More street art
The best Malay-style dish I had was Penang Laksa, a.k.a. Assam Laksa. This $2 bowl had a reallycomplex flavor, which makes sense since it included (according to one recipe I found) mackerel, galangal, lemongrass, ginger flowers, tamarind, pineapple, shrimp paste, turmeric, garlic, chilis (4 kinds, dried & fresh), mint, onions, shallots, lettuce, and noodles.
I had another type of Laksa, I think it was Kedah style (next province to the north), which was very not good.
Here’s a neighborly thread on Reddit, with my translation in parentheses.
Sweet-Somewhere-7124
Called Bomba (fire department) at 9pm cause a king Cobra was in my toilet trying to chase me out. 3 Bomba arrived several minutes later. And they came with only a snake catching stick and a torchlight. I had to search around my house for a thick bag cause I just threw away my rice sack. One dude kept on telling me several times that they were buka puasa-ing halfway (half-way through breakfast). I didn’t know how to reply to that so I handed him some 100 plus (local soft drink) which he dared not take?? He ordered one of his men to take instead. Is it me or should they come with a bag for king cobras? I did thank them for coming quick.
Nickckng
For future reference, if you need help with a snake, don’t call Bomba, call JPAM (Civil Defense Department), they are the ones responsible for snake infestation. Or just call 999 and have them redirect you to the proper channel.
Evilkiey91
JPAM is incredibly slow. Five years ago, a python entered my house and ate one of my kittens. I called them, and after three hours, they arrived. However, when they checked, the python was no longer there, so they left my house.
alieniter
I called JPAM for a cobra and they told me to call Bomba…
Patient_Role2800
I had a python in my backyard suffocating a civet cat last month. Called 999, got redirected to JPAM. After 15 mins JPAM called cannot come got another snake case and told me to call 999 again and ask for nearest bomba. After 1/2 hour finally bomba came but snake lari (escaped), left only the poor and very dead civet cat. I think the best thing to have is to keep the number of your nearest bomba so they can immediately attend, as JPAM can be slow. this is what the abang (brother) bomba told me.
A few notes to wrap up my impression of Malaysia.
Culture, religion, and politics.
First off, Malay is an ethnicity, Malaysia is a country. A Malay can be Malaysian, but not all Malaysians are Malay.
The mix of cultures have merged to some degree but still maintain their own identity, and seem to co-exist quite well. The population seems quite comfortable with this, but a few people I spoke with indicated that they think many politicians are using religious differences to cause conflict and gain more power. The politician’s issue is mostly that the Muslim majority is under threat by the “Nons”, the non-Malay, non-Islamic population, and needs stronger ties to the religion in order to protect their culture. (Sounds familiar). The two main parties accuse each other of not being Islamic enough. Meanwhile, I didn’t see anyone stop what they were doing when prayer was called, so I guess the threat to Islam is from within. (Which also sounds familiar).
Almost all Malay women wear a colorful headscarf, but I was not able to determine whether this is a religious, cultural, or fashion statement. I suppose it depends on who’s wearing it. Until about 30 years ago, only the most religious women wore scarves at all, so the change is fairly recent.
The only place I saw serious cultural separation is in Chinese restaurants, since both pork and beef is served. There are Chinese restaurants that advertise as “pork-free”, though.
Shopping.
It was surprising how few stores/merchants there were, and how little selection. Admittedly I’m comparing it to Thailand next door, which is like one big mall interspersed with swap meets. The necessities are certainly available, but it takes more effort than going down the block. I also noticed that stores often had only one or two of a product, though I’m not sure if that’s driven by limits on cash or things not selling quickly.
My backpack was carry-on, so I wasn’t able to carry my knife. Typically I’ll pick up a cheap one from a street vendor, but there were none to be had. I even went to two department stores, and the best I could do was a box cutter, not the best for carving a pineapple. I finally found a crappy Chinese knock-off of a Swiss army knife at a hardware store. This is very weird, since people in other SE Asia countries typically have a knife; guys with a pocket or sheath knife and often women with a paring knife in their purse or nearby. That fruit isn’t going to peel itself.
Food is everywhere, and with great variety. I did not find Malay food all that interesting, though it was certainly good. There is also plenty of Indian, Chinese, and Thai food. And KFC, of course.
In the end, I thought Malaysia was naturally beautiful, and clean & organized by Asian standards. It’s uncrowded, even in Kuala Lumpur, with 8.8 million people in the urban area. Transportation is not great outside the big cities; KL has a good but hard to decipher train and bus system, Penang has a few buses but is otherwise car-centric. The inter-city roads are great, and driving is easy outside of KL. Highly recommended for an easy and scenic getaway without language issues.
Penang has a LOT of high-rise apartments, with some really nice places along the waterfront to the north side of George Town. A modern furnished 1,000 sq ft 2-bedroom in a mid-sized building will run about $300-$500 a month. And yes, they do use sq ft, not sq meters; otherwise feet & inches are only for measuring people.