Hat Yai

It is late at night, and I'm sitting in a restaurant/pub in Hat Yai, Thailand, using their very slow "free" wifi, afraid to go outside. Of course to use the free wifi, I had to buy some food, at 60% more than what I would usually pay. But that's ok. Right now in Thailand, they have the water festival. I don't know exactly what it is called, but it is a couple days of people soaking each other in the streets. It was quite an adventure to walk from my guesthouse to this restaurant without getting my computer soaked! Earlier in the afternoon, I was out on the street and got wet, not completely soaked, just wet.

Hat Yai was supposed to be just a one night stop on my way to Ko Tao to do some diving, but I've been here 6 days already. At this rate, I'll still be in Southern Thailand when my 30 day visa expires. I'll have to go back to Malaysia and re-enter Thailand. Not a bad idea. There are still some things I want to do in Malaysia - like the 7-day hike to climb that mountain in Taman Negara.

Time to move on

Tomorrow, I think I will go to Thailand. I could change my mine and stay in Malaysia. But for now, I think I'm going to Thailand. I've heard of lots of people having their things stolen in Thailand.

Muhammed Michael

I had to opportunity to chat with Muhammed Michael, founder & chairman of the International Islamic Information & Daawah Centre in Kota Bharu, and to visit the mosque with him to observe the mid-day prayers. While we talked about a number of things, including US politics, the following are answers to questions I asked specifically for inclusion in my blog.

Name: Muhammad Michael
Original Name: Michael Boateng
Birthplace: Asamng, Ghana
Family: 3 brothers, 1 sister (deceased), 1 wife, 2 sons, 0 daughters
Age converted to Islam: 33 (21 years ago)

Why did you convert to Islam?
Because Muhammad gets very emotional when telling about his convertion, I decided to use two quotes from a booklet about his conversion and work in Malaysia, rather than put him thru the emotional stress.
“My conversion to Islam cannot be attributed to any other cause or reason rather than the gracious direction of Allah (SWT). I converted to Islam through inspiration not by force, not by marriage nor by money as some people use to think. I converted by my won will.”
“I am very happy and grateful to Allah (SWT) for choosing me to be amoung His servants. The brotherhood of Islam, regardless of race, colour or country of origin, is themain thing that drew me towards Islam. Alhamdulillah! Praise be to Allah the most Merciful.”
-My Journey to Islam & the Aftermath

Why did you choose Muhammad as your name?
It was chosen by the Muslim brothers in Bangkok when I converted.

Why did you choose to live in Kota Bharu, Malaysia?
The brothers in Bangkok suggested that I move here. Kota Bharu has the highest concentration of Malay Muslims in Malaysia.

What kind of work do you do?
I was a seaman prior to my convertion. Afterward I was a trader. Now I am a missionary.

What is your favorite surah in the Qur’an?
YaSin, because it was the second surah I memorized and I feel committed to read it everyday.

What do you think is your greatest accomplishment?
Building a mosque in my hometown in Ghana.

How would you best respond to someone who says Islam is a violent religion?
I would try to correct the miscomception by giving the proper message from the Qur’an. That is the only way to make people understand what Islam is about, a peaceful religion.

How would you treat someone who is from a different sect of Islam?
I will treat any Muslim the same. Anyone who says the Shahada is a Muslim.

What about someone who is not a Muslim?
I treat non-muslims just like a Muslim brother. Because we are all created by one god. The differences in religion or color does not matter.

What about someone who does not believe in any God?
I would still treat him like a brother, but try to guide him to understand that there is one god.

How does the Qur’an say you should treat such persons?
The Qur’an does not emphasize any kind of treatment between a muslim and a nonbeliever.

Do you think there will be another prophet or messenger after Muhammed, with new guidance for the modern age or is the Qur’an the final message from Allah?
The Qur’an is the final message and there will be no other prophet after Muhammad.

April Fool

It was one year ago today, that I made the life altering decision to quit my job and go traveling around the world. This is a decision I have not yet regretted. The six & half months that I’ve been traveling have been great. I know my writing tends to emphasize the downside of my travels, but that is only because it is easier to write about misadventure than about the perfect day. I have many perfect days, but there is no story in them. Here are some random thoughts.

The local people
When I was in Indonesia, it seemed they were always trying to sell me something - transportation, accommodations, batik, massage, etc. In other parts of Indonesia, they thought I was Indonesian. The further east one goes in Indonesia, the darker the people get. They would try to initiate a conversation with me, but then they would be disappointed because I am not Indonesian and can not speak the language. I wish Indonesian was a language I had studied. I missed some opportunities for genuine intercultural interaction.

In Malaysia, most people speak English, as well as Malay (a language almost identical to Indonesian). English is the official language of government, something that has cause some resentment against the current government. Here, they think I’m an African Muslim. I see some disappointment in their faces when I tell them I’m not Muslim, and I’m really from the US. But the people here have been nice. The Indians, who live here, are the nicest people. Always a big smile and a greeting. The Chinese, they tend to ignore me.

The other travellers
At my accommodation is where I am most likely to meet and interact with other travellers. Out on the streets, it is different, because I am not a white. In SE Asia, for example, white people really stand out, so they immediately recognize each other, introduce themselves, share travel tips, exchange contact information, and sometimes travel together. But they either don’t see me or they ignore me. If I approach a white tourist on the street, I have to first convince them that I am not going to steal their money or try to sell them something, that I, too, am a traveller from a 1st world country. Then, I can have a conversation with them. This gets tiring, so most of the time, I ignore the white tourists on the streets.

I have met very few travelers from the US. There may be several reasons for this. The US is a large country, and there is much to see there. So, there is no need to travel to a foreign country. Also, long term budget travel is a somewhat foreign concept to us. Vacations are shorter and have a higher standard of accommodation. They won’t be staying at the cheap guesthouse with the bugs crawling on the bed. But I am pleased to report that the reputation of the ugly American traveller is beginning to change. I’ve met lots of people who say that the travellers from the US were some of the nicest people they met.

On the other hand, the Canadians are the ugly Americans. I thought it was just me, but many others are reporting the same thing. They are really obnoxious, particularly when they insist that they are not Americans, they are Canadians. Well, last time I checked, Canada was part of America. But not all Canadians are bad. I’ve met some really nice French Canadians.

Most of the travellers I meet are from Europe. Lots of people from the UK, Scandinavia & Germany. The Germans are everywhere. I joke that they are silently trying to take over the world by planting many young Germans in every country. And they are young. In fact most of the travellers from Europe are very young - 19 to 25 years of age.

I have met very few travellers from other parts of the world. I think they suffer from the same problem as me. We don’t stand out in a crowd as typical tourists, so we don’t see each other. Or maybe there just aren’t many people traveling from places like Africa.

The food
In New Zealand & Australia, because of the higher costs, my diet consisted mainly of tuna & noodles, peanut butter & cheese sandwiches, fruits and fruit juices. In SE Asia, I go out to eat for every meal. There are three dishes I can always order, without fear of what I will get: nasi goreng ayam (chicken friend rice), mee goreng ayam (chicken with fried noodles), ikan goreng dan nasi putih (fried fish and plain rice).

I miss American Chinese food. The Chinese food in SE Asia is nothing like it. It just isn’t as tasty as a good General Tso Chicken. In Malaysia, it seems that half the restaurants are Chinese. In some places, like Melaka, the other half seem to be Indian. Indian food is just way too spicy for me.

I drink bottled water, but I don’t worry about ice. For the most part, the ice in restaurants is made from filtered water. It is when a street vendor breaks a piece off of a block of ice that I worry. Fresh fruit juice is just that. They juice the fruit when you order it. So it tastes nothing like the juice you buy in the store and is a lot thicker, but so good.

I have had a few first. Fried rice always has some sea food in it, so I’ve had prawns and some other thing that I have no idea what it was, but was edible. I didn’t realize that the only animal forbidden for Muslims was swine. In Labuan Bajo, I had squid. It was a bit too rubbery for me. While the sauce was tasty, the squid itself didn’t have any taste. I drank tea in Indonesia, and for the first time it didn’t taste like wood. It tasted like petals from a flower. I drank my first (and only) Coke in Indonesia. It just tastes like any other sugary soft drink.

Alcohol
Those young European travellers drink a lot. Even when the cost of a beer is more than the cost of a meal, they still drink. I’m glad I don’t like the taste of beer, because drinking can easily double a person’s budget. On the Perhentian Islands in Malaysia (as well and the entire states of Kelantan & Terengganu), the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages is illegal. Yet every night they get completely sloshed. The next morning the beach is littered with small vodka & whiskey bottles that were more than 3 times the cost of a meal. People look at me with amazement when I tell them I was 30 when I had my first drink. They are also amazed that I’m 35. Whereas, people who drink heavily and travel with hangovers start to look much older than they are.

Islam
When I was in Surabaya, Indonesia, I visited a mosque and purchased a copy of the Koran, to supplement my study of Arabic. I have memorized the 1st and the 112th Surahs. I have finally understood the relationship between the words Muslim (مسلم) and Islam (الإسلام). It is the three consonant root, slm (سلم).

For the most part, there seems to be a much more moderate form of Islam in Indonesia and Malaysia than what we hear about in the middle east. Yes, the women wear headscarves, but there are no issues with women driving or speaking to men who are not relatives. They have trashy celebrity magazines just like we have and listen to the same explicit music that we listen to.

One evening, in a beach shop on one of the Perhentian Islands, I was speaking with the muslim shop owner, who was a bit drunk, having downed a large bottle of Absolut Vodka while sitting behind the counter all day. He said that because the islands are geared toward tourists, it is difficult for him to be a good Muslim. But he has started meeting with a teacher to help stear him back on the right path. He gave me a book, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran, from his shop. I may send it back to him after I have read it - just in case he didn’t mean to give it away.