Raj left for the airport last night, and - if my calculations are correct - he will have touched down at Heathrow by now. I was sad to see him go, but we had a good run through West Malaysia and for that I must be thankful. Cheers Raj!
Kuala Lumpur bus station had the atmosphere of the New York Stock Exchange this morning when I went in to buy a one way ticket down to Melaka. It was manic.
While I was waiting in the queue a guy tried to push in front of me. I closed ranks and blocked his way. He kept on pushing. I kept blocking. He kept pushing. I should have said 'do you mind?' and he should have said: 'let me through,' but neither of us said a thing. We just kept pushing and blocking each other. Pushing and blocking. Nobody said a word. This dragged out for a while until, in the end, I decided it wasn't worth it and let him through. The woman at the counter then refused to serve him - he only had a fifty ringgit note and she couldn't change it. So he had to leave empty handed. I, on the otherhand, had a more manageable ten in my pocket and got my ticket no problem. I gave him a big broad false smile as he left. Victory does sometimes favour the meek.
I got to Melaka around 3.30pm, having left KL at 12.30pm. The bus dropped me at Sentral Bus Station, which is conveniently located seven kilometres outside of the city. With little choice in the matter, I caught a taxi into the city centre, congratulating the driver on the way for not owning a boring Proton like all the rest. He drove a Toyota Crown. 'Protons,' he muttered back contemptously, shaking his head. He took me to my guesthouse via most of Melaka's historical and noteworthy sites, giving me an informative running commentary on everything as we went. By the time we arrived I almost felt like asking him to make it a round circuit, and to just drop me straight back at the bus station. Instead I elected to give Melaka a little longer and decided I would stay as planned for two or three days.
I'm staying at Sunny's Guesthouse (Room 11) which, at sixteen ringgit a night, is my cheapest accommodation in Malaysia yet. It's quite nice for the money and well located for sites and amenities. As I write Sunny is washing all my underwear and t-shirts.
Tomorrow I'll begin having a proper look around Melaka, and hope to get a better view of the place. My initial impression is that it is quite nice but a bit lifeless and lacking in atmosphere. It's one of those towns, it seems, where the streets are wide, well spaced, and cleanly swept, but nobody seems to be on them. Where's the action?
2 comments:
Hello mate. In short it's cold, but not as freezing as I had imagined. Have been up since 4am this morning (it's now 10) and have duly finished the god of Small Things, watched a sahara and flicked through my new copy of the naked civil servant.
My taxi driver on the way to the airport was a delight - loads of great information. Name of Hassan, he had two wives and 9 children with a newbie on the way. Wife no.1 was indeed cross when the anouncement about wife no.2 was made and didn't speak to poor (?) Hassan for two years. Now everyone is happy (albeit in two seperate houses).
He pays around 300 ringitt per child per year for their education. When one of them is ill by using the government hospitals and clinics he has a reduced rate (about half) but no health care is free. He reckons about half of Malaysia's muslim men will take more than one wife.
It was a conversation I know you would have enjoyed.
Missing the adventure. Unhappily slipping back into routine.
Take it easy mate. Safe travels and cheers for a great few weeks.
See you in a few weeks my friend.
Raj.
Glad you got back safe and sound.
The nine/ten kids must be why he wanted an extra ten ringgit for the taxi. I've heard that bigamy is particularly prevalent up near Langkawi.
See you soon!
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