Getting My Sarong On: We Like-a Melaka

We've been in Kuala Lumpur for a few days now, and I am beginning to see how it could be a nice place to live for a year or two! I know, these are bad thoughts (mom). BUT if I got offered a fabulous job and Pat got an equally fabulous job (in a perfect world), I would move here. On two conditions:

1. Air conditioning

2. A big, fat paycheck to spend on my big, fat, fabulous lifestyle.

It's actually more of a pipedream than anything...

On a different note, we really enjoyed our time in Melaka. Right now I'm going to list all the ways that Malaysia is different from Indonesia (for your viewing pleasure):

1. In Malaysia, there are few motorcycles. In Indonesia, there are few cars.

2. In Malaysia, the drivers actually drive defensively. They slow down when they see you at the side of the road. They smile and stop as you walk across the street (just the street, not a crosswalk). They give you a little wave, just so it's understood that they're not going to run you down at the first chance. Pat is bemused at my sheer awe of how nice the drivers are here, but for me, it's like a little slice of home.

3. If you step out into the street in Indonesia, you are doomed right from the beginning. First, there are the shop clerks. They shout at you as you walk past. Second, there are the beggars. Adults send their children out at night to add to the household income, which is something nobody should support. Third, and most agressively, are the transporters. And by transporters, I mean men on motorbikes, men on rickshaws, men on motorbikes with a basket attached, men on bicycles with a basket attached, men on horses, and then there are just the regular taxi and bemo (kinda like a small bus) drivers whose goal in life is to charge you, a foreigner, 100 times what they would normally charge a local. In Malaysia, we don't really need to use taxis- so far everything is pretty walkable. But when a taxi driver asks if we need a lift and we politely say "No, thank you", they just smile at you and say, "Ok, thank you!"

4. If you are trying not to get ripped off in Indonesia and you find someone you think might tell you the truth about the actual cost of things, they will usually lie to you and make you think your only option is the most expensive one. You can't really trust anyone- sometimes people genuinely help you and the others cheat you as if they're in cahoots with the bus company. This includes police officers. In Malaysia, people have actively told us who will rip us off, who to stay away from and have always listed the cheapest and most reliable options to us when questioned.

5. In Indonesia, you can be sure that you will probably need to sanitize your hands after washing them with tap water. You need to brush your teeth with bottled water. Don't get ice cubes in your drinks. Padang food (an Indonesian specialty where all of the dishes are cooked and piled up in the window and you choose which ones you want to eat and pay as you go) has usually been sitting around for a long time and you should only pick the restaurants that look like they have a good turnover rate. Coming to Malaysia, this weight has been lifted off my shoulders (at least for now). We still brush our teeth with bottled water, but it's my understanding that we don't really need to as the water is treated- like in Korea. They still have excellent Padang food here but, as Lonely Planet puts it, minus the flies. I have been enjoying decent bathrooms and refreshing showers.

That's about all I have at the moment, but don't worry because our journey through Malaysia is far from over! Mostly, we're just enjoying the nice, first world amenities. We watched a movie at the theatre last night. We went to an amazing mall, and when we went outside looking for the Petronas Towers we finally realized that they were directly above us. The mall was inside the towers. The food is a yummy combination of Malay, Chinese and Indian fare and it's all cheap, cheap, cheap!

Back to Melaka:

We liked it. We stayed at Shirah's Guesthouse where the friendly owners enjoy having a beer with their tenants on the rooftop, and often invite us out to famous restaurants around town. You should stay there if you ever go to Melaka. The rooms are cheap, and the ambiance is lovely.

Melaka is about the same size (geographically) as Halifax but it seems more like Toronto to me, with a China Town and a Little India, etc etc. It has a colonial past, just like Nova Scotia, only in Melaka the Portuguese first took it over, and then handed it over to the Dutch, who eventually gave it to the British. This gives the city a lot of European flair (and delicious Portugese pastries) as well as the exoticism associated with the Malay, Chinese and Indian cultures combined. Melaka, if you haven't figured it out already, was a very important city on the trade route. Here are some pictures!