“MR. BEAN” IN ACTION

As if to say, “Welcome to Malaysia,” we got caught in torrential rain with the full display of thunder and lightning under a canopy near the mall where we went for a first grocery run. We had just shopped and had three bags of food, helpless.

To start our long-term (2 months) stay in KL, my friend in KL had graciously loaned us his brand-new black Toyota Hilux, extended double cab (which is equivalent to Tacoma in the US) which was one of the cars I was eyeing to get for many years in the US. With one minor problem. Drivers are on the right side of the car. I have driven in Indonesia and the UK, so I was somewhat used to the idea, but it had been a while.

Our first task was to shop for food, mostly for breakfast items including tropical fruits (papayas, mangos, etc) and vegetables, and my wife’s favorite, sweet potatoes. Our missionary friend’s wife told us the day before Malaysia has some delicious sweet potatoes and my wife was eager to try them. We knew that Jaya Grocer was the one as it features food we are used to, like oat milk, sugar-free plain yogurt, oatmeal, etc. Jaya also has all kinds of Korean food which impressed us. Promptly, we input Jaya Grocer into our GPS (we were also told to use WAZE app for our driving) to our nearest location. The first Jaya Grocer the WAZE took us was a small strip mall neighborhood market where parking was a big problem. We were hoping to go to Jaya which is attached to a mall as we needed a few other household items for our survival. After scratching the first one, the second Jaya was also a dud. By this time, we have been driving for close to an hour, passing through half a dozen expressway tolls and getting used to KL’s traffic and highway system. The third time was the charm. Where WAZE led us was a vast outdoor parking lot, packed with cars in such ways I could not believe this would be normal. (For those back in the US, just think of the Black Friday parking scene.) Finally, I found my victim (I mean, a young family) and stalked them until they got in the car and pulled out of the space. I parked in their spot, but even then, it was a good walk to the market and the mall.

After a successful grocery run, we started walking back to our car. That was when the sky darkened and opened, and rain greeted us like an open faucet engulfing everything in sight. Without an umbrella, as the day had been partly cloudy all day until then, we became pitiful casualties. Even then, we did not want to be seen as outsiders, so we chose not to run as if to tell the world we were used to the passing thunderstorm. We walked as far as we could being drenched but found a dry place under a canopy and got stuck under a now heavier downpour. With one minor obstacle yet to overcome. . .

I still had to pay for parking before I headed out. I located the pay machine right outside another mall entrance and somehow made my way there with my wife waiting some 100 ft away. The parking fee was 5 ringgits (a little over a dollar) and they only accept cash. I only had 50-ringgit bills with me as I did not have time to break the large bills. Since I was eager to get out of the wet mess and get into the car, I slotted in a 50-ringgit bill not knowing it would return the change, but the machine started spitting bills out, ONE AT A TIME with about 5 seconds in between! The first two bills were 10-ringgit bills and then it ran out of both 10 and 5 ringgits. So, it started sending one ringgit bill at a time with 5 seconds pause after each. And if I am not bending to catch the bills, they fly every which way as if I am playing cash grabbing game inside some tube. As bending becomes more strenuous as I get older, I had to bend and twist my body unnaturally for what felt like an eternity to catch all 25 one-ringgit bills. I knew I had to pose a very awkward and peculiar stance, but I decided that was more dignified than chasing after winged bills. Later, my wife told me what she saw was so comical that she thought she was watching one of the Mr. Bean episodes. I laughed at myself, picturing what that scene must have looked like. . .

With my one pocket all bloated thanks to 1-ringgit bills, I found what looked like a security guard driving around with a golf cart draped with plastic covers on all sides and asked if he can take us to our car. I wasn’t sure if he understood, but I got in anyway, picked up my wife along the way, and finally made it back to our car after numerous finger-pointings, right and left, to our car. That was a hilarious and humbling outing. I only wished that I had a camera following us, capturing the whole thing. So I can watch it on down-and-out rainy days. . .