Malaysia thru the eyes of a foreigner

When he first entered my car when I picked him up at the hotel in Bangi on Friday, he chided me for changing the radio station (from Klasik Nasional) to Light and Easy. I was just being polite; I thought he would not be able to stand Malay classics.

I told him that even my two engineers - both twenty somethings - could not handle my kind of music, much so a foreigner. I thought he would be having an ear cancer - to quote an old friend berating my Sudir music in the 1980.

"I didn't come to KL to be listening to George Michael," he said. "I want to listen to Malaysian songs."

So I meekly changed the station back to my favourite, lowering the volume a bit just in case he (and another American friend, Peter) could not handle songs from the fifties.

So I knew then he would be different. Very different from other foreigners that I had known over the years who would not give a damn over local food and fruits.

I thought I would have to bring him to KLCC and KL Tower, just to showcase him KL, but no; he wanted to visit a market.
"A market? Why would you want to go to a market?" I asked him. "I just want to see how Malaysians live their lives," he replied.

OK, I bring you to Central Market," I said, noting that this is where many tourists would go. I even told him that the last time I brought his son there, he seems to enjoy him.

But on the way to KL, suddenly I saw a night market at Bandar Tun Razak. So we decided to stop and let him savour the sight, and the smell of a Malaysian night market. I even lent him my camera and let him take the pictures that attract him and here are what he took.


This Andrew savouring 3 pieces of durian at the parking lot near Kg Congo in Tun Razak. He didn't bat an eye lid smelling the mercaptan-sulfur like smell and was surprised when I told him that durian is banned at hotels, train and aeroplane. I think we should be able to export more durian to Holland, where he currently lives.

Below is yours truly picking up a fruit for Andrew.


The rests of the pictures were taken by Andrew himself.


These guys were making curry puff.


He seems fascinated with the fresh fish available at the market.


He loves the mangoes. I bought him a kilogram and he told me he could not finish them all (5 pieces). So I said, "if you can't, you can pass me back before you leave." He later told me that his first mango was so good, and when he had the second, it was the best mango he had ever tasted!

And he took the rests home with him.

One can't get a better compliment than that!

He must be fascinated with the satay. The night before, we had satay Hj Samuri in Kajang. We finished off everything. Chicken, beef and -guess what? - liver!



This is Andrew having dinner with yours truly at Saloma.