25th January, 1819

25th January, 1819
I write today with a jumping heart. Today is finally the day all of my
dreams came true; after months of struggling to navigate the rocky,
torrential waters, I have finally arrived (with my crew) in
Malacca, an island in Malaysia. The king,
George V (no need for formalities like His
Majesty since this isa private journal,
right?) has given directions for
me talk to the Sultan of
Malaysia, and possibly work

out some negotiations.
I have also found
out that the island I mentioned in called
I plan to head there as soon as the ship supplies are
Singapura.
restocked, and I have
met with the Sultan of Malaysia. Such exciting endeavours awaits me! In the
meanwhile, I plan to regale myself with recording my surroundings. Above is a

sketch of a typical Malaccan house, and its fascinating - completely different
from European housing structures!
While I toured the village

near
the port my ship was dock
ed on,
I drew quick sketches on
the
commonly worn clothes of

the
Malay!
3rd February, 1819

Discovery comes in many forms, and today, it was in the form of a queer-
looking these queer-looking fruit. At first sight, they dont look very delectable -
durians, as they are supposedly called. These durians are relatively large in size,
and are light to dark green on the surface. Its quite spiky, and you have to be
careful when holding them up. One thing I did notice, though, was the pungent
smell. However, on the inside, I was surprised to find a very squishy fruit, pale
yellow in colour. Hopefully, this tastes better than it smells.
EXTRA NOTE: It is late in the night, and after dinner I tried one of those
durians. Its quite a unique taste, actually. If you can imagine diced garlic
and caramel poured into whipped cream, thats how it tastes like. Thankfully, it
tasted much better than it smelled. But unfortunately, once youve stored some
durian in your house, the whole place becomes infested with the smell.
4th February, 1819

So far, I am thoroughly enjoying the weather here - back in England, Februarys
are miserable, it being neither winter nor spring. And as the days go by, I am
finding more flora and fauna undocumented in English reports.
This fruit I immediately recognised, due to my

previous studies in botany. It is called
Syzgium malaccnese, or the Malay apple.
According to a local townsmen, epal is the Malay

word for apple.
From preliminary observation (and some smelling!),
the shape is similar to peppers. Unlike the durians, these
apples possess a faint, but lovely rose scent that makes ones
mouth water. Of course, I could not resist the temptation to eat one of
them, and a slight burst of sweetness exploded in my mouth after the first
bite. However, that taste simmered down to a crispy, watery one. On a
whole, they were insipid, the aftertaste was slightly
bitter.
The same day, 8:00PM
After a quick nap, I redrew and created a coloured

version of my rough sketch above. I assume these
drawings will be greatly appreciated by the scientific

community later on.
11th February, 1819

What an exciting day! As I was trudging along the unmade path on the east of
Bugis town, I spotted a species I have only encountered in scientific
encyclopaedias - the crested fireback!
Crested fireback (lohpura ignita)
- Around 70cm long

- Red iris
- Blue facial skin

- Said to have originated from
Sumatra and Borneo
- Eats mainly plants, and fruits,

with occasional small animals
Female crested fireback
lk
rts ta
o
p
e
r
y
ng w h
i
d
r
e
d
n
o
lue an
w
b
s
a
a
W
th
ck wi
EDIT:
a
b
e
r
i
f
female
crested
,
t
e
u
h
o
t
s
of
- turn
e
w ) a ll
g
a
a
s
m
I
u
l
e
p
the on
black
s
i
h
c
i
.
k s (w h
c
a
mages
b
e
u
r
l
p
fi
n
w
h-bro
s
i
d
d
e
hav e r
Will make sure to find more about this bird later on.
Male cr
ested fir
eback
11th February, 1819

I did finish a quick preliminary sketch of Singapore today. The whole island
does not take more than a few hours to circle, and I have managed to walk
around a few times. My brain is already swarming with ideas - I will make
this island the best port city there ever was!
But before that, there needs to be an organised community. So far, this is what
Ive come up with. Its not much, but worth reporting back to England. Of
course, this is only a tiny portion of the whole island.
I have personally observed that Singapura is like a melting pot; already, people
from many different cultures inhabit the island In order to preserve the peace
and lessen racial tensions, I plan on having segregated communities. One campong
(denoting village in Malay language) will be reserved for a special group of
people:
On the Northwest (on the map), the Chinese will reside.

On the Northeast, a European town will be built.
On the Southeast, the Buginese people will have their homes, and this will be
Bugis town, I think.
I also did not know this before today, but the Buginese people are one of the
three major ethnic groups of Indonesia. Most of the Bugis group are young,
unmarried men, living in communal houses. But word on the streets say they are
in constant conflict with the Chinese, which is why I plan on relocating them
farhthest apart. However, to prevent isolationism as a whole, there will be an open

square smack right in the middle, where folks will chat or trade.
I think for the next few days, I will continue exploring the environment. So many
natural wonders roam this island, and I vow to uncover every last one.
Self note!
The Sultan s
hould have h
is individua
l
compound, w
ith a mosque
right next to
it.
Cultural res
pect.
Sir Thomas
Stamford Raffles
Recordings
1819
Images citation:
https://tuahrpg.wordpress.com/category/introduction/page/4/ malay people
http://www.datemplate.com/post_old-journal-paper-template_372134/
background
http://www.sjgarland.com/#!Chinatown-Singapore/c10qb/
552484b90cf21d84af86c1d1
http://theindianvegan.blogspot.kr/2012/11/all-about-malay-apple.html
https://kr.pinterest.com/pin/376261743846778579/
http://www.arkive.org/crested-fireback/lophura-ignita/

25th January, 1819

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25th January, 1819

Malaysia, and possibly work

out that the island I mentioned in called

I plan to head there as soon as the ship supplies are

restocked, and I have

meanwhile, I plan to regale myself with recording my surroundings. Above is a

While I toured the village

commonly worn clothes of

3rd February, 1819

4th February, 1819

This fruit I immediately recognised, due to my

Syzgium malaccnese, or the Malay apple.

According to a local townsmen, epal is the Malay

From preliminary observation (and some smelling!),

the shape is similar to peppers. Unlike the durians, these

The same day, 8:00PM

After a quick nap, I redrew and created a coloured

drawings will be greatly appreciated by the scientific

11th February, 1819

Crested fireback (lohpura ignita)

- Around 70cm long

- Blue facial skin

- Eats mainly plants, and fruits,

Female crested fireback

11th February, 1819

On the Northwest (on the map), the Chinese will reside.

farhthest apart. However, to prevent isolationism as a whole, there will be an open

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