Scattered Seeds

Crazy Hair finally arrived. I couldn’t wait until Christmas to open it, so as soon as the packaged arrived, I ripped open the box and read the book. Unlike The Wolves in the Wall, Neil Gaiman’s writing in this book is highly imaginative, yet a much simpler, tale that revolves around Bonnie and the narrator’s “crazy hair.” The story/poem still contains some sort of a terrifying undertone (for the far too young little children), but that is what makes a Neil Gaiman book a Neil Gaiman book.

For me, the real treasure is in the illustrated images by Dave McKean. I’ve only recently started to re-discover my liking for his work, and this new book doesn’t disappoint. At each turn of a page, I’m very much taken in by his creativity (especially in his varied presentation of hair in this case), careful attention to details and skillful use of colours and mixed media. His presentation of hair is seemingly realistic even though the way in which all the strands of hair swirls, twirls and go crazy all firmly roots the work in the realm of the fantastic. His art is not all eye-candy, and it was fun seeing renditions of animals—macaws, bear, tiger, gorilla and pirates and dancers—in the crazy hair, too. The double-paged art I thoroughly enjoyed looking at is the page with the hot air balloons floating across an expansive field of hair. And that’s just one of the many artwork. There’s just much to admire about Dave McKean’s art in this book.

After going through the book once, I was left wondering if I missed something. I couldn’t find the Queen of Melanesia! It’s obviously not in the text of Gaiman’s poem, so did I miss her somewhere in the pages?

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Related Link:
Another Dave McKean (& Neil Gaiman) Book

Well, well, well. I’ve not yet digested Ray Bradbury’s The Homecoming and I found another book by Dave McKean. I’ll be looking forward to this illustrated picture book. I enjoyed both the picture books—The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish and The Wolves in the Walls—by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean, so the third one should be interesting. It’s titled Crazy Hair.

Crazy Hair cover

From what I see in the following page spreads, I like it already.

I mean, who’s not to like an octopus and pirates.

Oooh. I just can’t wait.

One of the books that I’ve always longed to own since I was a kid (maybe aged 14) is Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein. But not any Frankenstein one could get easily on the shelves in bookstores—after all, it’s a pretty popular book. I wanted the edition with illustrations by Bernie Wrightson. I’d heard and seen some of Bernie Wrightson’s artwork—mainly in comics—to know that his black and white drawings in Frankenstein were very elaborate and absolutely stunning. And as years went by, I came to realize how highly regarded was his work on Frankenstein, and rarely did copies appear on the second-hand or used market. When they did, they were quite pricey. But the book—looking brand-new—was beyond my reach.

The closest I had to owning Bernie Wrightson’s Frankenstein art was a slim edition called The Lost Frankenstein Pages (published in 1993). To this date, I still treasure that book a lot—even though it has aged tremendously because I flip through the pages countless times over the years.

But two months back, I came across the news that a new edition of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein will be published in November 2008. I was thrilled. And the day is dawning that I will have the book in my hands. I can’t wait. I can’t wait to see the following images (and more!) in the book resting in my hands.

After I get this book in my hands, there will be one more book I really long for. And that is William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. And it’s not any edition I’m looking for. It’s the one with illustrations by Charles Vess. Oh, since I’m at it, I’d like to get my hands on a handsome volume of East of the Sun and West of the Moon with illustrations by Kay Nielsen, too.

50+1 • Malaysia
by QuaChee

50+1 • Malaysia by QuaChee is a pocket-sized book on Malaysia. Because it lends itself as being the “ultimate travel-lifestyle-entertainment guide book for all Malaysians & foreigners,” one can expect the to find some of more common aspects of Malaysia in there. There are chapters on Food, Places to Visit, Things to Do, and Festivals & Events. One chapter, Truly Malaysian, attempts to provide a rare glimpse of Malaysia that rarely sees print—Malaysian Lingo & Manglish. In compiling the book, QuaChee sought out numerous contributors. I was one of them, and it was a kick to see the number of photos and write-ups appear in the book. But the book is limited by its size and page numbers. I admit I was expecting the book to be larger in size and scope. So while it offers the ease of carrying the book around and provide pockets of interesting information, the book lacks the breath and depth that is truly needed to experience a country. Malaysia has much more to offer than what one can find in the printed pages. Even so, the book does make a handy gift for visitors coming from afar, and it can be quite an eye opener even for Malaysians.

One of the few pages where my photos appear in print.

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Related Links:
• The Malaysia Page by QuaChee
• Read reviews of 50+1 • Malaysia

What is it that makes one return to a place again and again?

That’s a question that I am often asked. And for different places there are different reasons. Of all the mountains that I’ve reached the summit more than once, there’s always something that attracts me, something that warrants a return. It could be because I have fallen in love with the place—Gunung Irau and it’s fantasy-like mossy landscape immediately comes to mind. On the other extreme, I journey up Gunung Nuang just to remind myself why I hate it. Sometimes it’s simply to experience the place at different times of the day. I’ve been to Gunung Datuk so many times, but there’s still something that’s elusive. Of the 24 hours in a day, I’ve yet to be at the summit of Gunung Datuk from between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. To watch the sun set beyond the Straits of Malacca from the summit is what I want to do before the year is out.

Sometimes I go on a journey to a same place because of the company of people or even if it’s just one person—a return to Gunung Kinabalu within a year of my first summit is one such case.

At other times, it’s the challenge and varying degrees of difficulties the mountains pose that make me go back again and again. Bukit Kutu is one such place. I have a pretty bad record with this mountain—I’ve only had a 50% chance of successfully reaching the summit. This mountain seems to play games with me. Many a times I decide to return to the place is because I find it embarrassing to tell people that I got lost at Bukit Kutu. It’s been over a year since I lost the trail after walking for an hour and lost in my bid to reach the summit. So I will go again. I have to—I can’t let the mountain have the better me.

But I’ve other reasons to return to Bukit Kutu now.

One of the attractions of the mountain is that there used to be bungalows at the summit, which were destroyed during World War II. The remains and ruins of the bungalows that once stood over a hundred years ago still exist. Just to see the lonesome fireplace and to drink from one of the existing wells makes hiking to the top a worthwhile experience. Having said that, I admit I’ve yet to explored all the ruins. Somehow I’ve never thought of venturing amongst the tall grass that has grown over the building sites. I’ve always been contented of reaching the summit.

But when I was spending the night in a bungalow provided by Orang Asli at Pos Atap, Goh spoke of the Bukit Kutu bungalows. I realized then that I should have explored all those places to truly know the place.

And so it is that I’ll be heading up Bukit Kutu again with the intention of placing footprints in the bungalows (or what’s left of them) sometime this year. But before I make that trip, I’ve been looking for materials from over a hundred years ago—back to the time when the bungalows were built by Lambert Bowen (apparently so, but I’ll need to confirm this).

The one that caught my interest is the “Photograph collection of the British Association of Malaysia and Singapore” that is held at the Cambridge University Library. In the collection of photographs presumably taken by Ernest Barton Maundrell (1880-1916) are about 10 photographs related to Bukit Kutu. One photograph is labeled: “New bungalow, Bukit Kutu. Showing Lambert Bowen (1870-), an engineer in Perak and Selangor and R. Desborough (no information), standing in the doorway of a small bungalow.”

To see that picture will be a wonderful journey through time. To see that picture will give evidence of the completed building. To see that picture will give me the pleasure of knowing more about Malaysia. I’ve written to the library, and am awaiting their response. I hope some good will come of it. and I have received a reply. The good news is that I can actually get a copy of the image now that the copyright has lapsed. The bad news is that it’ll make a large hole in my pockets. Well, I can get lesser quality images, but in this time of age the digital image in high resolution would be the best choice. Each digital image from the Cambridge University Library cost £24.00 per image. That’s way too much! Actually, I would get the images if I was earning my wage in Pounds. But the fact is I do not. As much as I’d like to get the image as soon as possible, the conversion rate between Ringgit and Pound is too high to warrant a purchase of even one print. Well, I know where I can get the image now, and I hope I can see that image one day.

An interesting clipping about ladies from The Story of Kuala Lumpur 1857-1939 by J. M. Gullick.

Other references to Bukit Kutu exist, and tracking them down is not easy. But thanks to Google Books, I got to read a few clippings and excerpts from various books. Now it’s time to track down books such as The Story of Kuala Lumpur 1857-1939 by J. M. Gullick and The Selangor Journal.

Pages 187 and 188 of The Selangor Journal Vol. 5. Click of images to get larger-sized images.

Pages 189 and 190 of The Selangor Journal Vol. 5. Click of images to get larger-sized images.

Sifting through antiquarian books and finding such stuff keeps me going because of my interest in history and the land. Reading such stuff makes me appreciate the places I go to even more. And I also like the fact that the search for more information can never really end as long as someone continues to write about them. I would love to learn more. I would love to have others search for more, too. And I would love it when one hundred or more years down the line, what I write become leading points for other seekers who return often.

I’ve only just begun reading the two books—Mountain Madness: Scott Fisher, Mount Everest and a Life Lived on High—, a recent release about Scott Fischer, one of the mountain guides in the infamous Mount Everest Tragedy of 1996—and The Kon-Tiki Expedition—the account of a journey of 4,300 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean by raft—by Thor Heyerdahl.

But books are piling up on my desks, waiting to be read.

I’ve been trying to plan a trek up Kinabalu again for the last few months. Thus far, it’s still uncertain if I’ll be on the trail up to the peak even though I’ll be in Sabah in August. I wish there’d be other major trek up mountainous regions, but nothing has materialized. Work has basically taken me away from the mountains even though their call is loud and strong. I’ve gone up a few mountains (I’ve been to before and they’re all below 1000m) this year, and I’ll be attempting Gunung Sugu (about 1700m) soon. But I long for a lot more and I have bigger dreams.

At this point in time, I’m not even progressing far as an armchair adventurer/traveler. Books are piling up on my desks faster than I can read them.

The two books on pitcher plants by Charles Clarke—Nepenthes of Borneo and Nepenthes of Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia—have also arrived are are sitting comfortably on my bookshelves.

Other than Mountain Madness: Scott Fisher, Mount Everest and a Life Lived on High and The Kon-Tiki Expedition to keep me awake for nights, I have the 1922 version of T. E. Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of Wisdom, Charles Lind’s The Afterclap of Fate:Mallory on Everest and Robert McFarlane’s The Wild Places in waiting.

Charles Lind’s and Robert McFarlane’s books are winners for 2006 and 2007 of the Boardman Tasker Prize respectively. I actually can’t wait to get to Lind’s book, which is described as “a prose poem full of parody and allusion,” sounds really interesting. The form itself would be a welcome change from most other books that are often biographical narratives.

But until I speed up on my current reading list, I can’t make any personal comments on these new ones. Until then, ciaoz!

It’s been more than two months past since I went on the Tambuyukon-Kinabalu double, and I’ve not made plans for any major mountain treks or climbs. I’ve also not been an armchair mountaineer or adventurer these past months.

But change is in the air. I’ve started short walks and runs again. And I’ve also picked up a few books to read.

Eric Hansen’s Stranger in the Forest was sitting on Leon Varga’s desk in the office, and so I asked if I could borrow it. I’ve heard some nice things about it from Beth (she said it it was like totally hilarious) some time back, and I recently found out that it was on the list of National Geographic’s 100 Greatest Adventure Books of All Time. This is a tale of a white man’s journey into the heart of Borneo, and for a Westerner, this was a “totally appealing” book that gave some insight into some foreign (and perhaps exotic) unknown land.

I thought the book was funny because of the white-man’s ignorant and naive approach into a land in which I have some knowledge of. Unlike Hansen who was a “stranger” in the rainforest, Borneo’s just like a neighbouring town to me (even though I’m more familiar with the heartland of Peninsular Malaysia). In his reflection on one part of his journey in the Borneo heartland with his guides, he wrote the following:

As a visitor to the jungle, I was privileged to be allowed a brief glimpse of the natural patters of plants and animal life on earth as they must have existed before the arrival of human beings. We were frail and insignificant creatures, and at any moment we could be swallowed up by the forest. When a plant, animal, or human dies in the rain forest, it soon becomes a part of the forest. Flesh is digested, nutrients recycled, and body moisture reclaimed. The realization that the rain forest was a living, breathing organism capable of consuming and digesting me was disconcerting, but also rather exciting. I[t] made me feel as if we were traveling through the intestinal floral of some giant leafy creature.”¹

Whenever I stepped into the jungles, I’ve always felt I was coming home. I know there are risks and dangers, but I’ve never felt threatened or [overly] fearful. Still, some sections in the book were insightful, and I was often reminded of a recent past that seemed so distant now. It made me think that I may have been ill-prepared for all the times I’ve ventured into my own backyard. Even so, I’ve never doubted my return from the mountains, or jungles.

Another book I am reading is Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland. I’ve read this many years ago, and thoroughly enjoyed it. So I recently picked up an edition with really nice paintings by Helen Oxenbury. I thought it’d go unread until the day I was asked to read it out aloud as a bedtime story. Well, I thought wrong. Childhood memories came flooding back to me, and I just had to read it again all by myself. Awesome book. I’m actually thinking of getting the sequel, Through the Looking Glass, but I’m reading so many other books at the moment already.

Plus, I need to start planning a mountain soon.

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¹ Eric Hansen. Stranger in the Forest. New York, Vintage. 1989.