When someone says “Asia” what are the first thoughts that come to your mind?
Before arriving here two months ago, I would have described the busy streets of Hong Kong, large neon signs with mystical foreign symbols, and sesame chicken. Obviously, that’s ridiculous. This blog is dedicated to some of the small curiosities I’ve uncovered throughout my first two months in Asia.
Malaysia
People tell me that these theaters exist in America, but I’ve never been to one. Next time you find yourself in Penang don’t forget to hit up one of the “beanie” theaters. The price of your ticket? $7.
American movies are often rated for drug use, violence, profanity, etc. In Malaysia, ‘counter cultural’ is one of the ratings that you might find on a new release. After the movie is over, go ahead and hit the streets for your next meal. Malaysia is a melting pot of three very unique cultures: Malay, Indian, and Chinese. Your can find incredible authentic dishes that fill you up for less than $2 (including the service at a restaurant). However, you mind find it odd to have your drink served to you in a plastic bag with a straw. Also, I can almost guarantee that your server will not write down your order. In fact, you might have to ask for the same dish three or four times before it makes it to your table. When you’re ready to go, the server returns to count up all of the plates. With some quick mental math, and a little luck, he might actually get close to the correct price.
Malaysia is a mecca for architecture. I was completely blown away by the fantastic cityscape that can be found in the capital Kuala, Lumpur. The buildings are incredibly artistic and very modern in design. Kuala Lumpur is the home of the famous Patronas Towers.
The national religion of Malaysia is Islam. Mosques are located all over the country. Most public buildings like malls, train stations, and airports have special prayer rooms just in case you’re on the move during the call to prayer. Trains have special “female only” cars. Convenience stores that sale alcohol have large signs over their beer fridges warning people that it is illegal for muslims to purchase alcoholic beverages. The geometric patterns from Islam’s history are woven into nearly all aspects of daily life.
Hindu and Chinese temples are equally as plentiful as the mosques. Some of the most famous Hindu temples can be found at the Batu Caves.
Other things that tickled me about Malaysia were:
1. Finding a stack of anime magzine and world of warcraft subscriptions at 7-eleven
2. Squatty potties
3. Escape-room games (you’re locked in a room until you figure out a puzzle that will let you out – very fun, very addicting)
Warning – Extremely Ignorant Malaysia Confession
When our team first arrived in the city of Kuala Lipis we located a journal that past world race teams had left for us. The journal included all sorts of fun facts about the city. Of particular interest to me were suggestions for restaurants. One entry described a good chinese restaurant located next to KFC. The next day, while I was walking through the city, I happened upon the KFC and sure enough there was a beautiful chinese restaurant next door. I walked inside and sat down at one of the tables. The owners were surprised to see white people (Kuala Lipis is not a very touristy town), so I walked over and started chatting with them in super broken English for a few minutes. After awhile, I started to get hungry so I asked them for a food suggestion. Their response kind of surprised me. They told me to go next door and order from KFC. I was sitting there thinking to myself, “They must think that I love KFC because I’m an American.” Then it dawned on me… I took a second look around the room and suddenly realized that I was not standing in the middle of a chinese restaurant. No sir, I was standing in the middle of a chinese temple. I walked a few feet towards the large open archway and looked inside the inner room. There were all sorts of idols sitting out with incense and food offerings. Yea… That happened…
Thailand
Even though they border each other, Malaysia and Thailand have completely distinct cultures. The first obvious change is the language. Malay uses the latin alphabet, so it was fairly easy to pick up a few simple phrases. Thai, on the other hand, uses a completely different alphabet. On top of that, the Thai language is a tonal language. Their are five tones: mid, high, low, rising, and falling (Mandarin Chinese only uses four tones). The word “ma” could be interpreted as dog, horse, mom, or the verb “to come” depending on how the word is said. Needless to say, this has led to many confusing and comical moments.
Travel is whole other animal here in Thailand. Sometimes you take an elephant..
Or an ostrich.
But seriously, Asia has their bus system figured out. One of the buses that my team used had reclining chairs with foot rests that lift up under your legs. They were way more comfortable than airplane seats. VIP buses include meals, WiFi, and Karaoke. I’ve even seen school children taking double-decker buses on field trips. Another common mode of transportation is the Tok Tok. This vehicle is a motorcycle that has been converted into a tricycle with a carriage. Normally they hold two people, but sometimes you can squeeze a third. This is the World Race though, so we put 4 people in a Tok Tok and nearly flipped the vehicle coming around a few corners too quickly. If all else fails, just pile everyone in the back of a pickup truck.
This month, we have been teaching English at a school. They have all of the typical classes like math, social studies, and history; but, my favorites are the ones that you won’t find in the states. Students take ‘thai boxing’ and ‘sword play’ classes as part of their normal curriculum. I can’t imagine the fuss that would start if an American school attempted to add these classes as part of their education. Another curiosity of Thai school is that their students are required to participate in Boy Scouts as part of their moral education. The program functions very differently than in the states; however, there are some similarities. While we were teaching at the school we were invited to participate in the school wide scout camp for three days. Instead of attending classes, the students brought their tents and set them up on the school grounds. During the first day of camp the students trekked up to the top of a small mountain. At the top of the mountain is a Buddhist temple honoring the bull god. Allegedly he has five eyes and four ears and lives in a cave on the mountain. He comes out to eat coal and fire embers and then poops out gold. The students spent the day in the temple receiving lessons from the monks.
On the second day they visited a horticultural center that taught them about the farming industry in the surrounding areas. They explored the area while completing an orienteering course. Breakfast and dinner were prepared by the students back at school. They had to cook all of their food over a hand made fire. Then they were graded on their meals as part of a school wide competition.
Can you guess who they asked to be the taste test judges? That’s right, we had to judge 15 groups’ food during our meals. I’m not yet certain, but if my logic doesn’t deceive me I believe that over the course of the time I spent at camp I devoured (4 meals) * (15 groups) * (countless unwashed hands) * (camp fire cooking) which equals….
My old pal Gary the Giardia. Only time will tell (which is normally 1-2 weeks).
Food in Thailand is incredible and it’s cheap. Thai food is known for being spicy. Something that I found odd about restaurants is that they do not typically serve you water at the table. It is your responsibility as a customer to go grab a glass, fill it with ice, and pour yourself water. Also, your utensils are not used in the way you might expect. You eat everything with a spoon. Your fork’s only job is to push food into your spoon.
Every street food market has a few vendors that sell bugs. The bugs are kept alive in cages just next to the vendors’ tables. I tried crickets, cicadas, grubs, and water bugs. For me, the crickets were the only ones that were tolerable. It was an odd moment when I realized that I was eating the same bug that I used to feed my frogs. I nearly lost it when I stuck the whole 4 inch waterbug in my mouth.
Here is a small taste of food prices in Thailand
|
Piece of Sushi |
$0.16 |
|
Pad Thai |
$0.63 |
|
Large Hot Pot |
$3.13 |
|
Chicken Fried Rice |
$0.94 |
|
Thai Tea |
S: $016, M:$0.78, L:$1.17 |
|
Cashew Chicken |
$1.88 |
|
Chicken Khao Soi (Delicious Soup) |
$0.94 |
|
Plate of crickets |
$0.47 |
