Three Dimensions of Travel in One Book
Travel notes are the best souvenir of a trip. When physical travel is not possible, reading travel books takes us further than just moving in places. Of course, what I mean is not a travel note in the sense of a guide for tourists which contains technical instructions, a quick and instant way to explore a destination, the places that must be visited in a country.
When I read travel notes, what I want to discover is the traveler's experiences interacting with people he meets on the trip, the emotions he evokes when we follow the story of his journey, the new insights he gets from a place that has different customs and rules from the place where he came from.
Because, as Henry Miller's famous quote about traveling says, "Your destination is not a place, but a new way of seeing things."
Stefano Romano's My Malaysian Tales offers readers this kind of experience. It is revealed from the opening of the first chapter "For me, places are, first of all, the people I meet. I learned more from the encounters I had than from the books I read."
The travel stories in this book lead us into various experiences of that encounter. Starting from how the author tries to understand the definition of "Orang Melayu", how a market in Kelantan can show the power of women in Malay society, how a multiethnic society in Malaysia celebrates various cultural and religious events together. What is "adat", and traditional houses.
Some chapters take us to a more intimate and personal side, the anxiety the author feels through his sometimes heavy days during his one and a half years living there, solitary moments that catapult his imagination as if he wanted to fly among the clouds. Or, an episode of losing a child patient at a hospital in Kota Bharu that bring him back to the emotions from similar experiences in the past.
There are about 186 colorful photos that accompany our journey. Our eyes are also satisfied to see various aspects of life in this country, from portraits of everyday people, natural landscapes, to celebrations and festivals.
As the famous travel writer Paul Theroux said, "A travel book was a deliberate act, like the act of travel itself." So, reading My Malaysian Tales provides the reader with the three dimensions of traveling: the physical, memory and mental journey. At a time when movement was very limited, reading this book was an experience that enriched the soul, gave a new perspective, and refreshed the thirst for a meaningful journey.
Really thanks a lot 🙏
BalasHapus