Cross-Cultural Conversations

Observations by a Malaysian studying in Australia

Happy New Year ??

This time around I didn't feel like going out during New Year's Eve, but at the last minute we decided to go down to town. Knowing how jammed up the streets would be, we took the LRT (Light Rail Transit) instead. The thing I don't like about public transportation is not so much the 'transportation', it's the 'public' part which bothers me.

There was a group of teenagers talking in a very overdone broken Malaysian English, and extremely loud at that. When they got off the train I was filled with relief, but this wasn't going to last for long. As their replacement were a horde of about 15 malnourished and deliberately flat-voiced (apparently it's cool) kids/animals, with enough oil on their hair and faces to deep-fry a whole chicken, high on drugs and harassing anyone who wants to get out of the train who happens to be in their way with either racist taunts or sexist jokes.

Everyime I get on any mode of public transportation here there's always this strong desire to change my nationality.

After living in a hole for a year, I've lost the ability to dance, and so I gave the clubs a miss. The fireworks show would be the highlight of my New Year's Eve celebration that night.

We chose a spot close to the Petronas Twin Towers as that's where the show is held every year. There were thousands of other people there, all presumably waiting for the fireworks show. This looks to be a vantage point to watch it. I patted myself on the back for choosing such a good spot.

At 12 o'clock there were sounds of explosion, and people somewhere were cheering. As for us, and the thousands of other people with us, we were trying to spot the fireworks. It turns out one of the fireworks show were at the other side of the Petronas Towers, and the 6-storey Suria Shopping Centre, together with the Towers, blocked our view of the fireworks so that we could only see it in half its glory. There was another fireworks show at nearby Bintang Walk, but again our view was totally blocked by, what else, an office tower.

There I was, having waited solely for the fireworks at the spot for a full hour, only to see them in half, and in the case of Bintang Walk's, none at all. And the same goes for the thousands of other people in the same area as us. I was surprised to know there's so many stupid people in KL. I was even more surprised to learn that I was one of them.

After a lot of pushing and shoving, I managed to get into the LRT to go back home. People around me were looking down and giving dirty looks among themselves. What, are my shoes that ugly? I looked down. Someone took the liberty to vomit what looked like tomato puree at the exact spot were we (which included ME) were standing. There was no space to go anywhere else so I had no choice but to remain standing there.

What a great way to start the new year.

posted by: Tembaga2 at 03:12 | link | comments (1) |

#1  02 January 2004 - 06:47

 

Happy New Year Akhdur! xoxo, Nora

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