Been working on this project quietly over the last 2 weeks: My Cigar Blog - A Malaysian's Journey in Search of the Perfect Cigar. I started this blog for a few reasons:
# Cigars are bloody expensive in Malaysia (RM28 - RM70 per cigar for a good one). Might as well make the most of my investment by keeping a personal journal and review of all the cigars that i've personally experienced.
# The hobby of keeping and smoking cigars is incredibly complex and deep - it makes sense to keep note of all the readings, notes and information i find useful in a single repository.
# The cigar scene in Malaysia, while quite popular among those who can afford them, is relatively unstructured and uninformed. I was at Hemingway's last night, a newly opened cigar divan - the manager of the divan was kind enough to let me sit in the walk-in humidor while she served her customers. Most didn't know a thing about what they were buying, which is a shame considering the varieties and complexities of cigars is absolutely mind-boggling. For me, cigars should be understood to be fully appreciated. My Cigar Blog hopes to lend to that understanding from a uniquely Malaysian perspective.
# I would assume that people new to the hobby would want to know where there can get and where they can smoke their cigars in Malaysia; i know i did but found it impossible to get any information whatsoever from online resources. My Cigar Blog hopes to change that by providing a listing of places of interest e.g. cigar divans (i've been informed that there are quite a number just in KL) and also what is the expected price to be paid for various brands and types of cigars available in Malaysia at the various different shops.
Ultimately, these are my long-term objectives:
# Build a community of like-minded cigar hobbyists and organize the first Malaysian Cigar Club. I can imagine the club making annual trips to Cuba for cigar-shopping.
# Bring awareness about this hobby to the public - cigars are not disgusting-smelling crude sticks of tobacco. The types you see and buy from 7-Eleven are NOT cigars - not many people, even cigar smokers know the difference.
# To dispel any stigma associated to the smoking of cigars - its not necessarily a practice of the elite.
