Part 2, Travels 1971-1986: Chapters 16-19 Summary and Analysis

Crichton begins chapter sixteen by stating, "It didn't seem like much of an adventure: walking past the McDonald's stand in the Singapore airport, going to the Hertz counter to pick up my rented Datsun for the drive north to a resort hotel in Kuantan, on the east coast of Malaysia" (p. 239).

Crichton laments the changes he sees in Singapore. Ten years earlier the place had been magical. During the last decade it seemed to have systematically destroyed itself. While the city is thoroughly modern, it has all but eliminated all signs of its former glory and uniqueness. The trip did not get better immediately. The roads were poorly marked and Crichton kept missing the hotel, which turned out to be a huge disappointment. However, the author had made the trip to see the...