YMCA Singapore .

(6 months ago I left the home town)

My dear Everybody,

The Krisna (British India Steam Navigation Company) sails tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock to Bangkok, Siam, but I am going on board tonight. First however I am dining with the Commodore here, head of the Naval Base. He is going to tell me about the Base and why it is essential to have it here. I went to see the Naval Base this morning. It is 15 miles away and I was given a special pass at the Naval Office, told not to take a camera .and then I took a taxi out. We motored past rubber trees where you could see cuts in the trunk and watch the white juice flowing slowly out. We seemed to pass thousands of Chinese. Almost all their women wear trousers of some black silky satin material. Then I came to a gate where a tall Sikh policeman was standing; he took my pass and before long my driver (Hindu from South India, a Malabari) and I were in the strictly guarded fortress of Britain in the Far East, the bulwark in Asia. There were some well built houses, but they were built on columns (like lake-dwellings) and underneath the dwelling rooms (i.e. on the upper floor.) there were motor cars etc. We came to the offices and I met the Chief Civil Engineer and one of the civil engineers Mr Kneave took me round. It is a vast place and cost many millions of pounds. We saw the great dry dock which will hold the biggest ships in the world. It is very deep and looks beautiful - like a Roman structure -absolutely white granite and cement. (It has grown dark very suddenly-just in a few minutes). A few years ago all that one could see was mangrove swamps. I also saw the big floating dock which was hauled all the way from England. At the Naval Base the people were very angry and amused at an article written by Ward Price in the Daily Mail in which he had made all kinds of silly mistakes. It is amazing to have built such a huge dock in a mangrove swamp.

The Hindu Chauffeur drove me quickly back to Singapore, because Commodore Mark Windlaw who is in command of the Naval Office here said he was anxious to see me .We had a short talk in which he pointed out the importance of Singapore in Naval defence and he asked me to dinner tonight. I shall be going there before long

I lunched today with Mr Peet, acting Editor of the Strait Times. He has a pleasant house and a Texas wife in gardens and they were most kind. We discussed the American situation as well as Japan’s expansion in the Far East. then I called on the German Consul who put me in touch with a German journalist, Mr Ries, who was at Cambridge and who has spent a long time in Siam. Over tea at the Adelphi he gave me an outline of the Siamese situation. Do you remember my having breakfast in Cambridge with a Siamese Prince Arthet? Well, he has now become a dominating figure in Siam. So I shall be able to get into close touch with him. But the other - Prince Chula whom I knew at Cambridge has fallen into disgrace and Ries advised me not to mention his name.

I then bought some batiks which I have mailed to you. I hope it will not be too much trouble and there will not be heavy duty.

On board the Krisna

Well, if this isn’t the funniest boat I’ve seen for a long time. It brings me back to the days when I used to sign on tramp steamers. This is a tramp and there is only one other passenger besides myself .We are to sail for Bangkok Siam at 9 o’clock.

Last night I dined with the Commodore, a jolly naval frank fellow, who took me to se some wonderful Indian dancing with Menaka, the Pavlova of the East. It was beautiful dancing, very graceful lovely colours, but the music was weird. The theatre was full of Indians .Singapore has a variety of different races of Indians after the concert I took my luggage down here to the docks and found the Krishna. It is a contrast to my luxury travel on the President Coolidge etc. She is a very old boat. I have a cabin with 2 bunks and two portholes and an old fashion kind of washbasin. After seeing my cabin I went on board a German liner where the German journalist said he would be. What a contrast! Orchestra playing - mountains of flowers hundreds of people - bookshops - people drinking champagne - magnificent swimming pool. I came back to the Krisna a little after midnight .put on electric fan in my room, climbed in to the upper bunk and tried to get to sleep .the berth is like the room at the Port Talbot Eisteddfod. Then plonk !plonk! The cranes started dropping machinery into the hold early in the morning, Through the porthole I could see Chinese coolies moving about Wanting to wash I rang and my Chinese steward came grinning with a pot of tea and an apple. In an hours time we sail, but I enjoy being on board .it is a change from luxury liners. We shall be in 4 days in Bangkok. I hope to be able to do some work on board., I can imagine Barry and Porthkerry in May. I’ll be home before Xmas.

Cariad Cynesaf

Gareth

I’ll stay about 14 days in Bangkok if it is interesting . I’ll go to the YMCA (sitting alone ) kind to me everywhere. It is wonderfully kind of people to invite me everywhere.

Half way between Singapore and Bangkok 8.45.Sunday morning

April 28 1935.

S.S.Kisna.

My dearest Everybody,

There was a remarkable sight last night .We saw the last of the Malay Coast - a tine range of bluish mountains - at sunset. Some hours later magnificent storms began on land and there were flashes of lightning which illuminated the whole sky. Some of the flashes were in the South and would shudder a lot. Others were in the West and they were sharp arrows of light. All the time the sea was perfectly calm and the sky was full of stars above. I was watching the sky about 9 o’clock when I saw something white moving a few yards away. I looked more carefully and found that it was one of the Indian fireman (Mohammedan on his prayer mat prostrating himself towards the direction where the lightning came from. I do not know whether he was bowing to the lightning - which would show a mixture of Pagan worship in his Mohammedanism -- or whether it was just a coincidence that the lightning was in the same direction as Mecca.

The firemen are all Indian - Mohammedans and when we were going through the Straits of Singapore on Friday I was interested them put their mats on the deck and kneeling, bow their heads right to the ground. They appear to be very devout.

Friday was a long day. As I said, I came on board on Thursday night after the concert with the Commodore and was amused to find that the "liner" was a tiny tramp! We sailed at 9 o’clock through the Keppel Straits, but a few miles out we waited for about 2 to 3 hours for the tide. We saw three islands near us, each full of petrol tanks ;one was full of British petrol. The middle island was standard oil of New York. and the 3rd a Dutch island with Dutch oil. We headed for the island with American oil and there we were stuck for many hours loading thousands of tins of Kerosene which we were taking to Bangkok. We did not sail until nearly sunset and then we made our way through the Straits of Singapore, where the shipping of the East is dominated by Great Britain. During the waiting in the afternoon I had a glimpse of the P&O mail liner -black funnels, a sombre looking vessel appearing behind an island and steaming into Singapore. She had come from London and was bearing mail for the Far East.

These waters are infested by sharks but you cannot see them.

It was dark when we steamed past Singapore. The weather was cool and I spoke with the First Officer on the bridge who was certain that there will be war with Japan within 2 years. I think it is a silly idea. I cannot see why Japan and Great Britain shouldn’t come to an understanding.

0n Friday I went to bed early and slept well. So yesterday I was fresh and wrote 3 articles for I.N.S. Two of them on Black Magic in Java and one on the opium factory and opium smuggling. We could see the mountains of Malaysia to the West and the weather was calm and not too hot,

When I went to bed last night there was a very sudden and violent squall. In a second it was blowing about my room and a Sharp rain started. I rang for my Chinese boy and he closed the portholes. I have never experienced such a sudden squall., but the sea remained perfectly calm. Today however is rough and the boat is pitching somewhat. The sky is overcast. It is now 12 o’clock and I had a large breakfast at 9 and the Chinese boy brought me a good cup of coffee at 11 o’clock to the place I am sitting on the deck. The second officer is from Aberystwyth and he has been saying 'shi’doh' is Aberystwyth. "But he has not been home for 14 years and cannot speak Welsh (After breakfast I wrote an article on the Philippines for the Berliner Tageblatt. Please could you see if my article on the Philippines appears in the M.G. on May 14 or 15. I am now going to write an article on the Dutch East I Indies for the M.G.

When at Singapore I dined on Wed . night with David Waite ,a young journalist, who is on the Straits Times and is also an M.G. correspondent. His wife London university -gave me a good time and

then motored me round the Botanical Gardens where the scents were beautiful. They live on the outskirts of Singapore near a native Kampong (village) and during dinner we could hear their strange songs and weird drum beatings of the Malays.

On Wed I lunched at the Singapore Club where the elite of the Straits Settlements gather. We had Welsh pudding which turned out to be a boiled suet pudding with plum jam.

Singapore is a wonderfully laid out City with fine roads and buildings.

There are nine white or of white officers on board and the crew is mixes Chinese and Indian. The Chinese boys (waiters or stewards) are very efficient. I have meals in the saloon with the Officers and the food is good and ample.

It is now pouring, but I am sitting under the bridge, so I am protected. It is cool and the sea is rough, but nothing compared to the awful storms on the Pacific.

******

Rajdhani Hotel, Bangkok, SIAM