What is it like living in Malaysia...I'll tell you!

So I'm sure people ask me all the time and I really never have a good answer. I say things like it's great or we really like it. But what is it really like living here? I have a very good example from the other day. So as I'm sitting here eating my little chocolate chip cheesecakes I'll tell you. There is a place here, in Bangsar Village, called Hammam. I've always been intrigued by it, but never could commit to making an appointment. It is a turkish bath and spa where they bathe you and scrub you down. I'm going to do another post decribing the details of the Hammam experience so don't worry I'll give you the dirty little details :) about what occurred in this dreamy place. So anyway back to Malaysia. I finally made an appointment for a 2.5hour session. They bathed me and scrubbed me and masked me and massaged me and I relaxed with mint tea and bhaklava...so yes - it was FABULOUS. 2.5 hours of fabulousness all for a very low price of RM268 ($86 USD). Yes I said $86! So I left hopping and skipping and singing to myself all the way to my car. I felt so good, so relaxed and so prepared for the rest of my day. Uh huh...whatever. So I head out of the parking garage around 12:45pm. I have to pick Reid up at 1:30pm and I have not had lunch which is now 2 hours overdue. Totally worth it, but I MUST EAT NOW. There is a shopping center nearby Reid's school and there is a McDonald's there. I hardly ever go because it really is a logistical nightmare...another parking garage followed by no parking spaces and a strange layout....yada, yada, yada. I decide this is my best option. I pull into the garage just praying for a space and voila! A space...my day is excellent. I walk straight to McD's picturing in my mind the rest of my steps (get McD's takeway - pay for parking at that autopay - head back out the way I came and at school on time with a full belly...perfection!) Place my order at McDonald's and it is RM9.50. Hand her the Visa debit card and she says cash only. I almost say WTF? to her cause I'm like...THIS IS MCDONALDS! How can it be cash only? I'm outraged because I know I only have RM5 in my purse. SHIT! So I tell her to cancel my order and walk out thinking where in the world is an ATM here. I don't know this place well enough. I know McD's, Starbucks and the autopay. Ah yes - focus Natalie don't panic - there is one right there. So I get money not paying attention to the sign on the ATM which says RM100/RM10 only. I have enough money now, but only in 100 bills. And I know that lady is going to look at me and say sorry no change! At this point it is sometime after 1pm and I'm starting to panic a bit. I think it could be 1:15pm. I get more cash out this time in a weird amount so I can get some RM10 bills. Back to McDonalds and at last I have food. I go out the door to the autopay I know and it says card- unreadable. At this point I know I say "you have to be fing kidding me." The display also tells me to insert my card the proper way. I look at it and it is very proper so I try again. No luck. So now I'm looking for another autopay machine. After a little searching I find one and same message. SHIT! What do I do? I push the little help button on the machine and a Malay speaking gentleman says something to me. I tell him card not readable and I'm barely able to make out...block c, basement 1. Yes this shopping center is set up in blocks...nutty! Anyway, I make it down there and see the carpark office. He tells me to pull up to the gate by the office and he will let me out (I'm thinking where in the hell is my car - I ALWAYS go out the way I came in) I ask how much I owe he says "RM2, do you need a receipt". At this point I'm ready to fight anyone, but not willing to wait one more second or in this case probably 5 more minutes as he hand writes a receipt. So I say "No I don't need a receipt as long as you open the gate for me when I pull up". He assures me he will...hmmm. I was able to find my car, cram a crappy McD's burger in my mouth and pick up Reid on time....barely.

So what's it like living here....there are things here that are absolutely fabulous...FABULOUS. It is wonderful getting to do and know things I would have never done in Texas...and then there are moments...short ones...like the 30 minutes I described above that can completely slap you back to reality and out of your blissful state. Don't get me wrong, these problems are not big ones by any means, but they are so damn frustrating. Most of the time you can run around and feel like you're in any large city in the world... tons of shopping, luxury items, etc, but then there are these little things that they just haven't bothered with or haven't figured out yet here in Malaysia that drive you mad. Here in KL our response to a story like this one would be "that's Malaysia!". It is so true.


This is a picture of the relaxing room where you retreat after your scrub down and then again after your last treatment. It is very dark, you drink hot mint tea, and just melt!