Day 27: Malaysian Sluggishness

26.07.2016

On this day, nothing really noteworthy happens. We decide to visit the Batu Caves, caves with a temple built inside, as we wake up late again. These caves are located at the other end of the city, which may be one reason why we keep postponing our departure there. In the end, we both agree that we won't make it to the sacred caves on this day because we have succumbed too much to Malaysian sluggishness. Instead, my laptop has an appointment at the supposedly internationally renowned largest IT shopping centre in KL. Besides countless technical gadgets, they also offer repairs for everything (I think they would even fix a broken arm for me). So I have negotiated there to get my laptop repaired. What, his laptop is also broken? Yes, unfortunately, I managed to break my laptop screen soon after my phone at the beginning of the trip. Sometimes I think that the age of Nokia phones and desktop computers would suit me well again, as I am not a fan of touchpads and the like, and they are even less of a fan of me.

Surprisingly, the gentlemen there can not only sell but also repair, so my laptop gets a completely new display 45 minutes later. 55€ is not even an unaffordable amount of money for that, even though another investment in my equipment is slowly weighing much more on my travel budget than planned.

While we wait, Gudi takes me to a café where we find out that café is sold in Malaysia, which they call Vienna White or Vienna Black. Amused, we ask what this is, and we only get incomprehensible gibberish as an answer. So Gudi has no choice but to put it to the test, while I can only watch with eagle eyes, as café is probably the last thing I should consume - this hurts a lot because I haven't had a drinkable one in ages, which leads to chronic fatigue for me.

Later, we go to China Town again and discover that during the daytime and on weekdays, it behaves not like a dead dog but like a fire-breathing dragon. This means it's pulsating, active, with many people and many stalls. I discover an incredibly cool blue pair of sunglasses, but I don't buy them because, well, in case of doubt, others decide and I have already bought myself a pair of glasses. Unfortunately, the fact that this may last only 4 days with my wear and tear and that buying several lenses would be a great investment is not taken into consideration in this scenario. However, I buy two T-shirts, which increases the volume of my travel wardrobe by about 40%.

Later, we end up in a typical Chinese food court, where it is somewhat similar to the much larger court in Georgetown, but in the Chinese way. This means: plastic dishes in all color variations, chickens hanging from the head, Chinese people behaving like frantic chickens, and dirt and burping everywhere. You can do it once, but it doesn't have to be repeated.

Filled with rice and naan bread, yes, that's all I eat, we go home and end the day as we started it - slowly and sluggishly.

Gudi's Glorious Laws

On this day, I receive a lecture on when to use which backpack. I think a backpack is a backpack and see at best a difference in volume. Gudi, of course, knows better. Since she noticed that I had taken possession of her second ski backpack and then the seam had opened at one point during the last few days, she is already very excited. Although she manages not to say anything for a few days, it bursts out of her at the shopping mall, culminating in a five-minute monologue. The short version of the repeating content: There are backpacks for summer and backpacks for winter. Since this one is a winter backpack, it is clear that it tore because it was packed too full (apparently, you keep less in backpacks during winter - I didn't know that). She gets so worked up about it that the somewhat rough offer of a mobile phone repair is the last straw. So Gudi explains to the frightened lady in German, albeit with a slightly humorous undertone that she probably cannot hear: "Wow, if my phone breaks, I will come to you, stop constantly asking me, everyone keeps coming here and wants something from me - I can't stand it!"

One thing is for sure, her method is the most effective one so far to get rid of annoying salespeople because the lady disappears in no time.