TRAVEL + WRITING

Anthony Bourdain And Salted Fish, A Love Affair

A travelogue tribute to the man who redefined travel writing

June 8th 2022, marks four years since the passing of Anthony Bourdain. I remember the day vividly. I was in Kedah, in the north of Malaysia, and the news came on CNN. I could barely move away from the television. I cried. I have not recovered since. I’ve been wanting to do a tribute piece for Bourdain but I couldn’t bring myself to do it in June, July, even August.

Today, I thought, I will. It’s time. Time for me to process this grief. Perhaps it was Queen Elizabeth’s death that triggered me about Bourdain’s death.

In 2000, Bourdain launched his bestselling book “Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly”. It was the same year I began my career as a rookie journalist. It was the dawn of a new beginning for the likes of us wannabe writers. His greatest gift to us was his decision to step out of his kitchen as executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles in Manhattan to travel the world. That changed everything.

Bourdain rose to fame with “A Cook’s Tour” in 2002. He redefined both travel and television when he hosted “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations”. The Travel Channel was never the same again. When it came on air, it was the only time I would sit in front of the television.

Bourdain had the life we all wanted. For people with a spirit of a wild stallion like myself, we could relate to his restlessness. We connected with his unbridled need to get up and move.

For me, it was the way he thought, wrote, described things, simplified complexities. I am the writer today thanks to Anthony Bourdain. He shaped my writer’s voice through his travelogue and narrative style in “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown”. Bourdain wasn’t just about food.

Hardly.

Bourdain was about cuisines, culture and politics combined. No one, and I repeat, no one, has come close to Bourdain’s travelogues since he started, up to present. No one. He was the OG (original gangster) of travel writing and it’s because he was open to everything, he was thoughtful and he was incredibly sexy doing it.

Bourdain was color blind, in the sense he could immerse with any community and come out perfectly blended. His closest rival is perhaps Ian Wright of “Globe Trekker” but Wright’s format was different (Wright focused more on remote locations with a comedic personality, while Bourdain focused on cuisines and was pensive).

Bourdain hated any form of endorsements (reason why he left the Travel Channel), fame and commercialism. Joining CNN cemented the work he did by teaching us that travel writing was not only important to open minds, it challenge stereotypical thinking about the way we perceive the world. He taught us to respect diversity through the lingua franca of culinary.

Bourdain’s work showed us that travel is our ticket to improving humanity. Travel was the new university. Travel was one way cultures and communities connect better with one another. Bourdain taught us that politics may divide us in the boardroom, but food can unite us at the table.

Bourdain was the man I fantasized to marry. Bourdain was also the man I knew I should not marry because he was a man who belonged to the world. I owe much of my narrative style to the man who taught us the following: “Do we really want to travel in hermetically sealed pope mobiles through the rural provinces of France, Mexico and the Far East, eating only in Hard Rock Cafes and McDonalds? Or do we want to eat without fear, tearing into the local stew, the humble taqueria’s mystery meat, the sincerely offered gift of a lightly grilled fish head? I know what I want. I want it all. I want to try everything once.”

And thanks to you Bourdain, I try everything once. Today’s travelogue is a tribute to Anthony Bourdain. Rest in peace.

Anthony Bourdain And Salted Fish, A Love Affair

“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” ― Lao Tzu

September 16th 2022, it’s Malaysia Day. It’s Friday. It’s a long weekend holiday.

What do you do on a day like this?

For starters, the malls will be packed. Restaurants will be at maximum capacity. Children will be screaming. Service will be slower than it should. The roads into the city will be congested. Grab Food will be busier than ever. I could stay in bed all day and watch Netflix. I could head to my studio and catch up with some painting. I can do nothing and stare at the walls.

“Travel far enough, you meet yourself.” ― David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

Let’s do that. Let’s just get up and go. Henry Miller wrote “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”

It’s Malaysia Day and I want to celebrate with seafood. Not in a mall, not in the city. I decided the best thing is to drive out.

Out of the city towards the coast. It’s about a 45 minutes drive. If I were to travel into the city, there would be a mad traffic of an hour plus. With my hat in tow and playlist I step on the pedals of my Kia Sportage SUV And off we go.

Follow the river. Head towards the opening mouth of the ocean. And that’s where everything will fall into place. The great Rumi Jalalud-Din said, “Travel brings power and love back into your life.”

I’m falling in love with love. And I love seafood.

I head towards Pasir Penambang. A small town known for local coffee, fresh seafood, homemade fish crackers and salted fish. For someone like me, that is all you need to be satisfied. If you’re into congee (rice porridge), salted fish is life.

Salted fish and congee My detox diet, my panacea to all sickness The combo that neutralizes everything, after a fiesta of meat and indulgence of takeaways and deliveries.

At Pasir Penambang, Aside from eating, you can do eagle feeding bird watching and hiking. If you’re feeling the mood, in the evening you can watch the sunset, then take a river cruise and watch fireflies.

For today, to avoid the crowd I’m doing the foodie trail along the river Pay homage to the fishermen Get some salted fish to last a few months And enjoy the drive home against the traffic.

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” ― St. Augustine

Today was one page in my book. Next trip, before they extinct I’ll be with the fireflies.

This piece was also mentioned in another travel writing by fellow Ellemeno contributor Scott-Ryan Abt. Check it out.