Mr. Wai, the distiller, is an interesting fellow. For one, contrary to what I commonly see here, I am fascinated by his longyi which is tied at his waist elegantly using a device I cannot decipher. He has wise eyes, he pauses before he speaks, and he is very patient. Most importantly, he expressed not a single objection to the Agar Aura distillation techniques I proposed.
The internet connection isn’t the greatest, I can’t seem to find ‘real’ coffee anywhere, and my translator will be arriving soon to pick me up and take me to the wood warehouse and distillery. For all these reasons, I’ll have to keep this post short.
It sure feels different here! When I relocated to Kuala Lumpur from Toronto, I found the pace of life to be rather slow. Its even slower here in Brunei… but in a different way. Being one of the wealthiest countries in the world, it seems everyone is content and therefore very laid back. I got the same feeling in Qatar, another tiny country with a whole lot of wealth.
If you have an agarwood shop, are in the bead carving business, or just happen to be a collector of high grade agarwood, feel free to check out our sister website for wholesale Agar Aura quality products (agarwood chips, agarwood chunks, oud oils): www.RoyalAgarwood.com
I have to start off this blog post by apologising for not replying to emails promptly in the past 2 weeks. I am on the plane (finally!) back home after a lot of exciting but exhausting oudventures, and will probably be finishing off the post after getting home — so might be a few days before I get to reply to the backlog of emails. Thank you for understanding!
In the land of smiles, things are looking rather grim, socio-politically speaking. But things are certainly looking up for Agar Aura, as far as agarwood is concerned.
A long, back-breaking trip by road through the northern Malaysian state of Kelantan, followed by crossing a river on a shaky boat, brings you to the small Thai village of Sungai Kolok.
2 weeks in Malaysia now, and it still seems very alien.
Its amazing… on the surface, Kuala Lumpur is a pretty modern and developed city. But moving from one of the nicest neighbourhoods in North America, I notice a lot of things I otherwise didn’t when I used to come to this part of the world before.
Today, things aren’t the same as they were only a couple years ago. Or a decade ago, or 3 decades ago. And the direction in which the world of oud seems to be headed doesn’t seem too bright.
3 days down, and I’ve met 5 gaharu hunters so far. Its interesting to know what their take is on the state of wild agarwood in the jungles of Malaysia. While they all have their own opinions and predictions, one thing everyone agrees on: the Chinese bigwigs have turned everything upside down.
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After a grueling couple days running around between airports, meeting agarwood suppliers, and checking out the Bukit Bintang oud shops of Kuala Lumpur, I finally have some time to post a blog entry.
While I was gazing out the window, staring down at what’s probably the most prized region of Malaysia for agarwood (and the most dangerous), my family was freaking out. It was only after landing that I learned that a sister Malaysia Airlines flight had mysteriously ‘vanished’ around the same time I was in the air as well. Grateful for my safety thus far, I am of course nervous about the further travel that lies ahead!
