ALEXA HOTEL
LEXHAM GARDENS,
LONDON, W.8
7th July 1958
Our Dear Darling Children,
Paris, Monday 30th June: Don't worry. Although I suffered last night - indeed I cried unashamedly - I was very nearly alright this morning except for a bit of a limp. However, I did not walk very much in the morning as I spent quite a lot of time writing letters including the one to you all. In the afternoon we went up EIFFEL TOWER which was 1060 feet high. It used to be only 1000 feet high but another 60 feet were added for the purpose of television. It cost the Government 7,800,000 gold francs to build. It was named after it's engineer Eiffel who built it as the principal attraction (as it was in the case of the AUTOMIUM in Brussels) for the Great Exhibition of 1887. From the top we could get a magnificent view of the City of Paris and the river SEINE. It seems that the Tower swayed a bit which only an experienced mountain climber could detect. It was a good thing that we didn't feel it!
This was a lovely day. We had no rain. As a matter of fact it was quite sunny. It was neither hot nor too cold - just the weather for us. We had our lunch at a restaurant named PASADENA on Rue Juliet. "Rue" is a street as opposed to those big , straight "Avenues". We had been to this restaurant quite often. It's close to our Hotel and we liked the atmosphere here. It's small but neat. The waiters here were nice chaps. We have had enough by now of European food. It's terribly flat of taste and veal was being served everywhere - ooh! veal,veal, veal.......all along - stewed veal, cold veal, roast veal etc..etc..etc.....Fish was so tasteless.
In the evening, after a bit of "window-shopping" we went to a small restaurant. What an experience? None in the restaurant could speak English. I asked a couple who were eating there to help but they too could not speak English. I had again to use the sign language. We managed somehow!
Oh, yes; I might tell you that on our way out to dinner we saw a fairly nice pair of shoes - sort of evening shoes. No price was given in the show-case. We went in and enquired. We got quite a shock. That pair cost 25,000 francs = $187.50. We made a hurried exit. It appears that the price in this shop was nothing less than 25,000 francs.
Tuesday, 1st July: This morning was spent on doing a bit of shopping. The weather has been kind to us. There has been one particular thing we have noticed here. Some people walked about with a long bread - about two inches in diameter and about, at least, three feet long - and munching it. Looked rather odd!
We had no particular thing to do this afternoon. Later we went to sit in our favourite Park - TUILIERS GARDENS - and just watched people. Speaking about this reminded me of a story which I had not mentioned earlier. Mak was sitting here on Sunday 29th while I went to take photographs around TRIUMPHANT ARCH. An Attendant of the Gardens came and demanded the fee for the chair. Poor Mak did not have a coin on her. She had to beat a hasty retreat. After that I gave her a few small coins - just in case.
That night we had our last dinner at the Hotel. We had to contend with the usual menu. I have not mentioned earlier that the Head Waiter used to joke about our drink. We usually had just cold water and he referred to it as "AMERICAN CHAMPAGNE" and last night he added it by saying "1960 VINTAGE" . Quite a nice chap, this old fellow. While eating we felt rather sad. With the prospect of leaving PARIS. We always had this feeling when we were about to leave a place. When we arrived we a feeling of uncertainty.
Wednesday 2nd July: We left for LONDON. One annoying thing happened at the PARIS Air Port. When I handed our passports for checking the Officer looked rather suspiciously at us and went into a room rather hurriedly and I heard him speaking on the phone. A few moments later he came out and told the air line hostess that we had no visa to come to France. I then took the passports and showed the visa. I was very angry and told the air line hostess that if they had asked I could have shown them. What a silly thing for this Officer to have done. He could easily have asked me. That's what I was annoyed about. NO "grey matter"!
We flew by B.E.A plane. I am now convinced that B.E.A plane is the best I have flown in so far.
We got to LONDON after one hour's flight. When we arrived Raja Redwan (Raja Mokhtar's brother) and Che Ahmad Zainal and their wives were at the LONDON AIR PORT . We were very happy to see them but we could not spend much time with them as we had to get on to our bus. As soon as we got to our Hotel....about 2.00pm.....we went out to have lunch at a nearby Chinese Restaurant called SHANGHAI and had our first taste of rice after AMSTERDAM. The food unfortunately was not very good. Anyway, it was rice!!
Thursday 3rd July: I went out alone in the morning to MALAYA HOUSE to sign the Visitor' Book. There I received a message to confirm the invitation to attend the BUCKINGHAM PALACE Garden Party. and not only that but I was told that we would be presented to the Queen. Marvellous, isn't it. I was at first worried as I did not have any other Malay suits except the black one. I have now been told that I could put that on and, as a matter of fact, a few others are putting on black as well. We are fairly excited about this.
I then called on Tunku Jaafar who is the First Secretary un the Federation's High Commission. Tunku Yaacob the High Commissioner was not in London. I was taken round the Office. Then Tunku Jaafar and I decided to go to see the tennis at Wimbledon. So, Tunku Jaafar, who has a car picked up his wife and Mak and we all went to Wimbledon. Mak saw the semi-finalin which Althea Gibson beat Ann Haydon and also a very good men's doubles. She and Tunku Jaafar's wife went to see other games whilst Tunku and I went to see Schmidt and Davidson beat an Indian pair - Kumar and Krishnan. Later I watched Althea Gibson playing the mixed doubles. We went back and had dinner in an Indian shop quite close to our Hotel. It's called "MADRAS".
Friday 4th July: We did a bit of shopping in the morning and after lunch we went to the pictures to see "A Question of Adultery" with Julie Landon and Anthony Steel in the lead. After dinner we watched T.V in our Hotel and that night I had terrible headache. Fortunately I got over it before morning.
We had been moving about today and Mak has had his first experience.....real experience. I mean....of the ESCALATOR. She was rather uncertain and hesitant at first but she has improved. Why I said real experience was that when we were at BRUSSELS at the WORLD EXHIBITION, Mak went up an escalator in one of the Pavilions but she nearly toppled down and refused to use it again! She has had her first taste of the tube (underground train) too.
Saturday 5th July: We walked in the centre of London and before lunch we went to a News Theatre...only news and some shorts were shown here. We had a very good and expensive lunch at HONGKONG RESTAURANT. We went home after that and had a rest. After dinner we watched T.V for about an hour.
You will notice that the address above is different a little from the one I gave you earlier . You needn't worry if you had sent a letter following the earlier address. It will get to us. however, the above address is more correct. Could we now expect letters more often?
Mak would like to know how the servants are getting on. And, how is everybody?
We are missing you all so much and are always thinking of you all. So, lots of love and a thousand kisses to you all.
Sembah Salam to Tah and salam to the rest.
Yours Ever,
Mak and Bapak
P.S. Some more pictures are enclosed.
