M A C V A Y S I A

This year’s Raya holiday was nice, as I figured it would be. It was quite hectic, though; we were all over the place. We spent time in Johor (Muar of course; didn’t make it to Batu Pahat but the relatives there visited Muar), Pahang (Muadzam and Cherating) and Terengganu (Kemaman). Still, the hectic pace wasn’t too bad and it seemed there was still plenty of time to relax and enjoy ourselves. The only thing I didn’t like was the fact that I had the shits all the way from Kemaman to Muar, thanks to wedding food (always the culprit for me) and all the other stuff I’d been putting into my stomach since the end of Ramadhan. Can you imagine having the shits on a long journey where the only places to stop for relief are filthy petrol station toilets? We got to one station in the middle of nowhere and I hurried from the car to the toilets behind the station, only to find (to my absolute horror) that the men’s toilet was nothing but a little square room with a gutter all around to pee in. Now that was a test of physical endurance.

Another thing I didn’t like was the traffic, especially from Muar to Muadzam. It was a steady flow, a nice pace…but there were far too many idiots on the road, passing when there was A) lots of traffic coming up fast from the other direction, and B) very little space to squeeze in once the drivers’ dimly-lit brains finally clued into that. Even a bus was doing it. A BUS. As patient as I am most of the time, I do tend to get road rage when people come so close to killing me and my family. I’m going to go to jail for vehicular manslaughter one of these days.

Still, all in all the traffic wasn’t so bad, because the North-South Highway was actually clear both on the way to and from Muar. Not only was it clear, there were relatively few inconsiderate drivers, even the ones who drive right up your arse flashing their lights when you’re already exceeding the speed limit. It was a pretty smooth ride this time. That in itself is something to celebrate, I think.

And of course, the food was good (most of it anyway), I got to spend lots of quality time with Leen and Alisdair, we got to see lots of relatives, and I got to see a bit more of Malaysia. When you visit those little corners of the country you can see some interesting things. In the Cherating/Kemaman area there’s a place called Teluk Mak Nik; for some reason the English translation given on the signs is Monica Bay. That’s funny.

Now it’s open house time. We’re not having one this year, but I’ll be more than happy to visit other people’s homes and eat lots of good food. Just tell me when and where, the MacVays will be there. We’ll try, anyway.