To Kuala Lumpur

Well, I finally made it to KL (Kuala Lumpur) for the weekend. One thing I found out was that reindeer are male...and have testicles. All of the reindeer in the Pavilion Mall are shown with their man parts...every single one of them. The first video bares the story.

The other thing about KL is you have to represent your people. This guy was not a good spokesman for white people in general. This video was taken while the band was playing a very impressive drum solo. I think I saw this same guy at a Grateful Dead concert in the 70s.

This one gave me goosebumps. The legend I and many other young guitar players of all ages grew up worshiping was Jimi Hendrix. At the Kuala Lumpur Hard Rock, they had a ratty old Jimi Hendrix coat that looked like something you could pick up at a thrift store for 10 bucks. Regardless, I knew that my idol had worn this garment and all around me I could only here Voodoo Chile and all I could see was a burning guitar on stage with Jimi wearing this coat. OK, I was slightly intoxicated at the time.

Asia has not let me down in regards to surprises. We were walking around town and saw a sign that said "Fish Spa 38 ringgit for 20min" (38 Malaysian ringgit is about $12). I asked my friends they told me about this unique foot treatment. Immediately I decide that I had to try this out. The next day Coworker, Chinese Hair Dresser (my new close friend from Malaysia) and I decided to stop by the fish spa. Hundreds of small fish feast on the dead skin of your feet. The only hard part is getting over the laughing fit you will be in for the first 5 minutes or so. Very bizarre...but surprisingly enjoyable!

The King has Left the Building!

Work Hard and Play Hard

There has been a veteran guy from work who has come to the customer site. He also stayed in the same hotel with us. We ended up working long hard days and then eating and drinking well into the night. This was a nice revisit to the primary lesson taught at UW-Madison: Work Hard and Play Hard. Unfortunately for my 10 fans, I have left you in the dust...my apologies. I hope we can still be friends.

Veteran Coworker has now taken off. I decided to call it an early night and figured I might as well put together a post. A lot has happened in the last couple of weeks, so I decided to give some random thoughts and observations about Malaysia. Feel free to comment, e-mail or call me if you want to hear the story behind it:

• Saw a hornbill yesterday. Not my picture...

• Climbed up 15 flights of stairs about 4 times a day for the past week and a half.
• Ate at a fisherman's village restaurant with the Plant Manager.
• Had a full day of meetings in an overly air conditioned room. The CEO said he wanted to visit Canada in January. I told him he could borrow my coat if I was still in Malaysia.
• I had either a chipped tooth or a really thick fingernail in my fried rice a couple of days ago. Veteran Coworker had the other half of it...
• Every other dining experience has been spectacular. The food is great in Malaysia.
• A common greeting in Malaysia is something on the order of, "Good Morning, Have you taken your breakfast?" Or "Hello, have you had lunch yet?"
• Explained the impending doom of social security in the US to a Malaysian while eating spicy chili crab with my hands. Malaysians get to keep all of the retirement money they pay in as taxes and it is invested in the market...they couldn't understand the idea that we pay tax that gets paid out to other people and that this pool of money is not invested in anything.
• Went to the Sungai Pandan Waterfalls and Gua Charas twice (including once with College Roomate). The first two videos are the water falls and the Buddha caves (Gua Charas).
• Partied with the Indian Mafia. They are big Indian guys who wear pinkie rings and gold chains. I have a picture of one of them balancing a cocktail on their head.
• Can not tell the difference between Thai, Vietnamese, Filipino, Indonesian and Malaysians. I'm working on it!
• Played Purple Haze with the Filipino Band in the Hotel, twice. Also played mustang sally once.
• I now know a few words in Malay. Salemat Pagi = Good Morning. Terima Kasi = Thank You. Nasi = Rice. Ikan = Fish. Udang = Prawn. Football = Soccer.
• The Sultan of Pahang had his birthday party at the hotel I'm staying at. The last video is of the fireworks that were going off during the celebration. There were glowing chunks of firework shrapnel hitting the building I was in. I stay on the 5th floor and the fireworks were almost eye level.
• Family of 4 on a moped cruising down the highway.

There's more but I'm too tired to type. It was a good run with Veteran Coworker and
College Roommate! Now its time to rest up. Enjoy the videos!