So, I am going to Malaysia.

I’ve never even been to the Pacific Rim, and aside from a series of flights that will result in nearly 30 hours of travel time (one way), I couldn’t be more excited about the trip. I will be a guest of the Malaysia Tourism Board, and my “job’ with be to tour resorts, cover the World Amateur Inter-Team Golf Championship, and play a few rounds at some of the nation’s finest resorts. It’s not bad work if you can get it. 

This assignment, while incredibly exciting, also leaves me facing the stark reality that I know bupkis about Malaysia. In fact, as of August 15, here’s what I do know:   

1)      A lot of Malaysians live there.

2)      Malaysia is on a peninsula and shares a land mass with Thailand and Singapore.

3)      An American kid once created an international incident in Singapore by getting busted for spray-painting graffiti.

4)      That kid was subsequently caned. (!)

5)      Getting caned would really, really hurt.

6)      Malaysia’s largest city is Kuala Lumpur.

7)      Kuala Lumpur is home to one of the tallest buildings in the world.

8)      This building, the name of which escapes me, was prominently featured in the movie “Entrapment,” which starred Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

9)      Even though “Entrapment” was a clunker, Sean Connery is still awesome

10)  It might be beneficial to do a little more background reading on Malaysia.

Read more about the Malaysia Trip-a-Palaysia!

• The Blog Goes Global!
• Part I  - Greetings from Selangor, Malaysia
• Part II - Recovering from jet lag, getting ready for Kuala Lumpur
• Part III - A Day in "KL"
• Part IV - The Guoman Resort Hotel in Port Dickson
• Part V  - Cheating death and the "Tomio" Experience in Petaling Jaya, Selangor 
• Part VI - Wrapping up a memorable week