We took a day trip to Malaysia, a city called Johor Bahru, to be specific. It is very close to Singapore, right across the bay. Here is a shot of JB, as they call it, from Singapore's northern coast.
As soon as we got there, I saw some signs for Kuala Lumpur, which is up the road a few hours.
Curiously, the Malaysian language is written with roman letters. Signs are written in Malay, Chinese and Tamil. In addition, the Malay language is sometimes written in arabic script.
JB is a colorful, slightly dogeared place where the prices for everything are 50% less than in Singapore. As a result, lots of Singaporeans come here to shop.
They even check your gas tank as you leave Singapore to make sure you're not going to Malaysia to fill up on gasoline, which is heavily subsidized by the Malaysian government.
A whole bunch of us went: me, Puff, her ex-boyfriend Kevin, her mom, aunt and her mom's friend. The main purpose of the trip? Food, of course.
We went to a place that specializes in Bak Kut Teh: Malaysian-Chinese pork rib soup. It is served bubbling hot in a clay pot.
We also had sesame ginger chicken - this was my favorite dish of the day.
At the table next to ours, a man was selling Durian, which is a fruit treasured for its taste. It smells like cheesy feet - definitely an acquired taste. Puffin eyed these for a while but they were all sold before she made her mind up to buy one.
So, What Else is There to Do in JB?
The ladies went shopping while Kevin took me to his favorite thing in JB: a hair washing. Didn't sound like much to me when he invited me. It is way more than I anticipated. First, they sit you in a chair and wash your hair. The scratch your scalp with their nails and also give you a shoulder and back rub. After rinsing your hair, they apply a thick gooey conditioner and the massage continues. Back, shoulder blades, head, face, neck, arms and hands. They then wrap your head and a towel and lay you on a table to clean out your ears. We're talking deep-cleaning. It is an eerie feeling. They then rinse your head, blow-dry your hair and off you go, 2 hrs later. Best hair-washing experience I have ever had. Kevin got a skinny girl, see below. I got a chick that was built like a sumo and had a grip to match.
No comments:
Post a Comment