Cousin Gary’s House
My family and I finally arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. As we walked through the arrival gate, I was fascinated by the diversity of religions displayed in this foreign city– there were a group of tranquil Buddhist monks with their heads shaven in orange robes. I have never in my life seen a monk until today. My eyes were drawn to their footwear: socks and sandals… a sure protest against Western fashion. Catholic nuns gracefully floated across from one gate to the other. Many Muslim women wearing hijabs and black robes clung onto their husbands. Many of the Muslim men were wearing haji’s. And there was I in my evident Western style clothing. I was basically standing underneath a huge neon sign saying, “Straight from Canada”. My height was not to be overlooked either. I am sure that I was the tallest woman in the KL airport.
At last we saw my cousin Gary and Ashley waiting for us by the front entrance. We moseyed outside the double doors into the thick, musty air and I was encompassed in a humid heat, somewhat similar to what I’ve experienced in Mexico. Then we met up with my Uncle George and my aunt Helen. Vehicles in Malaysia have the driver’s seat on the right side and people drive on the left side of the street. People drive like they are on steroids with no concern for pedestrians at all. My mom was scared for her life and she sounded like she was on a rollercoaster. My sister picked up a bit of a Malay accent. Twenty minutes later, we arrived at Gary’s house that looks more like a bachelor pad. Finally, I got to see Mama (my grandmother).
She is the sweetest lady. I played one of my songs for her on Gary’s acoustic guitar. I think she was quite pleased because she smiled gently at me. Although there’s a large language barrier between us, she understands that I love her.
The heat is inescapable. Even with an air-conditioner and a fan in work you feel wrapped in a woolly blanket all the time. Gary took us out and about the dense market area basically right in front of his house. It felt as if we were playing Frogger crossing the two multi-lane roads to get to the marketplace. Restaurants and outdoor food vendors cooking Thai, Malay, and Indian food dispersed this spicy aroma into the dense air forming an overwhelming sense of hunger in me. We ate lunch at this restaurant called White Coffee; I had an iced coffee that tasted like dark chocolate. It was delicious. The coffee was served with condensed milk. The kitchen was displayed in front of the tables and all the cooks were staring at me and my sister. We decided why not take a picture. So we took a picture with them. Another bizarre observation- on the rim of restaurant roofs, they have pipes that spray out a cold mist to cool down the air. I felt the soft water caress my hand. It was so interesting.
I’ve grown quite a reputation already here. Gary has taken into account of my abnormally large Size 9 feet when I was wearing flip flops outside and called me Big Foot. I’ve also acquire “Di Yong” as my new nickname. It means “big look” in Cantonese. Even though I should, I’m not offended because it holds so much truth in Malaysia. I am a freak of nature here. I feel self-conscious every time someone looks up at me and gasps with their eyes wide open at my height.
Later on, my sister and I walked to the nearby running track three blocks away where we expected to run 4km… and ended up running 1.6km. Yet, it felt like a 4km run. Sweat poured out of every gland on my body and I’m pretty sure got a tan in the time span of 20 minutes. Back at Gary’s house, I took my first “cold” shower in KL. I did not realize I had to turn on the water pressure on the wall outside the bathroom, so under trickling water I lathered myself with soap. It did not feel like a cold shower. I had to have a lot of patience to wash all the shampoo out of my hair.
Dinner soon crept up and I was starving. We walked across the road to the marketplace again to another restaurant called Thai cuisine. One thing I love so far about Malaysia is the food. It is incredible. We ordered grilled chicken wrapped in bamboo leaves, stir-fry fiddleheads, Thai calamari with sweet chilli sauce, and this chicken feet skin salad. I know, it sounds gross, but the taste bypasses the name my far. We had this refreshing iced Chinese tea along with a scrumptious meal. I am definitely going to gain 15 pounds on this trip. Damn it.
My jet lag is starting to hit me hard as I’m struggling to keep my eyes open. It’s approximately 9pm in Kuala Lumpur, when its 7am Vancouver. It’s especially difficult for me because I love my sleep. Tomorrow, my family and I are planning our schedule for Australia. We will be leaving Kuala Lumpur in in 4 days for Melbourne. Gary, Ashley and I were thinking of going to Singapore without the parents for two days before we leave for Australia. It costs approximately $160CAN to travel there and back and we found it a bit pointless to only stay there for that short period of time. So we decided after we come back to Kuala Lumpur from Melbourne, Australia, we’ll leave for Singapore with my parents then. My brain is starting to malfunction. I’ll keep you posted,
Love,
Elle. xoxo
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