Friday, June 26, 2026
8:27 a.m. Room A1 Makhota Vibe Inn
Melaka, Malaysia
I can definitely feel the seasonal change out there. I haven’t kept track of the actual months for this, but at least on the west coast of Malaysia, we are definitely entering the rainy season or monsoon season or whatever it is called. The temperatures have come way down, which I guess is a good thing. You no longer feel like you are being slammed over the head with a hammer every time you step outside. But that comes with cloudy skies, rain, and mosquitoes. I was at a couple of streetside restaurants recently, and I noticed that there were egg cartons burning and sending out a lot of smoke. The first time I saw it, I thought it was an accident and somebody had left the egg cartons too close to the stove and it caught fire and they threw it out onto the street. It was leaning against a pillar, and I even thought about moving it or warning the staff about the fire. But then I saw the same thing at other places, and I realized this was done deliberately, and of course the point was to drive off mosquitoes. While I was sitting there waiting for my food, I had mosquitoes buzzing all around me. That’s a sure sign that a new rainy season is upon us.
I’m kind of nervous to ask, but I guess I should find out what the weather is going to be like over the next few months on the east coast. In theory, I’m supposed to be cycling up the east coast of Malaysia when I leave Melaka. And a few months ago, I was under the impression that it was the perfect time to do so with the best non-rainy weather. And now I might have gone so slowly and delayed so much that I have once again shot myself in the foot and lined myself up for an east coast plan at the worst time of year. I always do that. But, of course, rainy seasons aren’t always bad. Depending on what you want to do and what your interests are, they can be the best time to go. We grow up thinking that rainy seasons are bad for travel, because we tend to think of these trips as vacations. People from Canada are going places to get away from bad weather and they want to go somewhere where it is warm and sunny and they can lie on the beach. And then rainy seasons are bad for them. It interferes with their beach plans. But for me with my interests, rainy seasons can be better because it kicks off an agricultural season when rice is being planted and farmers are out in the fields and there is activity and the landscape is green and lush.
Anyway, I do have a tendency to be a bit of an ostrich: I will stick my head in the ground to avoid knowing about or dealing with a problem. I don’t want to KNOW that it is going to be pouring rain all over Malaysia including the east coast over the next few months. But I should be a grown-up mature person and find out. I’ll get on Google right now. Better yet, I’ll ask one of my AI buddies.
Later: It turns out that I’m still right on the edge of the good weather. My AI buddy said this about August and September:
August: Peak Summer Conditions
August is generally considered one of the best months of the year for the east coast. While the west coast (Langkawi, Penang) is getting hit by the Southwest Monsoon’s heavy rains, the east coast is shielded and enjoys its dry season.
- Sky & Sea: Expect lots of blue skies, brilliant sunshine, and very calm, crystal-clear water. It is prime time for diving, snorkeling, and boat transfers.
- Temperature: Hot and tropical, with daily highs averaging around 30°C to 32°C and dropping to a balmy 24°C at night.
- Rain: Minimal. You might get the occasional short, sharp afternoon thunderstorm, but it clears up quickly and rarely disrupts outdoor plans.
September: The Shoulder Season Transition
September is a transitional month. The first half of the month usually mimics August’s excellent weather, but as the month progresses, the atmospheric wheels start turning toward the Northeast Monsoon.
- Sky & Sea: The beginning of September still offers great beach weather. Toward the end of the month, the winds start to shift, which can lead to slightly choppier seas and increased wave action.
- Temperature: Stays consistently warm, hovering around 29°C to 31°C.
- Rain: You will notice a gradual increase in afternoon or evening showers compared to August, though it is still nowhere near the torrential downpours of the late-year monsoon.
And July is supposed to have perfect weather, the best weather of the year. So I guess the weather isn’t as awful as I imagined. It’s going to be rainy on the west coast but the east coast will be okay. That’s good news assuming I head in that direction after Melaka.
My plan for this morning is to jot down my thoughts in this journal entry over a cup of coffee and then head to the museum to record the video I was talking about yesterday. I was hoping to shoot that video yesterday, but I found that the more I tried to get my thoughts straight, the more fascinating things I found out about Melaka and its history and the more mistakes I found in what I thought I knew. So I spent most of the day happily reading and researching various aspects of Melaka’s history, and one rabbit hole led to another and to another. I think the most surprising thing for me is how much is actually known about the Portuguese, Dutch, and British eras. I guess in my mind, I think of the 1500s, 1600s, 1700s, and 1800s as ancient history without any clear records. But, in fact, quite a bit was written down. I thought, for example, that the Portuguese battle with the Melaka Sultanate was just a legendary story and nobody knew exactly what happened. In reality, there are detailed records and you can find a day-by-day account of exactly what happened and you can find the names of everyone involved. The Portuguese wrote things down and kept records, as did the Dutch and British.
I probably should have shot this video yesterday. It was one of those remarkable days when I just felt great. I woke up clear and sharp and fully rested. That’s why the day of research was such a pleasure. And I was hoping that this would carry over into the next day – today. But so far, I’m not feeling it. I was not up late, but I feel tired this morning. My brain feels fuzzy. My throat is feeling rough. I just don’t feel sharp or full or energy. I feel worn out. I don’t know that all the knowledge I packed in my brain will be available today when I go to the museum. Hopefully, over the next hour, I will wake up and feel better. Maybe I’m still just feeling groggy from sleep and I will snap out of it.