Terengganu!
It's a long long long long way from Idaho to Malaysia... about 40 hours travel door to door. Drive to the Boise airport (leave the house at 3:30am), fly to Los Angeles, 4 hour layover and change of planes. Fly to Seoul, Korea (13:20 air time), worked on the computer, watched Shrek3, watched Grapes of Wrath, watched Saturday Night Fever, read some from Shantarum (great book!), slept some. Change planes in Seoul, fly to Kuala Lumpur (6:30 air time), sleep with a little pharmaceutical help. 8 hour layover in Kuala Lumpur, but a wonderful airport to be stuck in - worked on computer, read some, drank Starbucks coffee. 1 hour flight to Terengganu - little tiny airport in the throes of a makeover - new terminal, new runway, new new new.... Terengganu is a booming town now, now that it is the home sultanate of Malaysia's King. It is also rich in natural gas, including some newly discovered fields. Lots of improvements and modernization here. The fellow that picked me up at the airport said there are even traffic jams sometimes now! Hard to imagine in this once quiet corner of Malaysia. Malaysia rotates their king from each of 9 sultanates (states). Each ruler has a 5 year term, and then it's another sultan's turn. The current King - Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin- is one of the very youngest state rulers to take the throne (crowned at age 43) so there's a good chance he'll be King again in a few decades!
Tuanku Mizan is also a very dedicated Endurance competitor... and one of the primary reasons Malaysia is now embracing the sport at every level - from the nationally supported development of the sport, to the hosting of the 2008 World Endurance Championship. Such an enormous undertaking! And this country is pouring enormous resources into it. And I believe that Tuanku Mizan's reputation as a sportsman -as an equestrian sportsman - further endears his people to him. Malaysia is governed by a parliament, a legacy of previous British colonial rule, but the king's opinion and influence is still very important in governmental decision making.
So here I am once again in this lovely country with the lovely people - land of sunshine and smiles. When I boarded the flight from Seoul to Kuala Lumpur I could easily recognize the Malaysians - their warm and easy smiling manner. When I got off the plane in Terengganu it was so familiar feeling, and so delightful. Despite the new construction at every turn, I sat back and took in the sights and smells as we drove from the airport to the Sutra Resort. The little restaurants by the side of the road (not much more than a few tables under shade trees and a small kitchen), the colorful fruit markets, the men, women and children on mopeds (imagine a woman clothed in brilliant pinks and reds riding a motorcycle along the roadside with a helmet over the top of her headscarf. Malaysia is a muslim country, and the farther one goes into the country, away from Kuala Lumpur and it's very cosmopolitan mix of cultures, the more traditional the people are -
I'm staying at the Sutra Resort for now (will move to another hotel a few days before the ride) and John will be joining me here next week. The riders are staying here at the Sutra, and the grooms are staying down the road at the Gem Resort - it's a little confusing since some riders haven't arrived yet, and folks are a little bit spread out, but the general atmosphere is very calm and settled, and very content. I arrived here just before noon, and had time to enjoy the pool in the brilliant sunshine -overlooking the ocean - before lunch (and before unpacking, priorities ya know...). Had a chance to talk some with Kathy Brunjes, John Crandell, Roger Yohe (here to help and crew). Aside from a few misadventures (lost luggage, room critters) everyone has settled in nicely. Horses travelled well, the feed is good, housing is excellent, plenty of paddocks for turning horses out during the day, a chance to preview the trail, footing looks good, everything looks good! Heather and Jeremy Reynolds had fun adventures to share. And I saw my dearest amiga Mercedes Tapia! She is happy and excited as usual - her horse is doing great, she's thrilled to be here. Also Luiz Pasini from Argentina. There a whole bunch of Brazilians over at the Gem, and they are cooking up a barbeque - churrasco - tonight. Apparentely they discovered where they could get good cuts of meat, and they also discovered where to buy beer. Should be an interesting evening. It's pouring rain right now - has been raining for about an hour - but the skies are clearing over the ocean, probably won't last too much longer...
Zulu (Derek Liebenburg) came by for lunch and I had a chance to talk to him some too. He's Chief Steward for this ride, and has been spending a fair amount of time here this summer and fall, helping and advising. He's made a few changes in the trail, re-routed past some high water areas (lots of rain here lately), keeping the footing as good as possible, and the checkpoints and water points spread evenly along the course. He said they've put in more barns and paddocks. More shade areas and fans and misters. Improved trotting areas, no detail is being spared. Azrin (the event coordinator) joined us a little later - looking a little worn, but staying on top of things. Some new excitement - UAE has decided to send six riders and horses over - from both Dubai and Abu Dhabi - so more planning and logistics - transport, housing, barns, etc... They will stay in the same quarantine barn as the Qatar group.
Azrin said they will have have real-time tracking of the event! A company is supplying tracking devices (GSM) for each rider, and they will have a large screen display at the venue where spectators will be able to 'watch' the ride - each point of data will represent a rider and will be packed with info on the rider, and on the rider's relative position, speed, pace, etc. It will also be available on the company's website. I'll try to get more detail on this tomorrow. John and I are doing the website for the event - and will coordinate with these folks, and with the timing system (the one developed in Abu Dhabi - I'll have more on this later as well) - to keep the world totally updated as the event proceeds.
Well ... that's the news from Terengganu - as preparations for the 2007 Sultans Cup Terengganu Challenge continue.
Official website: http://www.malaysia-wec.com
Endurance.Net coverage: http://www.endurance.net/international/malaysia/2007sultanscup
later - (after the Brazilan churrasco!) - the rain has stopped...
Steph