I took over a hundred of pictures when I was out of my backyard recently, but I won't write it in a regular 'out-of-town weekend in review' method because I don't go by that format anymore.
Somewhere in the southern part of the Malay peninsula...
This special putu piring is yellow in colour, thanks to the turmeric powder added into the flour mix. Only good to eat when it's steaming hot.
These people are serving themselves a lunch of a typical Malay wedding cuisine, which happens a lot during school holidays. You can't see the dishes, because it's supposed to be mysterious.
I had a massive lump of special ais kacang at a food court nearby the Diamond Jubilee Hall, that also serves really tasty roasted char kueh [?] and apparently the best sotong kangkung [according to two SMSs found at the foodie section on the last Sunday Star]. Really tasty Kacang Pool / Foul beans can be found at the same food court, but only for breakfast.
A stall at the Sunday night market near the Larkin Stadium sells Laksa Pening. The stall operator knows it's a typo... and currently waiting for someone to redesign the label.
About a half hour away from the capital is the old capital city of Kota Tinggi [back in the day, I think], which is quite a lifeless place, unless you're into outdoorsy stuff like mining for bauxite in Teluk Ramunia or climbing Gunung Panti [good for collecting mineral water]. The government buildings are apologetically stuck in the 1980s...
Introducing the very first edition of 'Conversations With Strangers', where I have... conversations with strangers. My first subject is Mrs. Majidah Majid, an interior designer originating from Kajang.
On one early Sunday evening, my friend JK and I wandered along Jalan Damansara and found this lady feeding a colony of monkeys. We started a conversation about what she was doing there.
"I live just down the road. My neighbours have seen me feeding the monkeys, and scolded me for doing so. I don't listen to them. There are some people who would come all the way from Ulu Klang to feed this lot. You can see in my car I'd always have six long loaves of bread. I used to feed the monkeys with bananas, but I've noticed that they prefer bread to bananas. I bought this loaf at TMC Bangsar."
"There is a rambutan tree on my lawn, and sometimes the monkeys take some of its fruit. My Japanese neighbours are very annoyed by that. They have a dog, and it has bitten a monkey's bottom before. I feel so sorry for the monkeys. I told my son to not be friends with our neighbour's daughters."
Other than monkeys, Majidah talked about the fate of this area known as Bukit Damansara, one of the greener and well-aged affluent residential area in Kuala Lumpur, mentioning several 'personalities' such as Ling Leong Sik's son and Pak Lah's son-in-law whom she finds "corrupted", and how our politicians wear Hugo Boss suits but behave badly in the Parliament.
After a half hour at the monkey-feeding spot, Majidah invited us to follow her to her house. This is the exciting part, because I never thought I would actually step into one of these million-Ringgit homes.
Green plants are everywhere, even on the exposed brick walls. I wish I knew how to identify plants, so that I can name-drop the hundreds of plant species one can find in the lawn. According to Majidah, the main purpose of the plants is to shield off the noise from the road. The traffic can get quite heavy during weekday evenings.
Inside, JK and I were served some mango juice, and continued our little dialogue. Between quotes you can find photographs of the house's interiors [could be better because sunlight was disappearing], which I have captured with the apartamento aesthetic in mind [I hope I succeed in this].
"My house is made out of Port Dickson fair face bricks, which costs only 10 sen at the time it was built. This land belonged to one of the Chinese engineers who wanted to migrate to England and Australia after the May 13th 1969 attacks. I paid RM 20 000 for this land when the price should have been RM 40 000. This house was completed in the year 1970. The total price for this house was RM 53 000, not including the cabinets. The area is about 7 000 square feet."
"I am 65 years old. After my husband passed away, I started to wear the tudung. Now I am back to being single. I have the freedom to do whatever I want. I think of myself as a liberal person. I believe in hikmah; behind every bad thing, there is always something good coming out of it. My husband is gone, and that's sad, but I get to be independent and live my life the way I like, and that's a good thing. I studied Interior Design in England in the 1960s, and became one of the first interior designers in this country. Only since a few years ago that it is recognised as a profession here. I was a judge at the recent Malaysian International Furniture Fair. It flooded, and many furniture were ruined. I am very sure next year's will be very unsuccessful."
"My cats are sleeping in my room upstairs. One of my grandsons lives with me; his name is Adam. My oldest grandson is now 14 years old. I love to collect ceramics and shells. I never pay the zakat through the government. They would just take the money for themselves. What I do is I help my relatives who are in need of money. Everyday I read newspapers cover-to-cover, including the sports section. But I don't like football. What I like are tennis and golf."
20 minutes and 20 shots later, JK and I put our shoes back on, as it was getting dark. Majidah let us have a peek of her one-week-old BMW 5 series.
In true Malaysian fashion, it took us another 10 minutes to reach the car because we couldn't stop talking about many more random things, such as other neighbours, advice on life, and a hilarious comment on a wife of a prominent politician.
"The family living opposite of my house are very well-bred. All of the children are now working as an accountant, lawyer, engineer. When you go overseas, don't just stick to the people of your origin. Mix around with everybody. And if you hold on to your values, you should know the limits of socialising with other people."
"Did you see her at the (so and so's) funeral? She was wearing high heels, and her legs resemble pig trotters! Haha!"
And so, that was the end of our encounter. I hope I get all the statements right, because they were mostly mentally-recorded. Next thing I'll do is to get a sound recorder, and make sure my digital camera is fully-charged. And then maybe I'll meet a stranger who lives in The Troika.
