Family Matters

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I always seem to get some sort of illness when I come to this hot, humid and sticky environment. It can range from an upset tummy to heat bumps located in uncomfortable regions. This time it was a sweat rash, after spending a whole weekend in the Sun at the Grand Prix. My family seemed to be competing in a gurning contest, when they saw my arms. Awful night sleep, intense itching and constant showers was my routine for a few days. Thankfully, it soon cleared up and hopefully I will not get it again.

The plan was to have no plan for the following couple of weeks. Every time I was asked where I wanted to go, I replied, "Wherever you take me, I'll be happy". This developed due to the fact that backpacking, by oneself, is certainly not as stress free as it's made out to be. Constantly moving, finding transport, booking hotels and hostels, organising my itinerary and avoiding dodgy characters are just some of the tasks during my travelling week. That is not to say that I'm not loving every minute. Just having my Aunties, Uncles and Cousins look after me, where I thought about basically nothing serious for weeks was a little bit of heaven in between the intensity. Home comforts included air conditioning, power showers, home cooked food, an XBox 360 and Premier League footy. Perfect!

What's always exciting about journeying to Malaysia is seeing my cousins. I must have thirty plus cousins who live here, with a large age range. Some are newly born, who I have never previously met, and some have children of their own. All of them change when I arrive biannually. One of the youngsters, Zakwan, made a quick impression. When I last saw him, he was only three and did not speak any English. Now he is a huge five years old and speaks English fluently almost as his first language. His mother and my auntie, Mak Jai, explained that he asked her the other day "what is the recipe to make biscuits? What are the ingredients that are needed?". While blowing out candles, for his fifth birthday he refused to proceed because "the smoke hurts my eyes!". Very intelligent young man and cute too.

During my stay, I ventured out to many family-based excursions. Activities included going to cinema to watch Source Code, bowling (four wins out of four), a lakeside dinner and even a late evening trip to get frozen yoghurt. My family also wanted to show off Malaysia too. Whenever I usually visit, I spend most of the time in shopping centres and visiting the obvious tourist destinations. This time I was shown various local attractions such as the Masjid Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, "City of Lights" and the governmental area of Putrajaya, which housed much beautiful architecture, including the Prime Minister's Residence.

One attraction I was brought to was Batu Caves. These are a stunning collection of water carved limestone hills, where many Hindu shrines are located. When one arrives, the giant golden Murugan statue at the entrance is startling. I really did not expect to see such a formidable sight. The statue towered over me as I climbed the steep two-hundred and seventy-two staircase. Standing behind it also gave the impression that this Hindu God was watching over the city. It is the largest Murugan statue in the world and stands at 47.2m high. Absolutely exhausted from the climb, we (my cousin Kal, his girlfriend Iliyah and I), had finally reached the cave. The stalactite formations were very attractive, where after some rainfall, had small trickles of water falling from the tips. Furthermore, within the crags were little areas where birds had naturally formed nests. Monkeys also prowled the sacred area play fighting, raiding bins and having quick-fire sex, which only lasted ten seconds or less. I would have liked to have stayed longer but unfortunately I had forgotten to apply insect repellent. Unseen little critters had seemingly had a feast on my lower legs and arms. One thing in this wonderful country that I sincerely hate is the bugs. They love my English blood!

Unfortunately, I have been unable to visit all of my Uncles, Aunties and cousins but I shall make plans to visit them in a couple of months on the return leg of my trip. My family is just too damn big! Also, when I come back, my Mum has given me the great news that she will be in Malaysia to greet me. I think seven months without being told off is too long (ha ha!).

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Photos

The Plague
My skin rash from all weekend at Formula 1

Cousin Azmi
With his game face on

Comments

[Ucu]

Hi
Dan, hope that you are enjoying yourself now. Take care! Rgds, Ucu Aton