Josh took me back to his family home in Selangor. Despite Josh's tired state, he still managed to recount some facts about his home town. Selangor is a well developed and rich state of Malaysia. Many millionaires live here. It took all my energy to keep my eyes open and my mind whirring so I don't recall any other facts.
Josh and I were both exhausted so went straight to bed. I was briefly introduced to one of his brothers who was asleep on the couch. I had no idea what the plan was for my stay with them but thought I'd just go with it and see what happens.
The first thing I learned about the Malay lifestyle is that everyone is laid back. So laid back that these guys are practically horizontal. Josh and his brothers were very honest about this and a battle of one-upmanship unfolded. I could somewhat relate as I too am quite lazy at times. Today, I was thankful for this behaviour as I was exhausted. We got up late, watched a bit of TV and headed out for breakfast. This is where my second lesson in Malay living occurred. Malays love their food so my large and choosy appetite was applauded. It's not unusual for a Malay to drive over two hours (one way) for a great meal. I love that. Thanks to Josh's brother Noel, driving was certainly not an issue. Noel was our chauffeur during my stay which made things a lot easier as I didn't have to navigate!
I wasn't sure what to have to eat as it wasn't really breakfast time - we headed out at around 2pm! As I was still undecided, Josh picked the destination. Noel, Ken (Josh's other brother), Josh and I headed over to Asia Cafe which is an open food court. As we neared an already occupied table, Josh whispered to me that I'm about to meet a prince but to act as I normally would. Before I had time to react, Josh and his brothers greeted their friends and introduced me. If I knew I was going to be meeting a prince, I would have done something better with my hair or put some tinted moisturiser on at least! I needn't have worried as Josh was right in telling me to act normal. If Josh hadn't have mentioned that he was royalty, I'd have no idea! He looked and acted like any other teenager.
Josh and I returned with some chicken and rice. As I tucked in to this tasty yet wallet-friendly meal, I tried to keep up with the conversation flow. It soon turned to football and, as Manchester United had just lost to Manchester City 6-1, the table were taking turns in ribbing the prince and Noel. The prince knew his stuff and a tirade of facts and impressive beat downs danced off of his tongue and his mates had nothing left. He saw me turn up my nose and asked who I supported. When I said Arsenal it spurred another conversation about how poorly they started off in the season. Someone told me they're going to get relegated this season. Ha! I expressed my opinion on Manchester United. The prince and I had our own little sparring session. It was great but a bit surreal given the context.
The prince asked everyone if they were coming out that night. I was definitely in as I wanted to know how royalty partied! He went round and asked everyone. One guy wasn't feeling up to it as he was getting over his ex but the prince twisted his arm eventually. Another protested saying he wasn't invited. He bit back, "Oh stop being so Chinese and come out." I laughed along with everyone and gave Josh a look of shock. Did he really just say that? Josh said that it's a Malay thing, ribbing each race like that. It's all meant in jest. Apparently it's polite in China to receive an invite to a party rather than just show up, so the prince's exasperation in his friend needing an invite prior to him asking was apt. Another jovial jab I picked up was a play on Pitbull's hit Give Me Everything with the chorus singing, "Grab somebody Indian tell them dei!" This is a play on their accent. I don't think this kind of innocent banter could ever exist in England.
I learnt other phrases and sayings in KL. In Malaysia the word "lah" is added to the end of words to add emphasis. I tried it a few times but thought I sounded silly so stopped. It felt like the moment when an aging adult attempts to use phrases overheard from teenagers. It just doesn't work. I also learnt that the Malaysian word for squid is used to describe an effeminate guy and the word clam is used to describe girly-girls.
On that note, it was time to go and I was in the mood for cake. Malaysia just happens to be full of bakeries and patisseries. Amen. Josh guided me to a suitable outlet and I picked up some chocolatey goodness.
Hello my pretty.
We spent the rest of the day chatting amongst ourselves and watching random drivel on the television. Josh has been ill for the past few days and it hadn't cleared up. We decided to give the night out a miss. I was still beat from the overnight coach ride so, despite my curiosity of how a night out in Malaysia would pan out, I was slightly grateful for the rest.
A statement, that would be repeated many times to me during my stay, was uttered at that moment - "What would you like to eat?" I had no idea so asked the guys to throw dish names at me and see which one stuck. I hadn't had a proper curry since being away and was craving it. When we arrived at the Malaysian-style curry house I was completely out of my element. The only thing that I understood on the menu was "Plain Naan". I asked the guys for help and ordered what I thought was a curry. What arrived in different stages was a large naan with a sauce platter, a plate of white rice and a plate of dry tandoori chicken. Ok. Not what I'm used to but it was nice. I do like a lot of sauce with my curry but the chicken was flavoursome without it. As the others tucked into some rice, we discussed several things that I could do whilst I was there and I was looking forward to the coming days.
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