Jungle Trains and Science Teachers

Greetings from Malaysia!

I've spent the day traveling from Singapore across the whole of peninsular Malaysia up to the northeastern corner. I'm currently in a town called Kota Bharu and I'm leaving tomorrow for the Perhentian Islands. The train was wonderful. I hopped in a taxi at 5:15 am this morning and was off from Singapore at 6:00 am. I spent all day on the train and only arrived in Kota Bharu a few hours ago at about 8:30 pm which made for about 15 hours of traveling today. But it was a nice break from the walking, I was able to enjoy the beautiful Malaysian countryside, I met a wonderful Malay science teacher and was able to watch the many different types of people come and go as the train snaked it's was through the country. We started out in Singapore under the pre-dawn light and the skyscrapers and made our way into Malaysia where the differences where almost immediately apparent. Despite their proximity, it was very easy to tell where I was. As soon as we had left the city we entered into what were the first of countless oil palm plantations. Malaysia (along with Indonesia) is one of the world's largest suppliers of oil palm and judging from the seemingly endless rows of oil palms along the railway, the produce a significant amount. Now, that's where my knowledge on the subject abruptly ends and is yet another academic endeavor I will embark upon once I return home and will surely relate my findings to you. However, I again want to reiterate the sheer number of trees I observed. They were a consistent and dominant feature throughout the 14 hour ride. There was a short reprieve from the monotony of the oil palm plantation as we snaked through some absolutely beautiful limestone cliffs and formations. The area was scattered with towering limestone cliffs and dotted with caves and each one seemed more picturesque than the last. Unfortunately, no good shots could be had from the inside of a moving train through the trees along the tracks. The train, called the Jungle Line, did seem to be enveloped during several stretches and the amount of light entering the train was significant reduced as if we were going through a tunnel and so the train lived up to its name. About halfway through the trip a man sat beside me and after riding together in silence, we began a conversation that would last most of the trip. He was a teacher at a school about halfway between Singapore and Kota Bharu and is from Kota Bharu. He is a science teacher at a secondary school and so we had much to talk about. He was very kind and shared with me, very frankly I might add, many of the finer details of the Malay education system amongst other things. He was a very kind and insightful man and I was grateful for his company and his insight into Malaysia. I might add that for him this eight hour ride was a twice weekly event. As I mentioned he is from Kota Bharu but teaches 8 hours from there. The Malaysian government can (and does) re-locate teachers all around the country and does so without many complaints. The lack of higher educational infrastructure means that those who get degrees but can't obtain a high paying job due to the lack of them find that they are only able to get a job teaching and so in contrast to the US there is a surplus of teachers and so the threat of replacement if you don't oblige the governments request is real. And so that is why on Friday afternoon, my friend rides 8 hours to his family and then returns by bus every Sunday night. Between him, the views and my Sherlock Holmes stories it made for a wonderful and insightful trip.

And next time I'll be reporting in from the beach.

I'd also like to wish a Happy Birthday to my Dad. I know that I'm a bit early seeing as his birthday isn't until tomorrow (March 24) but I thought I'd put that out there seeing as I might not be on tomorrow. So, Happy Birthday Dad and for those of you who know him, be sure to send him your best.

Always,

Ryan