While we had many memorable airport experiences (good, bad and ugly) our flight to Malaysia sticks out as potentially one of THE WORST. We had booked a red-eye on Air Asia, which is known to be a pretty “budget” airline. Hannah ended up sitting next to a man who snored so loudly she didn’t get a wink of sleep the entire 6 hours. Hell I don’t even think anyone in the surrounding 6 rows got a wink of sleep. They also attempted to freeze us out, quite literally, turning down the temperature in the cabin to the point that we were both physically shivering. When the flight attendants came around with blankets, we quickly lunged at the opportunity, only to be told that it would be $20 to “rent a blanket.”
We survived. (AS ALWAYS). And considering how cheap our flight was, our poor experience probably was to be expected. But hey— isn’t it funny how some of the most awful moments at the time, end up as some of the most rich, funny, or memorable when you look back?
We split our time between the capital city, Kuala Lumpur, and the coastal city of Penang. Malaysia in March was hot hot hot. I was asked by several locals in so many words, “Welcome! But also, why the hell are you visiting during this time of year?”
It was here, in Malaysia, that I really started to understand just how much food is an incredibly reliable way to trace greater cultural trends like migration patterns and colonization. (This became an intense interest and passion of mine throughout my travels). To put it simply: wherever people go, they bring their food. Slowly but surely food traditions and dishes from migrants and colonizers, mix and mesh with local traditions and ingredients and what you get is this beautiful, rich, highly complex. and diverse cuisine that’s “a little bit this” and “a little bit of that” and a LOTTA BIT OF DELICIOUS. Everywhere we went, every stall, food cart, and restaurant we ate at, we were told that the Malaysian cuisine was a beautiful array and mix of primarily local Malay, Indian, and Chinese food traditions. Like I said...DELICIOUS.
Other notable adventures in Malaysia included: Penang National Park, Monkey Beach (seen here), and the worst sunburn of my life.
Next up: Indonesia...
Commentaires