Have you driven along the Ampang Elevated Highway recently and wondered why that great big hole is being excavated behind Gleneagles Hospital? Or have you wondered why there are so many roadworks on Jalan Tun Razak, south of the Bukit Bintang turnoff? Both of these construction sites are part of Kuala Lumpur's biggest ongoing infrastructure project, the SMART tunnel project, and on April 11, the Explorers set out to find out more.

SMART stands for Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel and it is a 2 billion ringgit project aimed at preventing Kuala Lumpur's flash floods and also alleviating those chronic traffic jams on Jalan Tun Razak, from Bukit Bintang down to the old Sungei Besi airfield.

The whole tunnel length is around 10 kilometres, which in itself is not that amazing. Plenty of longer tunnels have been built under other cities. However, what is amazing, and what is a world first, is the dual use of the tunnel. As well as diverting storm water away from the city centre, a short (three kilometre) section of the tunnel will also be used for traffic, so there will be a double decker road and below it a storm drain. And that's not all. The innovative -and potentially rather scary part - is that when there is a very large downpour, the tunnel operators will be able to close off the road, open the sluice gates and let the entire tunnel (which is the height of a 4-storey building) be used as a massive stormwater tunnel.

Lorien Holland led the Explorers down to the SMART site office in Cheras to talk to the project's director of communications, Wan Azhar Wan Yeop. Wan was a very enthusiastic and well-briefed proponent of the whole scheme. He had a large scale model of Kuala Lumpur in his office, which showed the path of the entire tunnel and how the road system would fit into the whole scheme. For those of you who are interested, there will be a large extension of Jalan Sultan Ismail from Times Square and the Park Royal Hotel down to Jalan Tun Razak. That should help traffic congestion in central Kuala Lumpur too, by about 2007, when the project is finished.

But back to 2005, and Mr Wan Azhar in his office in a shop lot in Taman Miharja. I had apocalyptic visions of cars getting swept down the road tunnel when the sluice gates opened in a heavy storm. But Wan Azhar assured us this would not happen. Instead there would be a 40 minute period to clear the entire tunnel. And after the storm waters had passed, the tunnel would be closed for up to 48 hours to ensure all was clean and dry again for the road. Also, that kind of massive storm only occurs once every year or two, so there wouldn't be frequent closures of the tunnel either.

For most of the time, water will only flow along the bottom portion of the tunnel, under the double-decker road. The water comes from the Sungei Klang and the Sungei Ampang rivers, which meet under the Ampang Elevated Highway, near to the very large hole which is currently being excavated behind Gleneagles Hospital. That hole will become a holding basin to take excess water from the rivers, and the water will be diverted down, through the tunnel and emerge 10 kilometres to the south at a storage reservoir near the Sungei Besi airfield. From there, it will go join back into Kuala Lumpur's river systems, south of the city centre, and eventually flow out to sea around Port Klang.

Wan Azhar was particularly enthusiastic about the two enormous German drilling machines which are currently boring out the tunnels. Both started near to the Jalan Davies/Kampong Pandan roundabout in 2003 and each is slowly burrowing through the earth in opposite directions.

Progress is slow, at a maximum of 18 metres a day, and temperatures can reach a sweltering 50 degrees celcius. But there is no down-time, as the machines are in continuous operation and workers are divided into three eight-hour shifts every 24 hours. Because the tunnel cladding is put in place as the drilling machines move forward, the machines cannot move backwards, meaning there is no room for error.

The drilling machine going north to Ampang is under the operation of more experienced foreign contractors, as its path is more wiggly and the rock structure potentially more problematic. But the drilling machine going south to Sungei Besi is operated by Malaysian engineers, who have benefited from technology and skills transfer. They are currently in the lead, and have excavated further.

If you're wondering why the tunnel is wiggly and not straight, the answer is government land - the tunnel can only go where there is government land, so it follows the path of roads on the surface, or cuts under other land owned by the government.

You may also have read complaints in the papers about structural damage to some apartment blocks near the Jalan Davies/Kampong Pandan roundabout. Wan Azhar said the damage was partly caused by blasting in the area (some ventilation shafts need to go in at the roundabout) but was also partly due to poor workmanship on the apartment buildings. SMART has agreed to pay some of the reparation costs, but Wan Azhar conceded there would be more such disputes from other buildings near to the tunnel as work progressed.

Obviously, SMART is hoping there will be no major disasters along the way, as it needs to finish the tunnel to start recouping most of its costs. It will do that by charging a toll to use the road tunnel between the Jalan Davies/Kampong Pandan roundabout and the Sungei Besi

When the construction is finished at the end of 2006, a new visitor centre will be open at the Jalan Davies/Kampong Pandan roundabout, so we made a date to come back and see Wan Azhar in two years' time. If you want to find out more before then, visit the website at www.smarttunnel.com.my.

- Lorien Holland

"Tidak Melayu hilang di-dunia" (Never will the Malay vanish from the world) - Hang Tuah, legendary Malay warrior and a symbol of honour, courage and loyalty.

The Malays make up more than 58% of the population of Malaysia and it is the Malay culture that forms the backbone to multi-ethnic Malaysia's national cultural identity.

From the beginnings of the first Malay kingdoms on the peninsula between the 2nd - 3rd centuries AD, the Malay culture has been profoundly influenced by other peoples, especially the Indians, Siamese, Javanese, Sumatrans and the Arabs. Islam is the predominant religion but both Hinduism and Animism have also had an impact on Malay customs and culture, notably in the traditional performing arts. It is this diversity of influences that has given the modern Malay race the rich and unique cultural heritage it has today.

Professor Emeritus Dato' Dr. Khoo Kay Khim is a distinguished historian and an incisive commentator on all things Malaysian. Join us as Professor Khoo shares his wisdom and insights on the tapestry that is Malay culture.

I felt exhausted and exhilarated after listening to Nisha's wonderful talk and seeing her beautiful photos from her trip to Tibet. The photos captured a trip Nisha and her husband made last year to Lhasa, Gyantse and Shigatse. The trip had been a long held ambition of her husband's and she somewhat reluctantly joined him on "his trip of a lifetime".

They entered Tibet from Kathmandu. We were shown some slides of old buildings and the Tibetan quarter, which appeared well preserved. The town of Kathmandu looked interesting though whether this is now the best way to enter Tibet, given the recent crackdowns by the Monarchy, is doubtful. The flight into Tibet looked magnificent. In fact, I fancied somehow being suspended in the air just to be able to take in the incredible sight of Mt Everest and other surrounding great peaks. Again, Nisha's slides were fantastic but I imagine these are unable to truly capture the beauty, scope and majesty of Mt Everest.

Nisha then showed us slides of Lhasa. We were as surprised as Nisha was by the sophistication of the city, both with its modern buildings, well made roads and traffic lights, not forgetting the wonderful mobile phone coverage available. Nisha explained that to see the famed sights of Lhasa required one to visit the "Tibetan quarter" of the city. She was evidently saddened by the realization that much of the Tibetan culture has been lost as a consequence of the occupation of the Chinese such that today the real Lhasa only occupies a small segment of the city.

Notwithstanding, the Potala Palace, former home of the Dalai Lama, looked amazing, even though it was well patrolled by Chinese guards, bugged, and much of it is not accessible to tourists. Nisha noted that the Dalai Lama has resigned himself to never formally being able to return to Tibet and the once very active international non-violent campaign throughout the Western world to "Free Tibet" has now been abandoned. Several Monasteries in and around Lhasa were visited - Drepung and Ganden - both of the Yellow Hat sect.

A highlight of their visit in Lhasa was a visit to a nunnery called Drubthub. At the nunnery they met an Ani, or a nun, of about 45 years age. They were invited to have Tibetan tea with her. This tea is a solution of black tea, salt and rancid Yak butter, and needless to say is an acquired taste!!

After a couple of days in Lhasa they travelled onto Shingatse and Gyantse. This trip by road across the Friendship Highway would normally take a few hours but they were diverted onto a muddy waterlogged track that took a bottom-numbing 9 hours (one way) to traverse!! On the way, they also stopped in a nomad's tent for a meal and were treated to other, more delicious, local staples such as yak meat. Shigatse is home to The Tashilhunpo Monastery, abode to the Panchen Lama of the Red Hat Sect.

From Shingatse they travelled to Gyantse, which is a small town. It was difficult to access as major roadworks were being done the whole length of the town. There are major works being done throughout Tibet, including a railway connection to Beijing, as part of the preparations for the Olympics in 2008. Gyantse is important for the Kumbum Chorten that has frescos painted in the Newari style, brought to Tibet from Kathmandu. There after they undertook the round trip back to Lhasa.

Overall, Nisha and her husband enjoyed their trip to Tibet. They were particularly impressed with the travel agent, which they used. (Anyone interested in going to Tibet can contact the agent at "Pigeon Travels" - Min Kc is the contact person, e-mail add - minkc@wlink.com.np. This is based in Kathmandu. They have a tie up with a local travel operator in Tibet.)

As for myself, I have long cherished a dream to visit Tibet and it is still a place I would love to visit. I appreciated Nisha's honesty and feel that should I be so lucky to visit one day I will not hold any allusions or false dreams about the lost kingdom, but instead be aware of Tibet's advances and its spiritual offerings. Thank you Nisha for a very interesting, informative and enjoyable talk.
- Sunita Varlamos

Tucked away in Damansara Heights, at 24 Jalan Semantan Dua, there is a house with a large collection of fine antiques. The house, with its high ceilings, is a splendid setting for the many interesting pieces on display. Our delightful hosts for this event were Mr and Mrs Moorthy who run an antique business called A Colonial Mosaic. They first started collecting antiques 29 years ago in Bombay. Their passion grew until eventually space became an issue. They took their collection to auction and this was the start of A Colonial Mosaic. They later opened in Goa, Sydney and in 2004 here in Kuala Lumpur.

Jacintha Moorthy entertained us with an informative talk on the history of colonial furniture in the Indian Subcontinent. Mr Moorthy, who is responsible for any restoration work required, discussed the merits of various pieces on display, in particular a rare example of a sample table with many different types of wood inlaid into its top.

We learned that the Arabs were the first to come to India. They took back spices with them to trade with Europe. The Europeans, already great seafaring nations, decided to cut out the middleman and set off to find the spice route for themselves. The Dutch were the first to arrive in 1602. They traded gold and silver for spices and silks. Once they had established settlements there they discovered that India had some very exotic woods, teak, ebony, rosewood, mahogany, satin wood and coromandel. They also discovered that Indians had no furniture with the notable exception of thrones. They sat, ate and slept on the floor and their cupboards were built in. The Dutch brought out samples of their furniture from home and employed local craftsman to copy them. The British, followed by the Portuguese and the French, also came to trade in spices and silks and they too took advantage of the beautiful woods available.

At the height of this period 4500 people were employed locally in making furniture. Much of the furniture was made for export back to Europe but many pieces survived in India having been given as gifts or incentives to local dignitaries. The Dutch allowed the local craftsman to have some input and you will therefore find carved panels and mythical embellishments on many of the Dutch pieces. The British on the other hand liked their furniture to be reproduced exactly like the Victorian pieces they had brought with them. There are however examples of Anglo-Indian furniture which are highly carved and incorporate strong influences from the East. Some colonial furniture was made to be dismantled so that it could be moved around the provinces with their owners who liked to take their nice pieces of furniture with them. The Portuguese colonised Goa for 450 years and built churches, and in order to preserve the stocks of teak for the pulpits and pews they cunningly told the local people, who were highly superstitious, that it was a bad omen to have teak wood in the home!

Jacintha then gave us a few pointers to bear in mind when buying antiques: