Wednesday, July 26, 2006

roti nan, mopeds, and crazy foreign drivers...

we've been here for just under 5 weeks and seems like we'll have another three until we can move into our new house. so, we're just going to prepare for the start of school and try to stay out of trouble in the meantime. living in a hotel is fun, but can get a little monotonous at times. thankfully i've finally discovered the cure for hum-drum, endless days:
driving.
...yep, just the thing to get that heart pounding and remind me of my own mortality. you may even call me a thrill seeker 'cause it seems that every time i get behind the wheel i cheat disaster. like sunday night after leaving ash in the hospital, for instance. i pulled out in front of an apparently invisible malaysian on a moped. his 'motosikal' was ok, and he was unhurt despite the torn khaki's and cracked car bumper. i knew i was going to be thrown into malaysian prison, and ashley and brooke would have to fend for themselves at the hospital until greg got back from thailand on thursday. so i did the logical thing and offered the guy 50 ringgitt for new pants and waited for the authorities.

a funny thing that happens when you drive on the left side of the road is that you just can't remember which is your left and right- right is easy with traffic and left is against traffic. NOT. my friend jason mass sings himself a little song when he gets in the 'reversed' car- maybe i'll actually write one to put in my icom portfolio if i ever see my piano again.

ash and broo have become great navigators, too; they know the directions just as well as i do and always seem to get me out of trouble. yesterday was no exception. we've all learned that just because you see the building doesn't mean you can actually get there, but we were trying to go somewhere we've been before and knew it was theoretically possible. once you get to wherever you want to go, a miracle of the Lord is the only way to find a space since the roads are packed with cars and very narrow. so, as i was petitioning, i followed a motorcycle down a street that looked like an entrance to the center- completely lined with cars promisingly parked in both directions.
somehow i was faintly aware of a gradual narrowing of the road, but pressed on confident that i would find that perfect space right near the restaurant. you can imagine my surprise when i found myself at the abrupt end of a single-car width lane bordered by a high curb and a sidewalk crowded with mopeds and motorcycles (!). ok, no problem, i thought, i'll just back up, turn around, and drive out the way i came. much to the amusement of the locals shouting things that may just have been 'have a great day, lah!', it took the girls and me about 15 minutes and a valiant attempt at a 27-point turn to straighten the car out, look over my left shoulder and back out of the 200m lane, receiving encouragement from the gathering in front of the store where the locals were probably praying the loud, hysterical, 'rich' american and her cute daughters would trash their bikes.

lunch was worth it, though- sooo tasty! ash even ate my tandoori chicken along with her fair share of roti nan biasa, which is a delicious giant flat bread with fantastic sauces for dipping. i am also developing empathy for all those 'crazy foreigners' i used to see and laugh at back home. they must just be adrenaline junkies, like me. =]

chryl left the ground at 17:34 4 comments