Thailand & Malaysia

One of the reasons I’ve wanted to come to Malaysia is the culture. It’s a mix of Chinese, Indian, and Malaysian. The have a very large Muslim population and I believe the government is predominantly Muslim.
There is a Mosque down the street and I can hear the call to prayer several times a day. It’s really cool to hear. So many women are in hijabs, I don’t even notice anymore. They are calling to prayer again as I write.
I got up and out of the house kinda late this morning. My bedroom doesn’t have as much light as the other 2 places had so tomorrow I’m going to set my alarm. I went down to this sourdough bakery that serves a traditional Malaysian breakfast. It’s 2 pieces of toast, kava jam (which tastes like pandan or coconut) 2 soft boiled eggs and a cup of coffee.
So I go in and it’s full of Europeans and Koreans. I’m seeing a lot of young Koreans over here. Bless their hearts, (I know it’s probably the impossible beauty standards they have over there) but Lord lots of these ladies are high maintenance. And painfully thin. We think it’s bad in the States.
It’s all couples, and I’m sorry, but every single one of these guys was mansplaining something to there significant other. Every single one. I couldn’t imagine. So have I gotten lonely on this trip, maybe 1 night, but over all not really. I’m miss Mom, my dog and the cats. I miss sleeping with Cookie. She’s the best snuggler. Then Frank comes and sleeps on my head for a while. It’s lovely.
Anyway, so I finish breakfast and go off in search of the hardware store ( My host told me of one down the street so I could get my adapter). It was very close and it was great. Hardware stores are universal. Men standing in isles looking very serious and grunting to the guy working there who is helping him. I found what I wanted and wandered the isles for a bit. It was air conditioned and fun.
So I walked to the end of the block, turned the corner and another corner and found this kinda mini mall selling all of these caftans, Muslim head coverings, and long tunic sets. It was well lit and safe so I wandered down for a bit. I ended up buying 1 for 10 ringgit ($2.16) and another of better quality for 35 ringgit ($7.35). (And when I got home I put one on and they are fantastic! I want to go back and get another one!) Lol, the less expensive ones must be the ones they let the trainees make, but you have to practice before you can do the better ones right?
So then I wandered some more and found a street market. It had fish, clothes, everything. I stopped to look at some things and a man working approached me. He discussed what I was looking at, then he asked where I was from. “Belize” I replied. Figuring it was obscure enough for him not to know where that was. He asked how long I had been in Penang, how I liked it, etc. Then he asked if I was traveling alone.
I will say, this is the 1st time on this trip someone has asked me this. So I think that’s pretty good. And I had been giving my answers in the singular. So that was my bad. So he asked, “Are you traveling alone?” And I said, “No, my husband is back at the house working.” I paid for my stuff and left. But when I went home, I dug out the cheap “gold” band I had just for this purpose, and put it on. It’s ok, it’s just the culture. And I can play along. It’s just easier, and safer.
So by this time it’s 1:30 pm and hot as hell. (It must be like Florida in the summer time; the heat builds and then it rains every day at 4. Thats what it did today.) I had brought my UV umbrella and oh thank goodness for that. So I got home, took a cooling off shower, and into my caftan. Ate leftover Indian food for lunch, went upstairs in the a/c and took a nap. That couch up there is the napping Mecca as far as I’m concerned.
I got up just as it started to rain. After about an hour, it slowed down, so I went in search of a specific food vendor a few blocks down. I didn’t find her, but the vendors were setting up for the night. So it was perfect. I got some Char Kway Teow, which is a stir fried noodle dish and very tasty. I also got some satè. Which was really good.
The evenings have been really nice. This house has nice track lighting and indirect lighting. (The place in Chiang Mai, all the lights were overhead bright white, that kinda cold fluorescent that sucks the color out of everything. I swear I walked around that place in the dark. I’d turn on the bathroom light and that was it.) And they have Alexa attached to Spotify, so I’ve been listening to African music in the evening. It’s mellow and seems to fit the mood of the house in the evening.
So I’ve finished dinner, I’m writing this, the garden doors are open with the shutters open on either side of of the front door ( Just like my host suggested I do) and I look over to my right, and I spy a MOUSE making its way along the rug. 🤦‍♀️
I kinda sit up, and he turns and goes the other way. Cute little grey mouse. And I don’t want to hear it was probably a rat, it was small and I’m calling it a mouse. I got up and turned on more lights, but can’t find it. So I closed one of the garden doors and left the other slightly ajar. Lol, I don’t think that matters when there are parts of this house completely open! Ha, and it can not be the 1st time this house has had one. It’s probably lived here for years, they probably know it, have given it a name, but don’t tell guests. (Ha, I wouldn’t!)
At least the bedroom door is always kept closed. That would be the only thing slightly unnerving. Poor thing, I’m sure it’s way more afraid of me than I should be of it. I just don’t have a lot of experience with small furry things in the house ( that I didn’t bring in myself).
So, it’s 9 pm. I’m going to watch a movie and go to bed. I’ve taken a video of the house so you can get a better feel for it. Its too long though, so I’m going to show you the downstairs tonight, and the upstairs tomorrow. It’s really so comfortable.Read more