But, It's A Dry...
NO! NO! NO!
It isn't.
It is so hot that my photo-chromatic lenses fail to photo-chromatisize!
That's a real thing. I did not know until this trip. Early on I noticed I was squinting a lot and I wondered why. In excessive heat or cold the molecules don't play nice.
The tandoori chicken place. Breakfast included a stop here to get a roti canai with a friend egg cooked in it. Yup, really good.
Jim, we're operating in the read zone here! Yes, yes we are.
Breakfast: Nasi Lemak at a tourist joint. OK food, poor prices (RM11.50 with Teh). Still hungry, I went to the tandoor place. Roti canai with a egg fried inside it and an asam (RM5.50). All that is maybe 1km of walking. By 0930. On the way home I had to stop for something cold. Made a bad choice. Old Towne White Coffee (that's a drink name not a sign of segregation!) Lime soda - tasty and cold. But at RM11.50 a rip off.
The Ringgit spends like a dollar but is worth less than a quarter. And, I am getting increasingly cheap. No, I am aware that I am in an area that makes its living of Westerners.
Mad dogs and Englishmen...as the saying goes. And, I ain't either. So I retired to the room. Dortmunder and hydration time.
Around 1630 (too early, the sun was still blistering) I set off for the Pasar Malam. The night market. Think flea market. For ex-Chicagoans, think Maxwell Street on a Saturday afternoon back in the day. Replace the famously great Maxwell Street Polish Sausage sandwich with even better food. You're getting close.
Night Markets are a staple throughout Asia south of (but including) Taiwan. I meant to go in Kuantan. But the time and effort seemed daunting being so far from town. I should have gone. Here it was a 15 minute marathon of sweat. I mean stroll.
The market opens at 1600. It was starting to show signs of life when I arrived. I walked to one end, found shade and rested. I walked to the other end, found shade and rested. I bought a lemon asam drink (RM3) and walked back to the north end.
It was time to man up. Fries? Nope. Whole battered and fried squid on a stick? Not tonight. Fried chicken? Seemed too Western. Mystery sausages. Unhuh - not ready for that. Curries, noodles, and rice dishes served in baggies? Logistically frightening!
It was time to man up. Fries? Nope. Whole battered and fried squid on a stick? Not tonight. Fried chicken? Seemed too Western. Mystery sausages. Unhuh - not ready for that. Curries, noodles, and rice dishes served in baggies? Logistically frightening!
I was a wimp. But a very happy wimp. A different vendor's lemon asam (RM3, again). Better. More plum taste. And 5 chicken sate 70 sens each. RM3.50 Have I mentioned how good the chicken is here? This was stunning. Charred just right. Peanut sauce was spicy with a dash of tamarind. That sour hint was AMAZING.
After a bit more rest and shade I went to a different sate shack. RM7 for 10 sticks - 5 each chicken and beef. This time with cucumber and onion too. Stunning. If the peanut sauce had that touch of tamarind I would have lost my mind about it. But it was still great.
RM5 for a cup of sliced watermelon completed the meal.
That was good eating.
I saw 2 western couples. The first I asked why there were not sweating. The are German...but have lived in Singapore for years. It gives me hope. The Brits I saw as I was leaving were as doused, glowing, adrip, messy, glossy, and wet as I was. It was nice to see I'm not alone in the struggle.
Why no food or market pictures? Well, one, the selfie was taken there. In the damn shade. And, two, it just feels tacky. There are lots of vloggers and bloggers making a living touting these things. They take fine pictures. I prefer to simply experience the moment as it happens. My purpose is my pleasure and satisfaction. That means trying to blend in. (E.g., shocking the man at the small table where I ate the 10 skewers by greeting him in Malay.)
A long shower. With the inline water heater turned off. Literally. In AG our ground water is super cold year round. This never even got chilly. I air dried under the AC vent. That felt good.
There's a lot of very different stuff here. It's not my job to complain about how different things are. It to accept and enjoy them.
I sure as hell am enjoying them...very sweatingly so.
After a bit more rest and shade I went to a different sate shack. RM7 for 10 sticks - 5 each chicken and beef. This time with cucumber and onion too. Stunning. If the peanut sauce had that touch of tamarind I would have lost my mind about it. But it was still great.
RM5 for a cup of sliced watermelon completed the meal.
That was good eating.
I saw 2 western couples. The first I asked why there were not sweating. The are German...but have lived in Singapore for years. It gives me hope. The Brits I saw as I was leaving were as doused, glowing, adrip, messy, glossy, and wet as I was. It was nice to see I'm not alone in the struggle.
Why no food or market pictures? Well, one, the selfie was taken there. In the damn shade. And, two, it just feels tacky. There are lots of vloggers and bloggers making a living touting these things. They take fine pictures. I prefer to simply experience the moment as it happens. My purpose is my pleasure and satisfaction. That means trying to blend in. (E.g., shocking the man at the small table where I ate the 10 skewers by greeting him in Malay.)
A long shower. With the inline water heater turned off. Literally. In AG our ground water is super cold year round. This never even got chilly. I air dried under the AC vent. That felt good.
There's a lot of very different stuff here. It's not my job to complain about how different things are. It to accept and enjoy them.
I sure as hell am enjoying them...very sweatingly so.
Comments
Glad you have AC!