A couple of friends of mine from China decided to drop by to visit recently. One of them was attending a conference in Singapore and decided to spend a week in Malaysia as the air ticket only cost an additional £30. So, I played host for a few days and brought them around to a few places. I can only say that it has been an interesting experience for me as well.
On the very first day that I was supposed to meet them, we arranged to meet at KLCC. However, at the last minute, they went over to Bukit Bintang for some shopping. So, I drove from Jalan Ampang over to Pavilion and I learned an awful truth about my car. It does makan minyak (eat oil) as others have so rightfully mention.
Although the journey typically only takes about 5 minutes, I was stuck in a traffic jam for an hour, just trying to get there and another 2 hours, while trying to get out. It was during this time that I saw my fuel gauge drop from about 85% to about 65% full. Man, it really guzzles the petrol when the car isn’t moving. My friends commented that they hate the traffic and they hate spending their vacation in a jam. Well, I can certainly understand that.
I decided to take them away from KL as there were other things to see and eat outside. Since they’re from Guangzhou, they can always go to Hong Kong to do their shopping anyway. So, I brought them out to Kajang for some satay. I introduced them to the differences between nasi himpit and ketupat. I also happened to mention that the town of Kajang is famous for two things: the satay and me! :p
I also brought them to Putrajaya at night, which was a nice experience for me too. They managed to see the layout of our new administrative capitol and I realised that I can still remember the roads in the area, from when I was working there almost 8 years ago. I have never been there at night though, and the area does look a lot different at night. We were even lucky enough to encounter a pasar malam night market and I introduced them to our version of it.
I also brought them to Melaka for a day trip, which was also another interesting experience for me. The last time that I had been there was when I was still a kid. So, I have absolutely no memory of the place, much less the roads. However, I decided that it was an extremely small place and we could just randomly walk about. I brought them to the Jonker Walk area and also the A Famosa area. We had chicken rice balls for lunch and then came back.
In the process of spending a couple of days with them, I explained to them about our unique history, politics and geography that made us what we are today. We also took turns at bashing, Singapore. Seems like my friends didn’t like their time there. Their complaints were: bad food, fugly girls and downright boring place. They commented that Malaysia was much better in all ways. To me, this meant that my tour-guide work was successful.
Anyway, this was a chance to test my car on the highway, driving at speeds of around 100kmh for a long distance. All I can say is that I have been quite happy with the handling of the car so far. However, I have this bad habit of always forgetting to lock my car doors. This is a habit that needs changing – pronto!
** Photo courtesy of Feng’s camera and my tripod!!
Sybreon Ones Nought 