidelines during the Wars of the Roses, but it’s an architectural gem with a quirky history. The castle was built by William, Earl of … Continue reading
Posted in 2019 England's Wars of the Roses, architecture, castles, English history
Tagged conisbrough, Walter Scott
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Day 10: Castles & Walls
For our last day in this area, we drove south again, on England’s A1 motorway (essentially a modern version of the 500-year-old Great North Road between London and Edinburgh). An hour later, we arrived at a small hill studded with … Continue reading
Posted in 2019 England's Wars of the Roses, architecture, castles, English history, medieval history
Tagged pontefract, sandal castle, wakefield, York
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Day 9: York Cathedral, From Bottom to Top
I had a perfect day today at York Minster (Cathedral). I started below it, continued above it, and finished in the center of it. The first church on the site was built in 627CE. One big fire and a few … Continue reading
Day 8, Part II: The Killing Fields of Towton
While I pondered the bustling day in York, John brought the car around and we drove a half-hour southwest to the enormous battlefield of Towton. It was here on March 29, 1461 that the Wars of the Roses continued. The … Continue reading
Day 8: York’s Medieval Metropolis
York is halfway between London and Edinburgh. Occupied on and off for 10,000 years, the actual town was founded by the Roman IXth Legion in 71 BCE. When the Emperor died in 306CE, it was in York that Roman soldiers … Continue reading
Day 6: Medieval Abbeys, Connected By a Steam Train
Fully rested (and fully windblown), I finally bid farewell to the little seaside town of Redcar and headed south along the coast to another little seaside town, Whitby. Except this town hosted a blockbuster attraction—Whitby Abbey. Whitby Abbey started as … Continue reading
Days 4 & 5: By the Sea, By the Beautiful Sea…
I’m taking a break from the 15th century at a little seaside resort in 1962. I had this brilliant idea of spending two days by the sea—walking for miles along a placid beach, sitting outside reading, after-dinner strolling through a … Continue reading
Marty's Travel Blog: History, Culture, & People 
