A large stone inscription marks the church altar in Malacca, built around 1650. It is in memory of the Goan priest who built it, 'natural de Benaulim' is how he is described. I have forgotten the name. Mascarenhas, perhaps. The Eurasians speak Portuguese: you will not encounter the original folk, a plaque in town tells you that all 7000 starved during the Dutch siege that lasted two years. One can visit what was once the site of a grave for SFX, the rest lasting two years. Governor Durbao lies there too, he had founded Durban, in Natal Province. The local food is a tasty blend. eric. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At Hanoi Airport, we were not allowed to board the flight to Kuala Lumpur. Thought we got visas on arrival like elsewhere, but the Malaysians don't like Indians anymore it seems... they insist on pre-visas. So we had to scramble to change flights and get to Bombay direct. s.
