Eastern Glimpses – Ethel Jarman (1935) (1st ed)

The journal of an Australian woman who takes a trip around Asia from June 14-October 18 1934, where she makes a daily record of her impressions and descriptions of the places she visited. Her tour took her from Adelaide to Java, with a brief stop a Makassar, and then to Singapore, Malaya, Siam, French Indochina (Angkor, Phnom Penh, Saigon) and then to China, Manchuria, Korea, and Japan. Throughout the journal, she takes an interest in the shops and handicrafts, from Makassar filigree to Chinese embroidery. Prices are also noted, revealing, for example, that Java in the 1930s was a very costly place from a traveller from a British colony. For each tourist attraction she visits, she gives a little historical background explaining the significance of the place.