Category Archives: Malaysia

Day 205 in Beijing: Human Feet. It’s What’s For Dinner.

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DINNERTIME!!!!

DINNERTIME!!!!

Jill and I tried being fish food again.

You may remember that we did the fish feet food dinner when we visited Shanghai a few months ago.

They were tiny little fish that, when they ate the dead skin off our feet, made us laugh because it tickled us so much.

These guys were more like big fish that were really looking to be fed.

They didn’t hurt but it wasn’t as ticklish.

It took about 15 minutes, and cost about 3 dollars US, and it was well worth it.

Not only do our feet feel so much better but the looks on the faces of the people walking by, and their questions, was worth way more than we paid.

People tend to be pretty freaked out by this and I can’t really blame them.

It is a pretty strange thing to do.

I know that in China one can actually wear a swimsuit and go into the water up to their necks and have the fish clean off the dead skin from everywhere that is not covered.

I’m not sure if I’m up to that experience yet, but trust me, if I do, you will hear about it here on my blog first!

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Day 204 in Beijing: Don’t Stand. Don’t Stand. Don’t Stand So Close To Me!

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All respect to The Police and that amazing song from so many years ago.

It takes on a new meaning when one rides the subways and trains in Kuala Lumpur.

At least, it sure did for Jill and me.

If you look at the pictures, you can see that there are certain waiting areas, and coaches, only for women.

Men are not allowed on them and are not allowed to stand in the same waiting area.

There is a simple reason for this: The Muslim religion, as practiced here, does not allow for women and men to touch if they aren’t married or in a relationship.

I’ve been in other countries where the Muslim religion is the major religion and yet I have not seen this before.

I actually found it quite wonderful and quite respectful.  Instead of having men only trains, where women are not allowed, they have women only trains where men are not allowed.

Jill didn’t ride the trains, as we were together and mixed couples are not allowed on these coaches either.  Instead, we took the mixed trains and didn’t have a problem.

There were also women in our trains, many wearing the Hijab, and some wearing the full Burka, but they didn’t seem to have a problem since men tended to make sure they had enough room to stand or sit where they needed to be.

I have noticed, when we ride in shared taxis, that men will sit next to Jill.  Jill often apologizes, as she knows the customs also, and the men usually answer with something like, “It is okay.  We are commuting and it is excused.”

I have not tried to sit by women, while in taxis, and I am not sure if it would be accepted or not.  I’m guessing it wouldn’t and I’d rather not try it as I want to be as respectful of their culture as possible.

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Day 203 in Beijing: The War on Christmas?

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If you watch certain American media outlets, or read newspapers by them, there seems to be a number of people worried about a hypothetical “War on Christmas” back home.

I’m utterly confused how one can have a war on a holiday that is made up but hat is just me.

Think about it: A dude that flies around in a sleigh with a bunch of reindeer and circumnavigates the entire Earth in less than 24 hours.  This includes people who don’t believe in Santa Claus, or have never herad of him, and he still gives them gifts.

That sounds like a pretty cool guy that no one would want to go to war with.  He also doesn’t sound like anyone that would go to war, either.

One of the issues that often comes up by people who believe that there is a “War on Christmas” is that other religions are trying to take away Christmas as a holiday and make it their own or destroy it.

The fact is I live in Beijing, China and am vacationing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, right now.

According to “The War on Christmas” folk, these nations should hate Santa Claus and everything that he represents.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

China is supposedly a Communist nation that doesn’t believe in religion.  This isn’t really true because of Buddhism but we will ignore that point for now.

China spends so much money and time on Christmas that it all people need to do is visit and they will lose all fears of a war breaking out anywhere.  The people here LOVE Christmas and everything about it.  It is probably more like Christmas here than it is back in the USA.  The Chinese have more fun and less anxiety about Christmas because they love buying things and giving gifts.

Maybe we all could learn how to respect the Christmas spirit and give a little more to the needy?

In Kuala Lumpur, as you can see by the pictures, there are Christmas trees everywhere. Remember, it is about 90 degrees with 90% humidity so it isn’t like Santa is going to be flying in and landing in the snow here anytime soon.

If anything, I’d worry he’d get heat stroke and die with his big heavy coat.

Listen up, folks:  The Commies in China, and the Muslims in Malaysia, love Christmas and Santa Claus.  So, if you believe in Santa, and Christmas, relax a little bit and feel safe that nobody here wants a war.  Let alone, a War on Christmas.

I think that all people want is a little peace, love and holiday cheer.

Isn’t that what the Christmas spirit is supposed to be about anyway?

If you agree that it is, please donate to a charity or help people in need.

I have a friend that would be such a person.

Her name is Mary Resenbeck and she is stuck in an isolation ward in a hospital in San Diego.  She has diverticulitis and is having a very difficult time.

She has developed C-Diff because of the antibiotics and can not even hold, or breastfeed, her newborn 3 month old baby, Gracie.

She and her husband, Doug, have 5 children and neither of them can work at this point since Doug is taking care of the children himself.  Gracie is staying with family members since she is so young.

They have insurance but it will not cover everything they need, let alone the basic necessities that they have during this time and the months to come.

Mary may be in the hospital for months to come, as she heals, and then needs surgery to fix the ruptures in her colon and reattach it.  This is no small problem and not a quick fix.

This is the reality of life.  People need help and, if we have the means, we can choose to help them.

I donated this morning and hope you will also.

Please follow this link and help her out.  It explains her whole story and is touching and powerful that what I posted here.

Please make it a Merry Christmas for Mary, Doug and the rest of her family.

http://www.gofundme.com/5vpj88

 

Day 202 in Beijing: Take a Shower!

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The showerhead and water heater for the shower.

The showerhead and water heater for the shower.

This may not be a little weird but I love checking out different showers around the world.

The showers in Malaysia are quite similar to the showers in Bali.

I visited Bali about 17 years ago when I was returning from living in Japan.

I lived in Sendai, Japan for 1 year as I was a JET program teacher.

It was a teaching program that both the United States and Japanese governments combined on to help students, and teachers, in Japan learn English and entertain the students.

It also included teachers from pretty much every English speaking nation so it was quite enjoyable and a great way to make friends.

The actual water heater with power and dial for temperature.

The actual water heater with power and dial for temperature.

The showers in Japan, by the way, were also similar to the ones in Bali, and now, here in Malaysia.

They are set up to basically be heated by a small water heater that is turned on before you use the shower.  This allows energy to be conserved and for the water to get nice and hot only when you need it.  They also have a dial or push button to turn the temperature up and down so you can adjust them as you need a change in heat.

I’ve found them quite useful and I’ve yet to have a cold shower with them.

By the way, not just the shower, but our whole apartment in Beijing is set to use an on-demand water heater and it is fantastic.  They are also very inexpensive to buy here in China and cost about 1/5 the price of on-demand water heaters in America.  I really don’t have any idea why they cost so much in America and hopefully the prices will decrease as they become more accepted.

Day 201 in Beijing: Otak-Otak It Is!

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I guess, when you get down to it, meat is meat.

I guess, when you get down to it, meat is meat.

Jill and I were walking down the street here in Kuala Lumpur and checking out the food stalls.

There is a lot of street food and we feel much more secure eating it here than in China.

Maybe we shouldn’t judge but it is hard not to when you hear the horror stories of the re-used oil back in China and how many people have gotten sick after trying street food there.

I’m adventurous but there are certain things I just won’t do.

We actually ended up not eating here because we saw an Malaysian restaurant across the street that looked like it would be worth trying and it was.

That being said, we really are interested in trying out some of the burgers that this little street food merchant has for sale.

I’ve always like deer and ostrich but I’m not sure about camel.

I’m not sure why camel sounds strange to me since meat is meat but it seems weird.

Just my Western sensibilities and dogma getting in the way of my taste buds.

I also need to ask why the hot dog is king and the hamburger is only a queen.  I’m almost afraid to know the answer.

By the way, we were a little concerned as to what Otak-Otak was since there is no animal we know of named Otak-Otak.

It actually sounds quite delicious and probably is something we will try in the near future since I’m a huge fan of fish patties combined with spices.  Yummy!

 

 

Day 200 in Beijing: Not in Beijing.

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200 Days in Beijing. And San Francisco. And Healdsburg. And Malaysia. And Sinagpore.

200 Days in Beijing. And Shanghai. And San Francisco. And Healdsburg. And Johor Bahru.  And Kuala Lumpur . And Sinagpore.

It should be day 200 in Beijing for me.

It is not.

I’m in Kuala Lumpur.

Little did I think when I started this blog that I’d even be doing a daily blog that would take me all the places I’ve been to as of today.

A bit of history:  I used to have a blog, a few years ago, where I posted things about my views on life, love and therapy.  I decided that it probably wasn’t the best thing to do since I wasn’t sure I wanted my personal life out there.

However, when I started getting ready to move to Beijing, I decided to do a 14 day countdown for my friends and family that wanted to keep in touch.

When I arrived here I found that I enjoyed it so much I’d attempt to do a blog post for each and every single day of my 3 year contract at my job.

I may stay longer than 3 years but that was my minimum and that is where I wanted to start.

I’m now at 200 days and surprised at how easy it has been to think of something new, and different, each day.

There have been a few tough times where I felt I was losing steam but I asked my readers to give me suggestions and it brought me back to life.

I would like my readers to comment more and tell me what they like and what they want to know as that does excite me and I have more of an idea that people are actually reading my blog.  I would like to think people are reading it and enjoying it but I won’t know unless they tell me.

So, I appreciate, deeply, everyone that writes to me and comments.

It honestly makes me smile each time.

In honor of that, I think Steve Johnson needs a shout out, as we say in the states.

Steve is an old high school friend of mine and has been a one man cheer team for me and my blog.  I think he has “liked” every single post and commented on most of them.

Steve, thank you.  I’m honored and humbled to be your friend and someone that you feel deserves being read.

And, since this blog is mostly about life, love and the pursuit of travel, ending with a thank you to Steve, while visiting Malaysia with Jill, and then living in the same apartment complex as my older brother Robert and his wife and new born son in Beijing, China, while conversing with my family and friends all over the world, do I realize that, in the end,

I am home.

Day 199 in Beijing: Elevator Etiquette.

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I posted about the number 4 and the elevators in my building on Day 177.

Keep it clean, kids!

Keep it clean, kids!

Maybe I’m becoming a elevator stalker since this will now be another post about elevators.

We are in Kuala Lumpur and we are enjoying the city a lot.

It is very beautiful, the people are incredibly friendly, and the food is amazing.

We took the elevator up to our apartment and thought this little note made a lot of sense.

Just be respectful, courteous and kind to each other and life will continue quite well.

It is something that Jill and I have noticed about Malaysia: people are incredibly kind and generous.

I’m sure this is also true of China, and we’ve seen it once in a while, but since we don’t speak the language, and most people in Malaysia speak English, generosity seems a way of life here.

We were buying some toiletries we needed.  The cashier asked if we had 5 cents, since it was 29.05 RM (Ringgit Malaysia) but we did not.  A lady, buying her own toiletries, reached over and gave us 5 cents.  This is not a big deal, and it is the kind of thing Jill and I would do also, but this kind of generosity seems to be an everyday occurrence here.

Shiny happy people in a shiny happy mirror!

Shiny happy people in a shiny happy mirror!

Case and point, Alan, who runs the Airbnb apartment we stayed at, took us out to lunch and wouldn’t let us pay.  After trying to convince him to let us pay, we told him we will pay next time and he waved us away.

We also had a few times, last trip here a few months ago, were we would share taxis with people and they would refuse to let us pay.  We did our best to offer to pay them back or take them to dinner but they would often refuse.

One of the couples that helped us out told us, “When I was in American, people helped me.  Now it is my turn to help you in my country.”  They were a muslim couple who were celebrating their 25th anniversary and on the same bus as us when we came into Johor Bahru.  They were too busy to have dinner with us that trip but we will be seeing them again and taking them out this time.

Anyway, the elevator mirrors were spotless and perfectly clean.

As you can see in the reflections.

Day 198 in Beijing: Bye Bye Beijing!

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Jill and I have left Beijing!

Well, we’ve left for a vacation, not for good, so don’t worry Beijingers!

We took off at 3:30 AM on Friday morning (Beijing time) and arrived at 10 AM Friday morning (Kuala Lumpur time, which is the same as Beijing time) and have already settled in here in Kuala Lumpur.

It was overcast when we arrived, which is a bit comical since the weather in Beijing is supposed to be terrible during the winter, but so far has been fantastic, and we are now in the tropics, where it should be perfect.  Yes, that was quite possibly the longest run on sentence, in history, but I’m on vacation, so forgive me please.  Editing, after going for a swim in the pool, is not my strong point.

We were picked up by Alan, who runs the Airbnb apartment where we are staying at, and dropped everything off at the apartment.  After doing that, he took us on a tour of the neighborhood and there are so many amazing restaurants and bars we new we were in the right place.  There is about 20 different types of restaurants serving different cuisines that we wish we were staying longer and know we will be back after being here for only 4 hours.  Alan has to be the nicest guy ever and a wonderful host!

After the tour, we went to lunch at Saravanaa Bhavan and then Jill and I took a very nice long nap.

We just woke, went for a swim, and are now going to check out the restaurants and bars right by our apartment.

An absolutely perfect way to start a weekend, and a long vacation.

I hope you all are having as nice of a Friday as we are having!

Day 180 in Beijing: 180 days in Beijing. 910 To Go.

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I am rather surprised at how quickly it has passed.

180 days in Beijing.

Not actually true since I’ve spent time in Tanggu, on an oil rig in the Pacific Ocean, Tianjin, Shanghai, Malaysia, Sinagpore as well as Beijing.

For the year or two before I came to China, I had only left America to visit Mexico.  Not too exciting.  Since then I have to say that my life has really been a trip.

Pun definitely intended.

The reason I came to China is a story in itself.

I was going to quit my job, as a social worker specifically working with 18-24 year old people that had been diagnosed with their first or second psychotic episode.

These were mostly people that were on medical, medicare, and other social services.

It was an incredible job where I was able to help my clients learn more about their diagnosis, how to master it, and help them continue their lives and not be caught in the stigma and get lost in society.

I also learned a lot about myself.  I had been working with geriatric clients (60 and above) for the 5 years previous to that and, as much as I loved that job, to be able to help young adults control their hallucinations and delusions, and other issues that would occur, proved to me that we have so much more power and choice in our lives and that if we desire to overcome almost anything, we can.

It is why I quit that job actually.

I love salsa dancing and have been dancing it for around 13 years or more.

I love Cuban music.

I am very intrigued by their culture.

I had decided, a month before leaving the job, that I would take a year off and travel the world.

I’d start in mexico to see my cousin, Michelle and her husband John, and then travel south.

Eventually, I’d go to Cuba, then Europe and then end up in China and visit my older brother, Robert.

Then things changed in a blink of an eye.

My brother called me and told me there was a job opening at a medical center that he knows about in Beijing.

He asked me if I was interested and I instantly said, “Yes!”

I emailed over my resume, was interviewed, was hired and then had to have a full physical. I had to do an EKG and a lot of tests that I didn’t expect. This included a vision test where I learned I have 20/10 vision.  I can read the smallest line at the bottom of the test easily. I also had to do a color test and see numbers that are different colors from the background. If you can’t recognize the colors, you are colorblind.  Luckily, again, I have perfect vision. Every other test showed that I was healthy.  The doctors doing the tests were actually quite interested in the results and the reason for the tests as they had never heard of someone having to get a major physical to go to a job overseas.  They called me with the final results and congratulated me and wished me well on my journey.

After getting the results, I got my visa, sold almost everything I owned (I have 5 lawyer sized boxes back in America, a large painting that my mom gave me years ago, and nothing more), taking a two week vacation to Mexico to visit my aforementioned cousin Michelle and her husband John, I bought my plane ticket, hopped on a plane and arrived in China.

That was 180 days and, 180 blog posts, ago.

Since I have a three year contract, that means I have roughly 910 more to go.

 

 

 

Day 164 in Beijing: The Grand Paragon.

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We did a lot of searching for hotels in Johor Bahru.

Although only a 5 minute (without traffic) bus ride from the island of Singapore, it is worlds away.

The hotels, in general, are not on par with the Singapore hotels.

They are also a lot less expensive than the Singapore hotels.

That is one of the reasons we decided to stay in Johor.

We knew that our money would go further and we wanted to be part of a very different cultural scene since Singapore is more Western.

We got exactly what we wanted.

The Grand Paragon was a very nice hotel on the top of a small rise in JB.

It overlooked a lot of the city and, from our room, you could see over to Singapore.  From the pool you could see far into the countryside on the opposite side of the hotel.

The room was a little small but that was fine for us.  We were more than happy with it and we didn’t plan on spending a lot of time there.

The food was quite good.  There was a buffet breakfast included each morning. It consisted of rotating selections of Western and Malaysian food so we were able to sample some of the local food each morning and get an idea of what else we’d like to eat when we were out and about.

We also had views of the construction going on around Johor.  Johor is on the path to being a major business, and possibly vacation, destination soon.  They are going to be part of a free-trade agreement with Singapore and Indonesia in the near future and they are building a train that will go directly to Singapore by 2018.  This means that people are starting to buy up land, build hi rises, and everything else that comes with that kind of advancement.

Luckily, they haven’t torn down the gorgeous temples, mosques and other landmarks that will keep people coming back and give Johor it’s own special feel and not just a boring commercial destination.

The Grand Paragon seems to do an excellent job of balancing the new and the old.

The best of the The Grand Paragon was, without question, the hospitality of the staff.

We had every single need met, no matter what time of the day, and always with a smile and very welcoming attitude.  The staff remembered us very quickly and often went out of their way to help us out or give us suggestions.

A perfect example of this was one of the breakfast buffet managers.  His name was Moho Farez and he noticed, very quickly, that Jill likes having coffee in the morning.  On the third day, just as we walked in, he smiled, waved to us, and disappeared.

We took our plates and put together our food and then went to sit down.  By the time we had reached our seats, there were two cups of Americano sitting on our place mats.  He did this every morning until we left and was there, whenever we needed anything, without hovering over us.  It was a total joy and his beautiful smile made our mornings brighter every time we saw him.

The other staff we met were just as friendly, helpful and, as far as I can remember, every time we saw them, they had smiles on their faces.