Snapshots of Life!

First night in Malaysia

Don't you just love the first few nights in a new country? It's the one time you are hyper sensitive and notice the little things that are different, maybe ask questions when people are a little more forgiving because you are new to the country.

I still recall the first few nights I spent in places like India, China, the States, Europe with fondness....it helps that one is jet-lagged too so you just lie in bed and "listen to your surroundings tell their story".

The good...

So Malaysia....i have been getting up at 4am automatically no matter how late I sleep. Lucky for me, I have my laptop next to me and can blog my thoughts (it was harder in india but I got around it by writing). In India, I remember the heat, the rat that was on the window sill of my room, the wild dogs barking, the donkeys braying, the wild pigs. Here in Malaysia, the nights are cool...and yes, I still hear dogs barking but they are probably guard dogs. I did hear some wierd sounds, like pigs or something snorting (then again I could be imagining things because I live in Bangsar and I don't think there are villages here).

I heard some guy's Nokia phone go off repeatedly at 5am. I know because I have the same Nokia ring tone. (He has good taste! lol!)

I saw the moon, it's a full moon...really bright and watched it move across the sky. Then realized it was our planet that was spinning, not the moon. It's 6:20am here, I have to "get up" in another 1.5 hours for work...

So first time in Malaysia after 10 years....the landscape has changed alot! Besides the famous Petronas towers....there's definitely more concrete in the city. Thank god I brought my bonsai kit, I need greenery and will probably buy plants for my room. Maybe this would be a good time to start my bonsai hobby...

Food is cheap here....i ordered pizza for dinner yesterday (i know that's lame because the local food is so good but it was 11pm when i got hungry). pizzas are cheap in the states and huge! In Asia, I guess Western food is expensive.....it only hit me later that I had blown 40 Ringget on pizza (local meals cost 5 Ringget at most)! The portions are definitely smaller....though they have this cool dessert "Banana Kaya Pizza" which was yummilicious!

The people I have met so far -- Dani, Mike, Khailee, Anita are awesome, and have made every effort to make sure I am comfortable in Malaysia.

What feels wierd?
Tipping is not the norm in Malaysia, and it's wierd because it also feels like there is an expectation that one should be served by others in restaurants here. The pizza delivery boy walked away without getting tip money, people don't seem to smile or say "hi, how are you" (i don't think they care how my day was though)...we wait for the waiter to pull tables and chairs together when it probably would have been faster and easier to just do it ourselves. (Then again, there usually is some table numbering system so we needed to wait for someone else to do it.) I smiled at the cashier in this indian restaurant the day before, and he actually seemed happy. I hope he doesn't think I am hitting on him, but I was thinking if a smile could make someone's day....why don't people smile more in Asia? Im going to start a "Let's smile" campaign in KL, so that people won't just walk around being so inward focused.

posted by Li'er @ 6:12 AM