A big smile for the camera doesn’t cut it anymore. These days you need to strike a series of elaborate poses, as we saw recently in Southeast Asia.
Malacca, Malaysia
Do the woman in the window, above, and her friend with the camera have Instagram sites? I’d guess so. Are they “influencers” with sponsors and large audiences? Probably not. But one thing I know for sure: They weren’t unusual.
Jakarta, Indonesia
Simple snapshots have given way to performance across Southeast Asia and beyond. Posing has become a new kind of visual literacy, with people tilting their chins and curling their fingers into hearts, just as in a K-pop music video. Everyone has a smartphone and social media accounts, along with selfie sticks and face-retouching apps.
Tanah Lot, Bali
There’s nothing new about young people expressing themselves; fashion, music, slang and dance have always evolved. Now they’re expressing themselves through images that are elaborately designed, posed, cropped and filtered. We have lots of wannabe Kardashians in our own country as well and I’ve seen them in other parts of the world, too.
Ulu Petanu Waterfall, Bali
What I saw in Asia took this to another level. Many of the young tourists who crossed our path seemed more interested in posing than in learning about where they were visiting. Was this because their countries have a tradition of presenting a carefully curated public self? Was it due to Japanese kawaii culture, with its aesthetic of cuteness, or to Korean beauty influences, or something else?
Penang, Malaysia
I can’t explain why it’s become so prevalent, but it has, and I found it interesting. After noticing it repeatedly for about a week, I began quietly snapping the photos you see in this post.
If you hadn’t already noticed this trend yourself, I guarantee you will see it the next time you travel, especially if you go to Southeast Asia.
I hope the people I photographed won’t mind that I shared their poses with you. They clearly wanted their photos to be seen and, well, it didn’t seem like they’d get cheesed easily.
I learned a lot during our recent trip to Taipei, Malaysia, Indonesia and Manila — not only about these places, but about our own country, too.
Here are six things I now understand more clearly:
Bandung, Indonesia
America is not the center of the universe.
Our country has been so powerful for so long that it can seem like the universe revolves around us. But it doesn’t.
Many Americans are obsessed now with our political turmoil, and for good reason. When you leave home, though, you’re reminded that most people around the world are far more focused on other things.
As I wrote while serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer several years ago, my Moldovan friends didn’t “care about American politics unless it affects them personally, which it rarely does. At least they know where America is, which is more than most Americans know about Moldova.”
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Did people ask us during our trip about President Trump, the war with Iran and other issues? Yes, and I plan to share some of those conversations in an upcoming post.
But we were asked far more often about our family and other matters that had nothing to do with American politics. The television in our hotel was more likely to show a badminton match than CNN.
Recognizing this doesn’t mean our American passions are unimportant. It’s just a reminder that others generally don’t share them with the same intensity.
Taipei. Taiwan
Countries are complicated.
Is Alaska the same as Texas? Obviously not. Yet Americans often blur entire regions, such as Southeast Asia or Africa. They use phrases like “developing” to obscure immense diversity within places.
The four countries we visited turned out to be significantly different. Taiwan is technologically advanced, orderly and democratic. Malaysia is striking for its multiculturalism and welcoming form of Islam. Indonesia has a huge population with diverse islands. The Philippines has strong cultural ties to both Spain and the United States.
We saw many other differences within and across the countries as well. They can’t be reduced to sound bites and neither can other countries around the world.
Sandakan. Borneo
They have their own histories.
America has been dominant not only in terms of its military, economy and political power, but also in its cultural imprint. Taylor Swift and LeBron James are more famous than many world leaders.
It’s humbling, therefore, to come to a place like Southeast Asia and be reminded that they had sophisticated civilizations and complex histories long before Europeans arrived, much less McDonald’s. They were shaped by trade routes, empires and migrations that had nothing to do with us.
Penang, Malaysia
The interactions among these countries were far more important until relatively recently. When Champa and I were in Malaysia, we stayed in a hotel that was once the mansion of a prominent Chinese businessman in Malacca. He and other Chinese immigrants played critical roles in the development of that city and others. The emigration of families from Taiwan centuries ago changed the face of the Philippines. Muslim traders reshaped Indonesia and Malaysia. The region’s majestic Hindu temples are reminders of India’s influence.
Once America did enter the picture, its impact was mixed. We liberated the region from brutal Japanese occupation during World War Two and provided essential economic and military assistance, notably to Taiwan in recent years. But we also employed scorched earth tactics to keep the Philippines under control in the early 1900s. We supported dictators like Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines, Taiwan’s Chiang Kai-Shek and Indonesia’s Suharto.
Taipei, Taiwan
There are far more people in Asia than in the United States.
Southeast Asia is among the most densely populated places on Earth. Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines have more people than the United States and Canada. Jakarta has more people than New York, Los Angeles, Chicago , Houston and Phoenix combined.
If you add in Vietnam, Thailand and other countries usually included in “Southeast Asia,” the comparison is even starker — and vastly more so if you include India, China and the rest of Asia.
Yet many Americans cannot place these countries on a map. Their visibility to us doesn’t align with their actual human scale. We regard our own lack of curiosity about other countries as normal and make jokes about it. Viewed from afar, our insularity is less amusing.
Harina train, Indonesia
Their economies are growing fast.
The United States is generally wealthier than Southeast Asia, in some ways dramatically so. We saw heart-breaking poverty in several places.
But we also saw new rail systems that operate efficiently. Most of the airports were modern and immaculate. Smartphones were ubiquitous. Mobile payment was common. Skyscrapers were everywhere. Many parks and other public spaces were spotless. Taiwan has the world’s leading computer chip factories and other countries in the region are also moving fast in the tech world. Millions of people are highly educated and middle class, or more.
So are we still ahead of them economically? Overall, yes … but that’s for now.
Manila, Philippines
Travel gives us perspective.
Probably my biggest take-away from this trip wasn’t about Southeast Asia per se but about travel generally.
Champa and I have been privileged to travel widely. We’ve seen repeatedly that what seems true and universal in the United States — our politics and assumptions about the world — are culturally specific rather than inevitable.
Especially at this moment when bombast and nationalism dominate our national conversation, it’s been therapeutic to view America with more distance, more nuance and less chest thumping.
Yogyakarta, Indonesia
I love my country. I’m proud to have served it twice overseas. But I’m also proud to be part of this larger world, which lately feels saner in many ways than my homeland.
We can learn a lot from other countries, even those that are “developing,” if we approach them with open eyes and open hearts. They remind us not only that the United States isn’t the center of the universe; it’s not even the center of our own small planet.
There’s a food obsession in Southeast Asia that really stinks.
It’s for a food so pungent that some of the hotels we’ve stayed at while traveling here have signs in the rooms telling guests to not bring the food inside.
Yet we’ve also seen other tourists, mainly from China, flocking into shops to sample and buy the food, which isn’t cheap.
Is it stinky cheese? Stinky tofu? No, it’s a spiky fruit whose odor has been compared to sewage or gym socks.
My fellow Americans, behold durian.
In this part of the world, many consider durian a delicacy. They love its custard-like texture and complex flavor profile. When durian is in season, they search for it in night markets and roadside stalls. They gather with friends to compare flavors and discuss which varieties are best.
I took this photo of Chinese enthusiasts at a durian shop in Penang, Malaysia, taking selfies with the fruits and buying them as fast as the owner could sell them.
Champa and I tried a durian puff pastry at a night market and some durian ice cream pops, as you see in the photos above and below. I wanted to like them but almost gagged. The smell was overwhelming. Champa’s reaction was milder.
Like most Westerners, I didn’t grow up with durian. My brain wasn’t wired to think of it as a comfort food. When I finally tried it in Malaysia, the smell was a barrier for me rather than a signal of something desirable. I was like someone who never tasted beer and only found it bitter rather than savoring IPA varieties with friends.
Chinese tourists now travel to Penang and elsewhere for durian tours, much as Americans travel to Napa for wine. In both cases, group dynamics play a role. The foods can nourish tradition and identity along with the palate.
I didn’t want to be a typical Westerner who tries durian and says, “That’s disgusting!” I honestly tried it with an open mind along with my open mouth. But durian just didn’t pass the smell test, at least for me.
American travelers seeking an East Asian trip with interesting culture, delicious food and affordable prices often default to Thailand or Vietnam. For a different vibe and a higher price, they may pick Japan or Korea.
Few even consider Malaysia — but they should.
We just visited Malaysia for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It’s a comfortable, affordable, friendly place where English is widely spoken, the food is terrific, the nature is stunning, traveling is easy and cultural diversity is the norm.
Malaysia has about 33 million people and a per capita GDP of about $12,000, making it an upper-middle income country. It’s modern, industrial and comfortable, especially in the urban areas where most people live. We traveled everywhere by Grab — like Uber, for a fraction of the price — paid with credit cards, used our smartphones and stayed in hotels and Airbnbs that were lovely but inexpensive.
Malaysia is a long way from America and it gets hot. But especially during this tense moment in our own history, it has a lot to teach us with its tolerant blend of religions, regions and ethnicities. Malaysia combines Malay, Chinese and Indian influences into something unique.
We flew from Taipei to Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, a region of nearly 9 million people and some of Asia’s tallest skyscrapers. The photo shows us beside the iconic Petronas Twin Towers renowned for their Islamic-inspired design.
We also visited the famous Batu Caves (see my video), the national museum, art galleries, Taoist temples, mosques and markets.
We then took a bus south to Malacca, which I described in an earlier post, before turning north to Penang. Along the way we stopped for a few days in Ipoh, where we visited cave temples, learned about the local tin industry and wandered night markets offering everything from fried insects to bubble tea. Our hotel was a restored mansion of a wealthy Chinese businessman.
Penang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, surprised us with its sparkling condominiums, fancy shops and general modernity, which has attracted expats from around the world. We stayed with Singaporean friends who now live there and had dinner with two former Peace Corps Volunteers who served in Malaysia in the past and retired there eight years ago.
We learned about Penang on a free walking tour, rode the funicular to the top of Penang Hill, visited the Kek Lok Si Temple, toured the Pinang Perinakan Mansion and sampled the city’s famously diverse cuisine.
Finally we flew to East Malaysia on the island of Borneo, for a wildlife tour and two nights in a jungle lodge. We saw orangutans, proboscis monkeys, hornbills, swarming bats and more — even a crocodile that had just started eating a python (Watch my video about our Sabah adventure.)
Americans who skip Malaysia are missing out on all this. If they look beyond the familiar travel brands and give it a try — as we finally did — they’re likely to wonder why they didn’t come sooner.
Swinging orangutans, bat swarms and a crocodile eating a python. We saw all this and more during our wildlife trip in Borneo. This video on YouTube has the highlights.
Centuries before the current fighting in Hormuz, another strait was the focus of geopolitical competition.
It’s the strait here in southwestern Malaysia beside the historic city of Malacca, also known as Melaka.
During the 15th and early 16th centuries, Malacca was arguably the most important port in the world. One look at this map explains why.
Almost every ship traveling between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea had to pass through the Strait of Malacca.
Spices from the Moluccas, silks and porcelain from China, cloth from India and gold from Sumatra flowed through its markets. The local government developed an elaborate system for managing all of it.
Many Malaccan traders and officials became rich. Champa and I came here on Friday and are staying in a hotel that was once the mansion of one of the wealthiest of them, Tam Kim Seng. As you can see, the building has been beautifully restored. (We had no idea of this when we booked it as a good deal online.)
Malacca’s wealth and strategic location attracted the attention of European powers that were just beginning to pursue their imperialist policies. The Portuguese conquered Malacca. Then the Dutch displaced them. Then the British. The Japanese took over during World War II before the British returned. Finally Malaysia achieved independence in 1957 and became the country we know a few years later.
If you’ve never heard of Malacca, that’s largely because nearby Singapore began displacing it in the 1800s because of its location, deeper port, friendlier trade policies and British preferences. Malacca faded and Singapore thrived.
Today Malacca is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a population of just under 1 million people. We’ve enjoyed exploring its temples, markets, river and other sites, some of which illustrate this post. It’s really a lovely place to visit.
This unexpected history lesson has been a bonus and, given what’s happening in Hormuz, a welcome sense of perspective about the current turmoil.
To be sure, today’s global economy is far more interdependent and fragile than the spice ships that sailed to Malacca. Oil price spikes and stock market gyrations occur within hours, not months or years.
But Malacca reminds us of the continuing truth that narrow waterways offer leverage, control of them brings economic power and outside nations often intervene to secure access.
When you look at a globe and see the Strait of Gibraltar, the Turkish Straits, the southern entrance to the Red Sea and, especially, the Taiwan Strait, among others, this is a lesson worth remembering. Hormuz is not the only place where the strait and narrow can be dangerous.
