Kuala Lumpur is no place to drive. The roads are poorly engineered and poorly maintained. On the way to work scrap iron dealers have removed all the storm covers leaving huge holes in the paved surface of the road. Road crews occasionally place pylons in these holes, but they get stolen as well. More often than not these holes are marked with parts of trees, or old styrofoam containers. They have been that way for six months. No one does anything. No one expects anyone to do anything.

And don’t get me started on the drivers. A small bribe gets anyone a license, and the only sure rule of the road is that the the bigger vehicle will do you more damage. Everyone MUST have a car, as that is the only sign of your social status that everyone here recognizes, so the roads are absolutely packed. There is no point in driving in the city, it just leads to trouble.

But driving in the country is different. The highways are well built and maintained and the scenery can be absolutely stunning. We are off to Singapore tomorrow, and I have borrowed a car from a Chinese friend who runs the cafeteria at the College. He has three vehicles, a van, an SUV and a Mercedes. He loaned me the Mercedes. It is a big hulking brute of a car with very little muscle under the hood, but it is a pretty sweet ride. We will try to post from Singapore, and we will certainly pick up our mail, so stay in touch.