Greetings from a very quiet spot in a very large city: Kuala Lumpur. Though our son's home is within the city limits, it is away from the hustle and bustle of the traffic and like all good Chinese families, there is a fish pond whose constantly moving water soothes the soul. I can't remember when I have been so relaxed.
We arrived in KL on Sunday night and stayed up talking with Leong, Ben, and his wife, Olivia until after midnight -- don't know whose time it was -- the time zones have me all befuddled at this point. I do know that you are all sleeping (or should be) while I am relaxing by the fish pond in the afternoon.
Monday we had a leisurely breakfast with Ben Yeo -- our "son" who got both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees at Ole Miss. He is still as bright as ever, and our conversations went from current events in both of our countries to family matters to "do you remember ole 'so and so'"? The time fled by, and later in the afternoon, Leong came to pick us up and drive us to a Buddha cave -- we didn't go up the 272 steps to the inside of the cave as it began raining -- HARD (got saved from that trek!) so we took pictures and after about 45 minutes we left...came back to Ben's and piled in the car with son Kee Yen and drove to the central district of KL -- it is a VERY modern city -- lots of chrome, glass, and lights which make for a most beautiful evening display....some of their buildings are quite distinctive and merit attention.
They have a "twin towers" that I thought looked like a wedding cake. Our hosts told us that the buildings were called "corn cobs" and when they said that, I could easily imagine how they got that name...each floor arcs out over the others, just like a row of corn kernels would. Yup, ditch the wedding cake idea and pick up on the corn cobs.
Monday is the most holy "eve" in the Buddhist calendar as Tuesday (May 17) is the birthday of Buddha -- that day when he became the Buddha -- and is celebrated all over the world. Downtown was amass with people marking the holiday. Olivia told us that at midnight -- just as midnight mass in Christianity, there were special services in the temples...but the crowds were so dense we couldn't have moved, much less found a parking place.
Because it was a national holiday, Tuesday found us breakfasting with Ben's family at a wonderful Indian restaurant, and enjoying some food akin to what I had in Pakistan. It was leisurely, and we just sat and chatted. Don't know when VG has been able to forget the clock -- or the animals -- or the lawn -- or whatever -- like that. In the pictures, you really can see how rested we are.
When we finished there we went to their temple to pay our respects to the Buddha -- there were masses of people there, bringing their offerings of flowers, carrying their incense sticks and chanting special prayers. It didn't matter that we were filming all of it...they were very devout. These temples are alive with rich and vibrant colors -- bright reds, pinks, yellows and such. Lanterns abound where there is a mix between Chinese style and Buddha style.
Next stop, Central Market, originated in 1888...but had air conditioning and lots of kiosks selling whatever in the world you wanted. Some folks would haggle -- some signs said, "price firm". We had sugar cane to drink with ice! (ooooohhhhh is that good!) and ate again, with all the little dishes. Our chopstick techniques are only good enough for them to allow us a brief try with each meal, then they go get us a spoon and fork. We do try, though.
We took a nap (can you IMAGINE!!!) The heat of the day makes a time of slowing down almost necessary. It runs to 90-95+ every day -- and coming from the fall in NZ it is a real change. By the way, we are mailing our heavy jackets back tomorrow!
Dinner was in a very lovely hotel, with both Leong and Ben's families. We had the requisite number of dishes on an elaborate lazy susan -- duck, chicken, fish, prawns, and jellyfish, with lots of veggies among them.
This weekend we will be at Melacca, the boys hometown and a World Hertiage Site. A later visit will be to Olivia's family orchard (where once they grew rubber trees) to check out some neat fruits only grown in this part of the world. Next week we are with Leong and will spend the following weekend at a very lush beach -- Penang (I think) -- near another World Heritage Site, old buildings, etc., plus extraordinary beaches north of the Strait of Melacca into what I guess is the Indian Ocean.
The best part of this leg of our journey is that we are with Ben and Leong. The years simply vanish when we are together and even with their spouses and children, we are quite comfortable. We laugh and make jokes and ask questions and have a great time, just being together. And, the two 14-year olds and I talk about iPhones. :-)
I didn't intend this to be a diary entry -- but it was -- so what can I say?
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