I've just spent a great weekend on a homestay program, living in the home of a Malay family in the agricultural north of Malaysia. The state of Kedah is known as the "rice basket" of Malaysia. In this photo, I'm standing on a real working padi field. Also tried my hand at rubber tapping - Malaysia used to be #1 in rubber production.

           Vernon 

Japan Resources for EarthView

The EarthView team is, of course, using EarthView this week to help students better understand the earthquake and tsunami that have struck Japan. For all our EarthView followers, we have posted a tsunami article that includes a few relevant maps and links.

Melaka, Malaysia

I've just spent a great weekend in Melaka (or Malacca), a town famous for its location in the Straits of Melaka where many ships make their passage from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific.  
This settlement was initially occupied by indigenous people, pre-cursors to todays Malays. Then starting in 151, they were colonized and conquered first by the Portuguese and then by the Dutch and then the British. The Europeans were attracted by Melaka's location in the pivotal strait and by the possibilities of trade. Together with Gujaratis, Arabs, Chinese, all left their imprint on the cultural landscape.    

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

I've arrived in Kuala Lumpur, largest city in Malaysia and am enjoying exploring the city. This is a bustling place with, with the city having a population of 1.6; the metropolitan area is home to 7.2 people (Malaysia has a population of 27 million). I had a great day going on a tour of the city and trying to understand its diverse demography. Malaysia consists of 53% Malays, largely Muslim and 22% Chinese (Buddhists and Christian).