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.)