Hi, thanks to everyone who has liked our page! And an even bigger thanks to those who are following it.
We have already added a ton of material, so dig in deep. Don’t forget that links on the post will take you to pages with lots more information. Those heading to Johor Bahru can find out what you can do there, from this link: https://bit.ly/3embzM2
We especially recommend that you hit the video link for our documentary on the River Sultans of Johor.
And yes, Vimeo asks you to register but that doesn’t mean anything. It just gets you access to more videos than merely our video! Sneeky of them eh?
And we hope you buy Helen's Walking Tour of Johor Bahru. Order it from her page at:
http://helengray.net
It is the perfect Christmas present even when it isn’t Christmas, because nobody outside of Malaysia has heard of Johor Bahru and so it will always come as a surprise present!
Yes, we do need the money!
Those jugs of margarita that I am so fond of require Tequila and here in Malaysia it is particularly expensive.
Helen is working on a nice big photo book about Johor despite her depressing complaint that there are no publishers in Malaysia. I just say what I have always said about publishers, agents, producers and all such parasitic life, to hell with them, let's just do the show right here... Then of course I meet a producer with money and my tongue becomes velveteen and though those who know me will consider my sycophantic skills somewhat lacking, I have had my moments. Just don’t mention the BBC when I am a jug of margarita down, with a pistol in my hand.
If you really want to get into the spirit of our little universe, why not take in my Hong Kong movie: Lust $ Found! https://bit.ly/2C22ZoB
And then there are the novels etc etc blah blah blah… http://lawrencegray.net
But I digress. This is supposed to be about Malaysia, not moi!
Given the local Tourist Board’s peculiar reluctance to profit from their country’s history, we have taken up the thankless task of trying to make Malaysia’s history fun and accessible. And in that spirit we are about to embark upon a tour of the northern states of Malaysia, hunting down history and contemplating a future documentary. Perak, Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu all have complicated histories that pose such questions as “Who has Sang Nila Utama’s sword?” “Is that really Hang Tuah’s Kris?” “Who bungs the biggest Bunga Emas?” “Does that old pile of bricks really undermine society as we know it?”
We shall endeavour to shoot a Vlog of the trip, which we intend to make as picturesque, informative, and entertaining as we can without doing too much work. We promise that there will be no Durians injured in this production and neither I nor Helen will point a camera up our noses while walking about the street whining about stuff. To get tips on this art, I have been watching a lot of backpacker vloggers traipsing about Malaysia wondering why there is no toilet paper in public lavatories. And for reasons completely bewildering to normal human beings, I am constantly reminding myself of the advice of Japan’s greatest samurai swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi, to do nothing useless. Then I check the number of subscribers the Vloggers have and wonder if uselessness is the main criteria for a fan base on the Internet!
Of course, the history I would really love to shoot is that of the White Raja of Sarawak, starring Kit Harrington of Game of Thrones fame. But I have had to settle for doing a little talking head and slides narrative over at Amazing Histories. https://youtu.be/DgkhCzksDds Which no doubt inspired the feature film that was shot last year and for reasons as yet unrumoured, does not seem to have a release date.
I would also love to have a go at doing some Indiana Jones sort of stuff, seeking out the lost cities of Srivajaya! But it all costs money, a lot of sweat, and Helen suffering in the heat trying to keep her camera focused upon me while I pose as an approximation of an authoritative TV presenter and try remember what I am supposed to say. Did I mention that you should go watch our documentaries? Go on, treat yourself.
