I'm sitting on the steps of a temple in the backstreets of Johor Baru, taking shelter from a sudden downpour. I haven't seen another whitey since clearing customs at departure. From the looks I've been getting, I suspect there aren't so many westerners coming though here at all.
A family just walked past me, a large hairy white guy, in bright green shorts sitting on a filthy step; the old man regarded me with a weak contempt, the child with fear and suspicion, but the warmth from the old woman was comforting.
On arrival in Malaysia, upon realising that I don't know the currency here, let alone have any, I decided there was no avoiding dealing with the money changer. I suspect he spoke no English, and I speak no Malay, but the transaction was managed so efficiently it would make one wonder why we have language at all. Getting a drink was somewhat more amusing, all the girls in the juice bar were giggling as they tried to figure out what I wanted. There was such an accomplished pride on the face of the girl who managed to complete the transaction, it was really nice to see.
My major accomplishment for my entire time in Malaysia was buying a souvenier fridge magnet that says "Malaysia".
Posts
Dear Michael, I'm at home, staring at our fridge and wondering where this magnet shall find a home.
ReplyDeletePerhaps somewhere between Britney Spears' chewing gum ($17,000) and that magnet asking 'What is Dada?????', the question that defined the world's first recursive art movement.
The prefix mal- normally means bad or wrong, but I don't think that this is the case for Malaysia, just as the world lenticular isn't Malaysian just because it ends in -lar.
Incidentally, the word lenticular really offends me. It means either: (i) lentil shaped; or (ii) relating to the lense of the eye. These definitions are incongruous and why was something in my happy meal described as lenticular? Also, why am I eating a happy meal?
PS come home some time, I miss you