Christmas Day

 Merry Christmas!!!

We had no intentions of doing anything this morning, so we slept late, lounged in bed drinking coffee and watched a college football game on TV. It was Christmas Eve back home and I called my dad's house where my family was gathered for the annual Christmas Eve party. The phone was passed as I talked to everyone and even took a family photo. We took hot showers, again; just can't get enough of the glassed in shower, and got as dressed up as possible. Basically all this means is that we put on a clean shirt, our long pants and a little make-up.

Yesterday we had made a reservation at the San Francisco Steak House for 2:30 pm. It seemed appropriate that we would have Christmas dinner there since we were also missing our peeps in San Francisco. We went to the front desk and asked our buddy to call us a cab. We could hear him telling them that we wanted to go to the Petronas Towers. After a few calls, he told us that he had contacted 4 companies but no one would come. Maybe if we offered to pay and extra 5 ringgits.

P- What!?!

G- Oh no! We're not having this shit on Christmas Day. Let's just go catch the metro.

P- I don't want to be sweaty while I eat Christmas dinner, and we're wearing long pants so we'll be sweating before we get to the top of the hill.

Desk clerk – Try to stop a taxi on your way to the train. Walk to left because that is direct street to Towers.

P- I can't believe this shit!

We walked to the street and started walking to the left. It wasn't long before we flagged down a cab with a driver willing to put on the meter. We turned left on the main street leading to the towers and came to a complete stop in traffic. We took this opportunity to write down the info posted in the cab on how to report any misconduct by cab drivers. As it turned out, we sat in that traffic for about 45 minutes and would have been better off taking the metro. At least this cab driver was nice enough to call the restaurant, on his cell phone, and tell them we were running late.

Finally we arrived at the towers/Suria Mall. It was more crowded than Christmas Eve!!!! Most of the people with dinner reservations weren't coming until 7 or 8 pm, so we were seated in a room all to ourselves, with a huge mural of scenes from San Francisco to one side and windows overlooking the park and fountain to the other. It was Christmas, so we were going all out!! Phyl ordered a glass of white wine and I order an absolute and tonic. We were served bread, that was fairly close to sourdough, and garlic butter. It was a set menu and our appetizer was prawns, avocado & caviar. We ate slowly, savoring every bite.

We were never rushed and the meal was served at a nice pace. The main course, was turkey with gravy (the turkey was moist and very tasty), a slice of apple and walnut dressing (too small, but yummy), mixed vegetables that included brussel sprouts, and REAL mashed potatoes with gravy. We chewed slowly and savored every single bite. It was practically orgasmic!!!! Not a grain of rice was in sight. Halfway through our meal, we ordered another round of drinks. It's Christmas! To hell with our budget!

Dessert was the only disappointing aspect of the meal. Listed as Christmas pudding, it was really some kind of fruitcake with powdered sugar and a cream sauce. We tried to pick out the bread portion and dip it into the sauce. No matter, the meal had been very yummy. We savored the remainder of our cocktails, paid our bill (about $80.00 USD) and went downstairs and sat by the fountain. The day was cloudy and cool, the area around the fountain was packed with people and we enjoyed the evening people watching and sitting.

Around 7:00 pm we took the metro, walked back to our hotel, and watched Indiana Jones as we ate butter cookies and drank milk. Once it got late enough to be Christmas morning back in New Orleans, Phyl called her family. Even though there had been nothing traditional about it, the day had been enjoyable.

Christmas Eve

G- What time is it?


P- 10:00 am.

G- Damn! It is so dark in here. What are we going to do with that a/c? I was freezing to death last night.

P- It was cold, but I didn't do it. It has a mind of it's own. I set it on a high number, like 21 C or something.

G- I think that is about 74 F, but it's still too cold. Tonight let's set it on 23 C or 24 C. I'm going to take a hot shower to warm up and just because we're paying a lot for a nice shower.

We left the hotel and headed for the Petronas Towers; today we were going to learn the metro system. The doorman gave us directions to supposedly, the closest metro station. We walked around, across, up 2 flights of stairs, down 1 and finally arrived at the ticket counter. After extensive consultation with the woman in the ticket booth and reading the brochure cover to cover, we determined that the Kuala Lumpur (KL) metro was a hodge podge of different lines, not well connected, and requiring you to purchase a new ticket for almost every segment in order for it to be cost effective.

G- Well, the Singapore metro is infinitely more user friendly.

P- Yes, this seems like it's going to be a pain in the ass.

We purchased a ticket to Masjid Jamek where we'd have to switch trains. As we exited the train, we heard the call to prayer, and realized that we were next to the Masjid Jamek Mosque, built 1909, and the first brick Mosque in the city. The Mosque was full and the men were spilling out onto the street all around it. We stood on the train landing and watched for a while, then exited, passing even more men, on their prayer rugs, lining the walls of the metro station.

P- Where do the women pray when the call to prayer sounds? All I see are men. WTF?

G- Beats the hell out of me. Maybe they just celebrate the call to prayer by taking off their headscarves and dancing around while the men are gone off to pray in their sexist little groups.

P- That's what I'd do. I take off all those layers of cloth too and dance around naked!

G- Damn! I wonder how many men are down there and in the streets surrounding the Mosque.

P- A hell of a lot. Come on! We still have to make our way across the street, through the traffic and find the station for the green line so we can get to KLCC which is the Petronas Towers stop.

Up more steps, down other steps and finally we caught the green line. Again we compared this system to Singapore's which had all lines meet in clean, efficient transfer stations with escalators. Finally, after an hour to go only a few miles, we reached the Petronas Towers' mall, called Suria. We purchased sandwiches and sat in front of the towers while we ate. The towers were very beautiful, drawing from Islamic Architecture, and appearing to be cut crystal. As we walked through the towers and the Suria Mall, we were amazed at the stores lining the main entrance: Gucci, Ferragamo, Cartier, Prada, Tiffany, Bally, Chanel, & Hermes. The main atrium was decorated for Christmas with several purple Christmas trees and a stage. Also, the place was packed. It was Christmas Eve, but in a country 65% Muslim, it seemed odd that the decorations and music would be so over the top for Christmas.

We went upstairs to get information about the tickets for the sky bridge on the 44th floor. We learned that the tickets were free, but it was a high tourist time and if we wanted tickets, we'd have to be in the queue by shortly after 7:00 am and the first group was allowed in at 10:00 am.

G- Well, you can rest easy, because I'm absolutely not getting up at 6:00 am to run that metro gauntlet, so that I can stand in line for 3 hours, to take an elevator to the 44th floor of this building. Not unless they're going to give me a million dollars when I get up there.

P- You know I'm not going to cry about that since I hate heights anyway.

G- The guidebook said that it is easy to go up the KL Tower and the view is just as good.

P- Sounds good to me.

We walked to the back of the Petronas Towers and through the park.  We passed very old bayon trees with huge hanging roots.  Of course I could not resist the urge to get up in them. Then we sat by the huge fountains and watched the people go by.

P- This reminds me a little of sitting by the Trevi Fountain. Not exactly, but......

G- I get your point. My feet are killing me and it's not as hot here, so I'm happy just to sit and enjoy the fountain.

P- Look up there! San Francisco Steak House.

G- We should check that out; they might have a Christmas dinner.

P- What are we going to do tonight? It is Christmas Eve and I'm sure you're gonna get a little mopey because you're missing home.

G- Yeah. I've been fine, even Thanksgiving wasn't that big a deal, but you know I like my traditional Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Not that we've had that in the last 2 years, since we moved to California, but at least we ate the same foods and talked to our peeps back home.

P- I'm not excited about having rice for Christmas or Christmas Eve either.

G- I saw a Cold Storage Grocery in the mall. We should check it out and see if we can find anything that we might want to eat for dinner.

P- Worst case scenario, there is a KFC in there and we can at least get some fried chicken and mashed potatoes.

G- That'll work if nothing else, but I want my Italian foods...... salami, red wine, olives, cheese, ham, and your potato salad. My gawd, I'd kill for that salami from Milan and the Italian goat cheese that Habib turned us on to.

P- That's not gonna happen, but let's see what we can do.

We walked back into the Cold Storage Grocery and passed a small wine display. Maybe there was hope.

P- OMG! They have some cheeses. Look!!!!!

G- What kind? Oh! They have Brie, Gruyere, Gouda, Gorgonzola........ I'm so excited!!!!!

P- And fancy crackers over here!! And that 3 in 1 coffee that was pretty good. Get a basket!!!

We felt as though we had hit the jackpot and scurried around the store, wide eyed, like kids Christmas morning.

P- Look in the back!!!! A small wine department.

G- I'm salivating!!!! We haven't had wine since we left home. We must have wine for Christmas Eve!!

P- Did you see the tiny deli just outside the wine area that had a selection of meats and salami?

G- No!

P- Yes! Go get us some salami and I'll look at our wine options.

I selected an Italian salami and while waiting for it to be cut, read the sign on the wall just outside the wine section...............

"It is unlawful to sell wine to anyone under 18 years or a Muslim."

G- Hmmmm. Good thing we're not wearing our burqas or we couldn't buy wine.

P- Do all non Muslims carry a card saying it's ok to sell them wine?

G- I don't know, but I'm glad we look like two big, white, westerners. I'd hate to have to beat someone's ass for this wine because I AM having wine and cheese tonight and gawd help the person who tries to stop me.

P- You get em baby!

We left the cold storage very excited and with 2 bags full of goodies........... Gouda & Gruyere cheeses, Italian salami, a bottle of Argentinian Pinot Noir, instant (but tasty) coffee, sesame crackers, chocolate chip cookies and milk!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Because of the cold items, we decided to take a taxi, so we headed for the taxi stand in front of the towers.

Taxi driver #1 – You need taxi?

P- Yes. (we walked to the car)

Taxi driver #1 – Where you go?

P- Olympic Hotel.

Taxi driver #1 – 25 ringgits.

P- The sign on your car says you're a metered taxi and not allowed to negotiate. I want you to use the meter.

Taxi driver #1 – No. I not take you.

P- You will not take us with the meter?

Taxi driver #1 – No. (becoming hostile)

P- Is it not far enough for you?

Taxi driver #1 – No.

P- Asshole. (we walked a little further down the line of taxis)

Taxi driver #2 – Taxi?

P- Yes.

Taxi driver #2 – Where you go?

P- Olympic Hotel. With the meter.

Taxi driver #2 – No.

P- No? Why in the hell are you sitting at the taxi stand if you do not want to drive people anywhere?

Taxi driver #2 – 20 ringgits.

P- The sign on your car says that you are not allowed to negotiate. I want the meter.

Taxi driver #2 – No. (also becoming hostile)

P- This is bullshit!

G- Come on. Don't start shit with these assholes. We're in a foreign country!

P- Why the hell are they in the taxi line? Why are they asking us if we want a taxi if they don't want to take us anywhere? And the sign says they must use the meter.

G- Shhhh! Shut up! Let it go before you get us killed. We're taking the metro.

P- Pisses me off!!! Sons of bitches!!!

G- I know muffin. They are total assholes, but we cannot do anything about it and I don't want to be killed before I eat my cheese and salami and drink my damn wine!!! Now zip it!

P- Fuckers! My milk had better not get hot!

G- They're dicks, but don't let them ruin your evening. Your milk will be ok. Now that we know where we're going, we'll do this faster.

Phyl settled down as we road the metro back to the hotel. On the 6 block walk from the metro station to the hotel we stopped at Circle K (there's one on every corner) and got an ICEE. It was still early, maybe only 6:30, but we were in for the night, so we we showered off the sweat of the day and put on our pajamas. The movie channel was playing Santa Clause 2.

Later, after it was dark, we opened the curtains to enjoy the skyline and the Petronas Towers, so beautifully lit up at night. We used Gmail to call our families and some friends. It lifted our spirits to talk to our peeps. Then we opened our wine and ate our cheese and salami. Die Hard 1 & 2 came on TV. Well, when you're desperate for something, in English, to watch, almost anything will do. We lounged on our 2 pillows each and later had milk and cookies. It wasn't our best Christmas Eve, but the evening wasn't so terrible.

Chinatown in Every City

Some of the Trip Advisor reviews had said that the hotel was not centrally located, but we were happy with the location. We exited the hotel and walked only 2 blocks before arriving in Chinatown. One block further was Petaling Street which, according to the map of walking tours, was the primary street bazaar for tourists and locals. We walked down 3 blocks and looked at the items for sale and a few street food vendors. Several food carts had chestnuts roasting on an open fire! It was the first time we'd ever seen that..

P- Did you see her?

G- The woman in the complete black burqa with only her eyes showing?  Yes, I saw her.

P- First one I've seen since we've been in Asia.

G- Yep.  Headscarves are one thing, but that I could never get use to.  It's disturbing to see it.

P- Not to mention that it is hot as hell and she is covered from head to toe in these layers of black fabric.


Turning left we headed toward the river and to the Central Market (c.1888), remodeled in the 1930s in an art deco style, and today housing 228 shops selling traditionally Malaysian arts and crafts. There were many beautiful, handmade items for sale that exceeded the backpackers' budget. We then walked along Jalan Petaling with shops built in the 1920s in the Dutch style.

P- Ugh! What the hell is that smell?

G- Smells like rancid fish. Hello! This would be the cause of the smell.

P- (The shop contained huge bins all kinds of dried fish and shrimp.) Who shops here and actually uses this nasty shit?

G- I can't imagine it. Walk faster!!!

We turned a few corners in search of the Sze Ya Temple, built in 1864, and were confused as to its location until we looked up and saw the fascade of the building.

G- Well this is a disappointment. The gates are shut tight and all I can see is cars parked inside.

P- This is the temple?

G- I think so. Let's go find the Hindu temple.

We walked another few blocks until we came upon the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple. It was spectacular and we stood on the opposite street corner admiring the intricate carvings of Hindu gods. It was bright and colorful and a 5 tiered pyramid served as the gate to the temple. We were mesmerized. Entering the gate we gave our shoes to the gatekeeper and noticed that some sort of ceremony was taking place so we entered the main building and sat quietly on the side watching the ceremony.

P- It looks like a baby christening, or whatever it is called for a Hindu ceremony.

G- I think you're right. It seems like the priests are blessing the participants as they make their offerings and go into that room with the elephant god.

P- It's very interesting. The parents and the baby are leaving and going around the back. Let's go see.

We followed to another alter around the back and watched a more intimate ceremony as the baby was placed on the step of the little alter and the priest prayed above him/her.

After the ceremony we walked around the temple and admired the Italian & Spanish tiles depicting stories of Hinduism. It was the most beautiful temple we had seen so far. Later we walked back through Chinatown, selecting a restaurant near our hotel. Using the term restaurant may not be appropriate as we literally sat on plastic chairs, at little fold up tables, on the sidewalk.

P- It's a good thing the food is good, because the ambience sucks.

G- I love inhaling bus fumes and having bus and car occupants watch me as I eat dinner. That being said, we must have made a good selection because the place is packed with people who look local.

P- This may be the best fried rice we've had so far.

G- What's in those containers? Frogs & crabs? The food sure is fresh! You order frog, one of those poor bastards gets its throat slit.

The walk back to the hotel was, of course, up hill, but at least it was dark, so it wasn't as hot. I stood in the shower luxuriating in the hot water. It was wonderful!!! The little things in life are the things we miss most.

P- How was it?

G- Positively fantastic!!! But the weird thing is that there is no place to put your products. There is a tiny soap dish mounted to the wall, but there is no place to put your shampoo or conditioner. Surely Asian people use products? Where the hell do they put them?

P- I don't know. That part makes no sense to me.

The bed was wonderful and the multiple fluffy pillows almost put us into a state of ecstacy. How we have missed our fluffy pillows! We left the curtains open and admired the Kuala Lumpur night skyline. The Petronas Towers looked like cut crystal shimmering in the darkness. At midnight the towers' lights were turned off and we took that as our que to go to sleep. We slept like babies.
 

Want Some Mayo With That Corn?

Over breakfast we said our good-byes to, and exchanged email addresses with, Nancie and Liz & Esmond. Nancie and Kenny, and later the cab driver, recommended that we use the bus service called Transnational, so when the cab dropped us off at the bus station, we went straight to the Transnational counter. It was about 9:30 am, and the next Transnational bus didn't leave until 12:00, but we decided to stick with the recommendations and just wait instead of taking a different bus service. Phyl continued to be worried about a life ending bus crash, but Nancie had endorsed the tire treads on this particular bus line. The bus tickets were about $6.50 each and the ride would take about 3 hours. We found some seats and hunkered down for some people watching.


G- Have you noticed the chickens in the atrium area behind us?

P- What?! That's a strange place for chickens.

G- Maybe they lay the eggs served at one of these stands.

P- I'm hungry. Give me some money and let me go see what I can find to eat. (After a few minutes she returned with 2 containers of popcorn.) We are having popcorn for breakfast. It appears to be our safest option in this bus terminal. Some kernals are covered in caramel and some are not, which is strange because she did not pour caramel on them, so I'm not quite sure how you get a mixed bucket like this.

G- Whatever. I'm happy whenever I can have popcorn of any kind.

P- The stand next to the popcorn stand was a corn stand. They sold little cups of corn kernals and you could choose which “flavor” you wanted. The corn wasn't flavored, she actually poured the topping over the corn. Blech! Some of them were absolutely disgusting............ mayo, milk, chicken, & ice cream, and the others were pretty normal..... butter & black pepper.

G- Very bizarre! I know Miche & Christine would have been salivating over the corn with mayo. I'm glad you settled on the caramel popcorn. I'm going to find the bathroom; hand me the bag of pinky and toilet paper.

P- I'll sit with the stuff and go when you come back.

G- (Upon my return) Here, there is no toilet paper and they're all squat toilets, so take the bag. And you need 20 cents. If the call to prayer sounds while you're waiting to use the toilet, there are prayer rooms, but be sure to go into the women's prayer room.

P- What the hell?

G- Yes, and if you need a headscarf for the prayer room, you can buy one at the shop on the way to the bathroom.

P- What did you do, walk all over the terminal?

G- The bathroom is on the other side, so I had to walk past all the shops. If you want another snack, there is a shop with a display of dates from all over the world. They look fantastic!!

P- You're a little freak. That's why I love you.

G- Shut up and go to the bathroom with your plastic pink penis and 20 cents!!

At 11:45 a large pink bus with the word NICE written on the side pulled into our bay. We guessed that it was our bus because it matched the picture on the ticket. We joined the group of people giving their luggage to the driver and were glad that we had brought large black bags, that could be locked, to put our backpacks into. It was another great idea gleaned from reading others' blogs. The bus was very comfortable and we were surprised to learn that there was a bus attendant who served hot and cold beverages. We each got a box of cold tea and Phyl proceeded to squirt tea on herself as she stuck in the straw.

G- Hmmm. How many times are you going to squirt yourself before you learn not to squeeze the box when you push in the straw.

P- Shut up! I'm not use to drinking out of a box! How do kids do this without squirting themselves?

G- Makes you wonder doesn't it? Makes me wonder why kids can do it and you can't.

P- Shut the hell up before I squirt YOU with my tea box!!!!!

G- Hee hee.

Time passed quickly and we were soon in the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. Multistoried apartment buildings lined the freeway and dotted the skyline. After 15 minutes, The Petronas Towers and the KL Tower came into view. It was a very large city of approximately 7 million. The bus finally stopped in front of KL Sentral and some of the people started to disembark.

G- Do you think we're supposed to get off here or you think it's just the first of many stops?

P- Well, it was supposed to be a direct bus to the center of KL without other stops.

G- That was the deal with the bus to Melaka too, but we made several other stops anyway.

We looked at some of the other riders and they looked at us. I asked a woman if this is where we were supposed to get off, but she just shrugged her shoulders at me and looked around as though she also had no idea whether to get off or not.

G- I'm going to get off and ask the bus driver. (I was met at the door by the bus attendant.) We get off here? Can we get a train or metro to other parts of the city from here?

Bus attendant – Yes. You get off here.

G- (to the bus driver) Is this where we get off? (It was then that I noticed our bags were already out of the baggage compartment and on the ground. Poking my head back into the bus.....) Phyl! Come on. This is where we're getting off.

P- Where are we?

G- I have no idea.

P- Can we catch the metro inside?

G- Gladys, I've never been here before. Let's go inside and ask.

We soon discovered that we could catch the metro from that location, but we had to walk around the building, through the construction, across the street, and down into the metro station. Nothing about that sounded good, espcially without a sherpa, so we went back outside and hailed a taxi. The driver told us it would be 15 ringgits and although we had no idea if that was good or not, it was only $5.00 USD, so we agreed.

The ride was a short one, and we were delighted when we pulled up in front of the Olympic Hotel. The lobby looked very nice and as we checked in, Phyl asked for a room with a view of the Petronas Towers. Once in the room, we were thrilled with our special Christmas accommodation. The view was fantastic!!! We had a king size bed with 4 fluffy pillows, a flat screen TV, and best of all, a bathroom with a large counter top (by Asian standards) and a glassed in shower that we shared with no one. Yippee!!!!!

G- OMG! I can't wait to take a shower and not have to straddle the toilet or hold the nozzle to keep it from spraying all over the bathroom!!!

P- I'm looking forward to not having to walk through and stand in water when I get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom.

G- Amen to that!!! Let's go see some of the city.

Western Day in Melaka

We spent half the morning looking for accommodation in Kuala Lumpur. All of the guests were getting involved in helping us find a place with suggestions, guide books, maps and websites. Finally we found a place via LateStays.com, a website that Nancie suggested. With that monkey finally off our backs, we headed out to the Chinese cemetery...............


P- Can I bitch everyday about having to climb a million steps to get to everything we want to see?

G- Yes you can. I believe that it's warranted. My legs hurt so much........

P- And the problem is that everyday they start to hurt earlier and earlier in the day.

G- I'm there with ya sista. Not to mention the fact that I am so damn sick and tired of sweating. It's like a little slice of hell while we're trying to have our adventure of a lifetime.

Finally reaching the top of the very large hill, we enjoyed the views of Melaka and walked through the graves. There was a nice breeze at the top of the hill and the clouds moved in signaling rain. We were thrilled. After walking around for several hours, we returned to the guesthouse to cool off and decide where we'd go next.

G- Hanna & Mike told us that there was a movie theater in that mall that's a few blocks away, and it looks like it's going to be a rainy afternoon, do you want to go see a movie?

P- I would love to sit in the a/c and watch a movie. Also, I'd love to have some popcorn!!

We walked over to the mall and on the way spotted a McDonald's.

G- I know we said we would not eat at McDonald's while in Asia, but I'm ready to say screw that!!! How about you?

P- Yes. I need a burger and something that reminds me of food from home; let's eat at McDonald's. Also, I'd love to have a big diet coke with ICE!!!!!  And NO rice!!!

We went into the McDonald's and got quarter pounder meal deals with cokes and ice. The cashiers were girls and wore uniforms, complete with black headscarves. All of the food cost about $5.00 USD. The McDonald's was hopping because it was right next to the mall and near the university.

G- When we first entered Malaysia I was startled, or it would turn my head, to see women in headscarves, but now I'm kind've getting use to it. It still is weird seeing McDonald's uniforms that include headscarves, but I can totally see how you'd think nothing of it if you grew up with it.

P- I was skeptical when Zareel told us that there is no specific age when girls start wearing them, but since we've been here, I've seen very young girls in them, and some older ones that might just have a loose scarf or none at all.

G- Yeah, I can't figure out the rule or maybe it just depends on the girl or on the girl's parents. And, even though we know the whole cover yourself with a headscarf rule is just some bullshit made up by Muslim men who wrote/write the rules of the religion, these women don't seem beaten down.

P- I thought Muslim women had to walk behind their husbands, but most couples walk side by side and some even hold hands.

G- I've noticed that too. And the men are much more engaged with caring for the children than I would’ve expected. But I think it is much more liberal here than in the Middle East. Some of the scarves and shirts are very pretty.

P- Some women definitely use their headscarves like accessories. They are pretty, but in this heat, I don't know how they can wear them without dropping dead from heatstroke.

After eating our lunch we went into the mall and up to the 5th floor to the theater. Our choices were limited, especially if we wanted to watch a movie in English, so we selected The Social Network.

G- 2 for Social Network.

Cashier – Pick seats.

P- We select our seats now?

Cashier – Yes.

The computer screen showed the whole theater and we selected our seats. The cashier printed the tickets which included our selected seats.

P- That sure is a nice perk. Now we can walk around the mall and come back just before the movie starts.



escalator from the movie

 We ended up in a Carrefour Grocery that was in the mall. Carrefour carries a lot of western food items. We could hear the thunder and rain outside, so we bought 2 umbrellas.

G- Look! Frosted Flakes!!! I'm buying some.

P- And I'm buying some Pringles. What the hell?! Look at these flavors.................. soft shell crab, seaweed & shrimp, honey & basil, and original.............These are the freakiest flavors I've ever heard of!!! I think I'll just get original.

G- We also need more laundry detergent. Hey, look at these bars.

P- A bar of Fab! I remember that from when I was a kid and it's the only one I recognize, so we're going with that. That first one we bought did not smell so good and I don't want to have to re-wash my drawers in dandruff shampoo for them to smell clean.



blueberry & hazelnut, soft shell crab

 G- I think it will be easier to wash with a bar instead of powder. Let's get 2 bars.

We also found a box of Nature's Valley breakfast bars and bought that. Then we headed back to the movie theater where they confiscated our bag of groceries and put them in a locker. We did purchase popcorn, but unfortunately they only had caramel popcorn and not plain. That was a disappointment, but we ate the caramel popcorn, shared a coke and watched the movie while sitting in the a/c. It was sheer heaven!!!

At breakfast we had made plans with Nancie to meet her for dinner, so we hurried back to the homestay, picked up Nancie and set off to find a place to eat. Liz & Esmond had recommended a place so we went there. Unfortunately it was closed when we arrived, even though it was only 7:30 pm. Since that place was closed, we walked around the corner and selected a Portuguese/Malaysian restaurant with a/c. We split 2 pitchers of ice cold beer, spinach, calamari cooked in green curry and spicy BBQ shrimp. It was an expensive dinner, by Malaysian standards, and cost us $30.00 USD for the 2 of us, but it was very enjoyable!



neighborhood kids playing Manchala

 Earlier in the day we had agreed to share a cab, with Nancie, to Kuala Lumpur, but over dinner we realized that we were leaving in the morning and she was staying 1 more day. That plan dashed, when we returned to the homestay, Kenny arranged for a cab to pick us up in the morning to take us to the bus station. Nancie had needed to leave at 6:00 am to catch her flight in KL, we were more flexible so we didn't have to leave until 8:30 am. I sent the KL hotel info to my mom just in case we were never heard from again. I had started doing this as a safety precaution. Then we showered and went to bed.

The View From the Top

We had, of course, showered last night because we do not like to go to sleep sweaty, smelly, & covered in bug spray. This bathroom was like the one we had in Singapore because it was one small room with a toilet, sink, and shower nozzle on the wall. It was definitely a shit, shower & shave situation like on a boat. There was an anteroom where we left our towels and pajamas. The shower was hot and there was a shelf for our products, which was a big deal because most showers/bathroom have no place to put your shampoo/conditioner/razor. The biggest problem with this bathroom was the fact that everything got wet, so if you wanted to use the toilet, you always had to be standing in water and the toilet seat was wet. Shoes had to be taken off and left in the entrance way, so we were always barefoot.


The coffee was excellent; the best we had tasted so far!! The breakfast was interesting, consisting of local fare. The only options that seemed even remotely breakfast like were a thin pancake/crepe with a coconut/sugar filling & toast with jam.

P- Gi, you want something to eat?

G- It's still kind've early for food, but what are my options?

P- This is a naan with curry sauces for dipping; sticky rice wrapped in a banana leaf, and I'm not sure what that is.

G- I'll just have coffee and one of these rolled up pancake/coconut things.

P- The naan and sauces look good, if I was eating lunch.

We chatted more with Nancie, then headed out to explore the UNESCO sites. We headed up to the Portugese Fort (c.1512) & St. Paul's Church built on top of the hill ...........

P- For the love of God!  Why is everything on top of  hill? 

G- Growing up in New Orleans we never had to deal with hills.  At least our asses are getting a good workout.

P- And our hearts, but this might kill me.  Look, even kids are panting on their way up the stairs!!!

G- But the view from the top is fantastic!!

P- If I can make it to the top, I'm sure I'll enjoy the view.

After exploring the fort, we went to the oldest Muslim Mosque in Malaysia, (Kampung Hulu Mosque built in 1782) where we saw a man sound asleep at one of the doorways & kids playing by the fountain.

P- Are we allowed to go up there?

G- I think if we remove our shoes we can go on the porch surrounding the main room, but I'm not sure if we're allowed inside.

P- I wonder if sleeping beauty is supposed to be watching the tourists.

G- If he is, he's doing a poor job. I guess we'd better just look in since we're unsure of the rules.

We then stopped for lunch at a cafe and drank our first Tiger Beers. Pinky made another appearance due to the squat toilet. Then we went to the oldest Chinese Temple in Malaysia. (Cheng Hoon Teng Temple, c.1645) The temple was beautiful, and inside we stood for a long time watching and experiencing a Buddhist Nun chanting and clanging wooden dowel and a gong. Many Chinese came to the temple, lit incense and prayed. We sat in the courtyard for an hour and watched the coming and going of the worshipers.

G- Do you feel the spirituality and sincerity in the offerings of each person?

P- Yes. Instead of a big group thing like I've experienced at western churches, this seems much more individual. It seems each person is coming to the temple because they feel a connection to God at this time rather than having to be at a church service on Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning.

G- It is nice that the church is open all day long and you can come when you want rather than when you're told. It seems to me that western religions want you to go to God through the church rather than via a personal relationship. Maybe we're wrong, because we don't know all that much about Buddhism, and I'm sure they have all their ritualistic crap just like western religions..................

P- Yes, but I feel like the most important thing in western religions is being seen in church at the appropriate time.

We walked back to the guesthouse to cool off and wait for Zareel to get off work at 6:00 pm. His girlfriend was supposed to meet us and she was going to take us to her favorite Chinese restaurant. We were in the anteroom area desperately looking for a place to stay in Kuala Lumpur. Initially we were planning to go to the Cameron Highlands for Christmas, but we could not get a bus directly from Melaka and would have to go through Kuala Lumpur. Also, we were having difficulty finding lodging in the Cameron Highlands.

G- Shit! I had no idea we would have such trouble finding a place to stay over Christmas!

P- I know! How were we to know that Asians had vacation time and traveled over the Christmas holidays? Especially in Malaysia where they're mostly Muslims, why would we expect them to be traveling?

G- They're not celebrating Christmas, they're traveling because the kids are out of school for winter break. Americans travel too, but they don't stay at hotels, they torture themselves by staying with family. It's part of their Christmas penance! Travel like Mary & Joseph and pray you get to stay in a stable instead of a relative's house.

P- Well, I wish they would have all stayed home so we could find a room. Just another reason to dislike Christmas.

While we were searching for a place to stay, Corine was also on her computer.

Corine – Excuse me. My son is not around to help me and I'm trying to send a message to several friends through my Facebook, can you show me how?

G- Sure. (I showed her how to input multiple names.)

P- (whispering to me) Is it not hysterical that a 60 something, Chinese, grandma, living in Melaka is asking us for help with her Facebook page?

G- Yes. Facebook is everywhere!!! It is scarey that the one thing almost all cultures now have in common is Facebook.

Samuel stuck his head in the door and told us all to come to the gazebo to taste some things he and Nancie picked up at the Chinese market. We had just started putting different foods onto our plates when the skies opened and it began to storm. We all ran under the gazebo to eat and ended up sitting out there for several hours to talk...........Liz and Esmond from S. Africa, Nancie from S. Korea via Nova Scotia, Corine & Samuel (Chinese Catholics), Zareel (Malay Muslim), Zareel's girlfriend (Chinese Buddhist) & agnostic Lesbians. We ate fried noodles, fried rice, dragon fruit, white & yellow papaya, something that looked like a little donut and was made with coconut, and sticky rice & pork tamale type thing.

We sat in a circle eating and talking about traveling, our countries, cooking, religions, and customs. Corine told us about her son switching from Catholicism to Islam because he was disillusioned with western religions and was searching for something else. Kenny was seeking approval, but he'd have to get it from his dad, Samuel. Samuel told us that he was not at all thrilled, but what would he do? He could withhold his approval and lose his only son, or he could accept it, which is what he did. Although, interestingly enough, one of their conditions was that Kenny not have a wife who wore a headscarf. They were very much opposed to that. Kenny agreed and is now married to a Muslim woman who does not wear a headscarf.

After the rain stopped and the food was gone, we went into the wet bathroom and took showers and got into bed under our disco, zebra blankets.

G- Don't you think it's interesting that the headscarf was such an issue in Corine's & Samuel’s acceptance of Kenny's conversion to Islam?

P- Her comments indicated that she didn't like the way women were forced to hide their heads under the scarves.

G- Clearly Corine is a strong, progressive woman and didn't raise her son to support the subjugation of women. The whole headscarf thing was really startling to me when we first got to Malaysia, but I'm kind've getting use to it now.

P- Yeah. I'm getting use to seeing it, and some of them are really pretty. You can see that some women make them fashionable.

G- And every religion subjugates women. Hell, even Corine's religion still refuses to allow women to become priests or hold any position of authority within the church.

P- Yeah and that'll never change because men run all religions.

G- I'm just trying to be open as we travel and not allow prejudices or preconceived ideas to cause me to judge these people's cultures and religions.

P- I agree.................ZZZZZZZZZ (Phyl had been horizontal for over 5 minutes and had held onto wakefulness about as long as she could.)