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23 - Sunday, January 3, 1988 - North Shore News

The Orient: a delightful adventure

IT WAS A balmy day in November, the location being a
beach hotel in Penang, when I finished The War of the
Running Dogs, Noel Barber's account of the defeat of
Communist terrorism in Malaya. | offered the book to an
old trout who had tottered to the pool every day and
generally flopped into the lounger next to mine.

“Have you read this?’’ | asked
him.

“Read it? I'm in it, or should
be,” said the old trout.

"travel

«Tell me more," I said.
| lt turned out that he had been'a
. judge’ during the emergency, sen-
‘ ding more than a few terrorists to .

the gallows.

but delightful adventure that I'd

like to think nk could. only. happen in : @

One thing Ied to -
- another until he asked where I was
* going: I said Kuala Lumpur.
: -fAha,”’ said the old trout, ‘‘you ~
“must go to my club.”

". “So it was that I set off on a brief -

his presidency to commemorate the
90th anniversary of the club,
known locally as the Spotted Dog,
or just the Dog.

Cronies at the bar, men who
would rather sign the pledge than
take a drink sitting down, regaled
me with yarns about the Dog, such
as how it got its name following
the arrival of Captain Syers, who

. organized the police force in 1875.

Every day his wife would walk
her two Dalmation hounds to the
club and tie them up outside while
she had a gin sling.

These were interesting times.
One member shot a tiger from the
front steps of the club, while
another kept a menagerie including

- two orang-utans. When he had his

daily stengahs in the garden he
always ordered three — one for
himself and two for the orang-
utans.

Scots, prominent among the
planters of rubber, tea, coffee and
tobacco, had to be revived with
double stengahs after a Chinese
servant working on a St. Andrew’s
Night dinner sliced up the haggis
for sandwiches.

For many years, of course, it
was a colonial outpost, but no-

more. Malaysians appear to have.

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few regrets about the past and
have taken over the running of the
Dog with the same enthusiasm of
the planters.

That evening | saw a hockey
team of young Malaysians on the
Padang; they were wearing red and
yellow uniforms, the same colors
chosen by the cricket committee in
1895,

Taib’s chauffeur-driven BMW
took us to the Coliseum Bar for
the famed sizzling steak. I had
read about the Coliseum in
Barber’s book; during the
emergency planters gathered at the
bar, their Sten guns hung on a hat
rack,

““Where next?” asked Taib.

J said Malacca.

“Well then, old boy, you must
stay at my club."*

He went to use the pay phone,
and when he came back it was all
arranged.

And so the son of a Chinese
planter met me at the Malacca
Club, and for three days the hospi-
tality flowed. We went to the home
of the Chinese. planter who let me
catch a king-fish from his private

o Collins i

furniture sale,
oe,

eg.
3 Piece Wall Unit - Reg.

having a January |

“And The Time i is Now

To Purchase Fine Quality.
Furnishings From Our Gallery
During Our January: Clearance

Sale $4, 999. 00

| HOURS: Monday to Saturday 9-5 p.m., Sunday Noon to5 p.m.

fish farm for a welcoming lunch. |
played golf, explored old Malacca
and sent my laundry to Hop Hing,
washerman from Shanghai.

Then it was time to leave for
Singapore, and with it fond mem-
ories that spring to mind every
time I see a spotted dog.

Gadding about Asia is recom-
mended if you have the time, but
the current trend is for shorter
trips.

Manlo Cheng, managing direc-
tor of Cultural Tours in Van-
couver, says best sellers these days
are $t-day packages to Malaysia
for $1,695 and nine days taking in
Hong Kong and Bali at the same
price.

China travel has also entered a
new phase of shorter programs,
particularly since the new services
to Shanghai and Beijing of Cana-
dian Airlines and similar schedules
by CAAC, the airline of the Peo-
ple’s Republic.

Eight-day tours are now
available to Shanghai, Xian and
Beijing, although the last $1,695

but then so.
are a lot of
other stores

$9,995.00.

introductory package is scheduled
for February 28; after that the rate
goes up to $2,500.

Cheng said higher prices in
China were a result of better pro-
ducts, such as new hotels and tour
buses. I can confirm this following
a Royal Viking Line China cruise
which included a stay at the new
Shangri-La in Beijing, a hotel as
luxurieus as the London Hilton.

Cheng said the wave of travellers
to China was happy with any type
of accommodation, but not any
more. ' °

All China packages include
hotels, all meals, sightsecing and
tours.

Cultural Tours’ top seller is a
22-day trip starting at $4,280, and
there’s apparently a good demand
for the most expensive outing, 24
days to India and Nepal for

B00.

A persona! choice would be to
‘take Canadian Airlines’ new ser-
vice to Bangkok for a tour of
Thailand, shop Hong Kong,. catch
the two-day steamer to explore
Shanghai and pick up Canadjan’s
flight non-stop to Vancouver.

.. Dut they. ~
aren t- od shat

4240 Manor St., Burnaby, B.C.
C4 block West of Villa Sheraton Hotel)

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