I am fortunate to have travelled extensively, but my favorite has to be my first “round-the -world” trip from December 1975 through early January 1976. I had never travelled outside of Malaysia and Singapore and this was my first overseas trip. Rhonda and I were only recently married and my company was sending me to New York for an orientation/training visit prior to our posting to the Philippines. They provided us with a “round-the-world” airfare (which you could get at a reasonable price in those days). The trip took us from Kuala Lumpur to Manila, then to the United States, before returning to Kuala Lumpur via London, Rome and Delhi. I’ll spend some time on each of the places we visited. It was a fantastic adventure filled with memorable experiences packed into six exciting weeks.
Manila, Philippines
We were met at Manila airport by my future colleague Nono who took us to meet the owner of the distributorship. I was recently appointed as the New York manufacturer’s representative and regional manager for the Philippines and was to move there in the New Year. The owners of the distributorship hosted us in their beautiful home and we had a taste of the local cuisine and the very friendly people of the Philippines. Although it was a short two day visit, I felt very much at home in Manila. The local restaurants, music and people left me looking forward to our new posting.
The USA (California, New York, South Dakota, Iowa)
We flew from Manila to Honolulu for an overnight beach stop on Waikiki before flying to Los Angeles where we were met at the airport by my uncle John and his wife Mary. We went straight from the airport to a great Mexican restaurant where we had our “best” Mexican meal accompanied by double margaritas in oversized glasses! During our stay with John and Mary, we toured LA and Hollywood and Mary got us complimentary tickets to Disneyland. We had a lovely time with them at their home in Glendale before we took the short flight from LA to San Diego where we were met by my uncle Rene. My uncle and aunt had moved their family to San Diego from Malaysia a few years ago and we spent time reminiscing and catching up with our many cousins. We visited the family restaurant “East of India” and the San Diego zoo and Sea World. From San Diego, Rhonda flew to South Dakota to her parent’s home while I flew to New York for my work orientation.
When I landed on Saturday night at Idlewild airport (now Kennedy International) in NYC, I was met by the company president who informed me that they had me booked into a room at Burt Bacharach’s East Norwich Inn, which was close to the company facilities in Oyster Bay. He gave me the keys to a rental car (a very large Buick) and local maps and said he would see me at the office at 8:30 am on Monday morning. Now prior to that night, I had never driven a large automatic American car with power brakes, and never driven on US roads, let alone on the right side of the road. To cut a longer, but another interesting story short, I found my way to the inn and to the office on Monday. I was a fast learner and got comfortable in my overcoat driving in the December cold on the roads of Long Island. I was much more comfortable, four days later, when I learned that American cars had heaters that you switch on in cold weather!
After an informative and interesting visit and orientation at the company’s offices and factory, punctuated by a weekend visit to the city and Times Square, I flew to Huron, South Dakota to join Rhonda and her family for the Christmas holidays. Rhonda’s parents had a cheese plant in Wessington Springs, SD. It was enjoyable being with family and meeting Rhonda’s brothers. We toured and helped out in the cheese plant while enjoying a small town experience in my first real encounter with snow country!
From South Dakota we headed to Iowa and visited Rhonda’s Alma mater, Iowa State University. We spent some good days and evenings catching up with Rhonda’s college friends. I recall long drives across the flat state and visiting the Amana Colonies where I got my first wool shirt and hearty helpings of German inspired food.
London, England
The return journey began with a flight to London. We stayed at the Piccadilly Hotel on Piccadilly Circus. London was crowded and busy on New Year’s Eve, with many tourist attractions closed for the New Year. We did the little sight seeing we could, but I decided our time would be better spent in Rome. We got to the airport and negotiated a re-route to Rome. In those days, with a round-the-world ticket, you could get on any flight and make any stop as long as it was on your route and there was space available.
Rome, Italy
We landed in Rome without any plans or hotel reservations. At the airport, a short stocky Italian asked if we needed a taxi. Not knowing what to expect, we said yes and he quickly lugged our suitcases onto his back and proceeded to run ahead of us to an unknown destination. We desperately ran after him, thinking he may be taking off with our bags until he came to a stop at a small Fiat 500, where as a “pirate” taxi operator, he was probably illegally parked. He strapped our bags to the roof and asked us where we were going. When I asked for an economical hotel recommendation he said, “I take you my cousin brother place – very good!” We were then driven, cramped in the FIAT, to a hotel called Traiano which was within walking distance of the Colosseum. For the princely sum of US$25 a night, Rhonda and I got a private room with bath on the first floor with full meals. Since we arrived at lunch, the person behind the desk, probably the “cousin brother” coaxed us to a table, plunked down a bottle of wine and said food would be out shortly. It was our first experience with an Italian lunch. We thought the delicious spaghetti was all we were getting, but it was followed by a large dish of roast chicken and the works. We were stuffed as we took our unfinished bottle of wine to our room for a much needed nap. We don’t believe we could have planned our trip to Rome any better. The price, quality of the hotel and its proximity allowed us to either walk to or take short taxi rides to some glorious sites – the Vatican, the Colosseum, the Catacombs, the Trevi Fountain, as well as museums and then lesser known churches that were decorated with the bones of dead monks! We have returned to Rome on at least three other occasions, but this first visit tops them all. It really goes to show that sometimes, unplanned visits are the most rewarding.
New Delhi, India
Our last stop before heading back to Kuala Lumpur was New Delhi. We spent two days and a night there and stayed at the Asoka hotel. By then we were ready to get home and were not as adventurous as we had been in Rome. Delhi was a picture of contrasts, plush hotels and buildings amidst clear signs of poverty. We took a couple of taxi rides to tour the city but I remember being overwhelmed by the traffic jams, dust and dirt. It was too short a visit to do the country justice and unfortunately my only clear memory of the visit was the plush Asoka hotel and the Indian meal we had there. We would love to go back and give India the time it deserves. Who knows, now almost 45 years later, it may be time to just do that.
We arrived back in Malaysia with lots of stories to share and memories to last our lifetime. I was fortunate to be able to have this experience early in life. It certainly gave me the character and confidence to face the many unknowns and new situations that followed in my business career.
Educhirp 