Arriving Saturday evening, September 8th, I was a happy camper. All flights were on time, my luggage arrived okay, and Nancy and Doug met me at the airport at about 7:30 p.m., after which we rode in a taxi for about an hour to get to our condo in Ampang. After church on Sunday and a visit to Doug & Tracy’s rented house 15-20 minutes away, and two mornings when I was wide awake at 4:00 a.m., my “first impressions” are:
• It’s not as hot and humid as I’d expected. Air conditioners in the 3 bedrooms in our apartment are on the fritz (the one in the living room works fine), but I’ve slept very comfortably with a sheet and windows open and 2 fans running in our bedroom. (The landlord will fix the bedroom air conditioners, but I haven’t sensed we’ve needed them so far.)
• Thunderstorms are spectacular! Last night after dark there was an electrical storm like I’ve never seen anywhere. Bolts of lightning were awesome, with thunderclaps following within a second or two. (The onset of such a storm is a clear signal to unplug the computer.)
• The air is really clear in Kuala Lumpur. At least compared to big cities in China, there appears to be very little air pollution—perhaps mostly due to a breeze and the tropical rain which seems to fall most everyday.
• There’s a fantastic view of the city from our 18th floor apartment—a very modern city with lots of skyscrapers and high-rise apartments. Verdant jungle-carpeted hills surround the city, with high-rises protruding from many of them.
• I’m impressed with our apartment. There’s a large sliding door in the living room which opens to a small patio and creates a 7’ x 10’ opening for a nice breeze. With windows open, Nancy has gotten mosquito bites in the night, but so far I haven’t seen any of the flying creatures that have somehow ascended to the 18th floor. Each of the three bedrooms has a bath. The kitchen has a very small 4-burner stove and oven and a small but adequate fridge. Nancy bought a microwave and toaster, so we’re pretty-well fixed. The washing machine runs on a 90-minute cycle (!) and spins more water out of clothes than would be the case with U.S. machines—mostly because dryers are not commonly used. Clothes are hung-up on drying racks in the laundry room behind the kitchen—a room that does have “window” screens that provide air-flow through to the living room.
• I’m also impressed with what I currently don’t know! I know how to walk out and lock the front door, take the elevator downstairs and take a swim in the very nice swimming pool. But, I don’t have a clue on how to walk or drive anywhere, where to go to get a haircut or a meal (Nancy and I plan to eat-out tonight after she gets home from work.), or where to go if I want to buy a temperature gauge for our apartment (You’ve got to know how hot it is!). Nancy tells me that when you need gas for the car, you pay first and then have the attendant pump the gas, but I have yet to experience this. I also don’t know anything yet about how to access our Malaysian bank account or where to go for a Starbucks mocha—but I will learn! (So, the learning curve is considerable.) I do know how to use the computer, log-onto the internet and check news, MLB scores and the latest on the NFL. (Our dish TV has Sports Center on “ESPN Malaysia,” but it has very different coverage from ESPN at home.)
• A visit late yesterday to a “Giant” grocery store on the way back from Doug’s place assured me that we can buy most things that we need at reasonable prices. Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, Special K, Rice Krispies and Great Grains are currently in our kitchen cupboard. The Nestle’s ice cream we bought was quite good, and—as Nancy had previously written—white rice comes in huge 25’ sacks! Yesterday Nancy opened-up a delicious watermelon only to discover that the inside of the melon was yellow instead of red. - rw
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