Malaysia
Map
February 27—March 1, 2015
Malaysian cities are mostly just as dull as Indonesian ones. Save for a few rare exceptions, there isn’t much to photograph there.
George Town
Map
An absolutely wonderful city.
With colonial architecture.
With interesting interiors.
With century-old trees.
With wheel clamp advertisements.
With open phone booths.
With enclosed phone booths.
With floppy-limbed hydrants.
With genuine Asian character.
A power box.
A pedestrian crossing.
A hydrant somewhere nearby.
Black and white curbs.
A sidewalk with a ramp.
Pipe benches.
Post boxes.
“Hello, Mahmoud?”
Before and after.
Trash cans.
A poor neighborhood.
A street sign.
George Town is known for its street art.
But the most brilliant thing here is the metal cartoons. They’re one of the best pieces of public art anywhere in the world. Light-hearted, witty, interesting and inventive, they recount the history of various locations. Every black detail is made of metal and offset from the wall. It’s a particular pleasure to examine how the artist plays with lines to make them hang in the air (especially for the text).
Kulim
Map
Looks something like this.
A wedding was being celebrated somewhere. And sparkly decorations hung up on posts indicated the way.
Dumpsters.
If you look closely, the architecture isn’t all that boring.
A payphone.
A street sign.
Kota Bharu
Map
A hole.
Photos, mannequins, reality.
A high-capacity bus shelter.
More sparkles marking the way to a wedding.
Unmistakably American coin-operated parking meters.
An unmistakably British post box.
Some people come here to see the giant reclining Buddha.
But the trash can sufficed for me.
| 
