Sunday morning I woke at 5am after a great sleep.
Was soon out walking in the cool air although it was dark. Noone around but the prayers were being chanted and broadcast.
At the closed railway station I met a couple of teenage boys drinking from a plastic bag with a straw, as in the Philippines. As almost every time, they are not confident speaking English, it seems everyone even the shop staff call upon a friend to interpret my strange accent. They are very keen to assist. The boys explained together it was teh (tea).
I met Missy's cousin a tiny calico girl, in the station, feral and hungry. Lizards scuttle almost faster than sight - then stop to wipe their whiskers - very ratlike,rather. Only one place open, need to eat something. It is a typical open air place,full of men only. It turned into a great experience the past hour. (Its now 7.15am) First I used my new word 'teh'.
It was a triple-layered feast for the eyes. My delight broke the ice. The bottomlayer of 'teh tarik' is condensed milk. The top layer is dark tea. The men were all watching morning prayers on the big screen.
I took the opportunity to break the ice first, showing the pix Kathie took of me and Len last week. "Your husband is very strong" they said, one man flexing his arms to demonstrate. They clearly approve. I showed the pix of the snow, and Eddy's broken arm. They were delighted to see Eddy and William - your Malaysian-looking friend.
So having established a little rapport, I asked - those people sitting at the side of the cafe, away from us,do they sit away because they are smoking? Because they are women? Should I be sitting over there? No No! says the man with better English. 'They sit there becuase one is a transvestite. They want privacy.'
Well I couldn't tell which one. Now the men are talking about themselves. They are all bus drivers. One told me about once shooting a wildpig with a single shot in a low powered rifle, the pig turned and gored his leg and his friend finished it off for him.
I asked if Wangsa Maju is a typical place with ordinary people - yes they said, this is typical Malaysian life. They asked if all Australians who visit Malaysia are well off?
I ordered something that looked like roti like we see in the Indian places in Chch. Always asking them to write down words in my notebook. So for breakfast I had a plate of Roti Canai (freshly cooked bread/pastry) with a bowl of 'kari ayam' - curry chicken I didn't like it, and two teh tariks. All this cost me MYR 3.40 - which is $1.50!
My camera is out of battery and the adaptor doesn't work. Wonder if I can pick up a very cheap camera. Love my new glasses, big improvement this morning even if I couldn't tell a rat from a lizard till it stopped.
Looking forward to some comments from home.
xx M
