I had not been too attracted by this part of the world before. I think it is because I like drier lands, maybe. Or perhaps in my previous life as a RAF pilot I have been shot down in this area and now I am afraid of going back to the region. Who knows, speculations. Malaysia here I went.
Everything started off as a full immersion in Malaysian-Chinese culture, courtesy of my friends whose wedding I came for.
Hospitality is sacred and the guest gets fed, pampered, driven around, paid everything, all the time.
Breakfast means noodles, spicy chicken, rendang beef, dim sum and honey lime. Not that lunches and dinners are any different. A wedding meal has 8 courses, including rice and dessert, and has to be celebrated with loud toasts "iaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam seng" - or something like that - by the 400 or so guests.
Interesting to discuss with the locals and to learn that in their view western women are too submissive (i.e. forget about your Malaysian wife if passivity and obedience is what you are after).
And then there was Kuala Lumpur, KL, with its highways, its heat, its mix of races, its traffic jams and its breathtaking skyline.
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