I’ll be honest, I haven’t been a huge fan of Muslim countries that I have travelled to in the past. I don’t think it’s the American in me, but rather the inner hutchie mamma that so desperately wants to show off my scandalous shoulders and knees without drawing the attention of wandering eyes. However, as soon as we got off the bus in Georgetown, there was air about this town that had an ease to it. It’s the melting pot of Asian cultures, filled with equal parts of Indian, Chinese and Malayan people. That also entailed Muslims, Buddhists and even Christians (British colonization) living peacefully side by side with each other… if only the rest of the world could do this.
This cultural fusion also made for some damn good food. With immigrants bringing the best of their nations’ food here, the street food was by far the best I’ve experienced. Indian food spiced to perfection sans food poisoning, Malayan fried chicken because in this country KFC stands for Kannon Fucking Cook (got to learn that one from our guide), and Chinese food without weird animal parts being thrown in the mix. Let’s just say I didn’t go hungry during my stay.
Then there were the arts. As some of you may know, the art gene in my family skipped a generation, and whatever talent was granted to my mom definitely missed me and didn’t even bother to teach me to appreciate it. Yet, Georgetown has some of the most tasteful street art, intricately placed among crumbly buildings done in order to tell the history of the city while appealing to the eye. It’s the first time, I’ve actively sought out artwork on my own.
After two weeks of island life in Thailand, the city was a nice change and with that came a much needed dose of America. April 6th is now officially deemed American Day thanks to Line (the Danish girl, I am currently traveling with), this day entails going to the biggest shopping mall you can find, eating McDonalds, and watching shitty Schwarzenegger films (Sabotage) on the big screen. Sometimes you just need those kind of days.
With my city needs now fulfilled, it was time to head to the hills to cool off or as they are called here, the Cameron Highlands.
