The 'lean' methodology we are following at the Theodora Project makes a big point that you have to look at the data at hand, without preconceived notions, and adjust accordingly. This trip is requiring much of the same.
We were last in Southeast Asia in 2018. So it has been awhile. Almost all the trips we took there during the period from 2013 to 2018 had certain commonalities. Generally speaking we either went to a resort with #2 and 2B + or - members of the family and followed their lead. Or we had some version of a driver/guide that took us around. Or some combination of both.
In planning this trip, I had it in my mind that we would use Melaka as a base. We would secure a driver and use that driver and his knowledge of the country to design various day trips that would be the backbone of our trip. It turned out finding said driver was not an easy task. The vast majority of services providing drivers simply want to transits (to and from airport) or do pre-packaged tours, mostly out of Kuala Lumpur which is not very helpful if you are in Melaka two hours to the south. We thought we had a driver lined up via our Airbnb host, but in the end he flaked out and we were not comfortable working with him.
Another thing we had assumed was we'd be able to walk places. Looking at the map of where the house was before we arrived, it was clear there was lots of shopping and restaurants in close proximity to our location. However, we were disabused of this notion swiftly on our arrival. There were clearly no sidewalks, crosswalks, road crossing signals, anything that made it practical and safe to walk. We were told that the local ride share service, Grab, was very inexpensive and effective for both transportation and delivery. That didn't negate the fact that we couldn't walk.
Yet another thing requiring a pivot had to do with the house. This is a house that is being rented because the owner has been working out of country. It is not necessarily set up for short-term rental. Additionally, the market here has been predominately Asian. Our Airbnb host told us we were the first Americans to have ever rented it. Expectations are different, for example hot water. Having arrived in our jet lagged, exhausted state, we could not get any hot water. Going back and forth with host and his wife, we found that only the showers had hot water! Everything else in the house uses ambient temperature water. For us this seemed incredulous. To them, it was normal. They live in the tropics. It is hot all the time. Why would one need hot water for things like washing dishes?
So we've been making major pivots in our expectations. We're accepting that we will probably only be doing things in the Melaka area. Fortunately the city itself has an awful lot to see. We've put ourselves into a mindset that this trip is more like the trip Sicily. We are more living her than doing a bunch of site seeing. And we've embraced fully the Way of Grab. We can now get around and order food with little problem.
These first couple of days our initial getting out has been focused on our local mall. We are blessed that it has a food court that is more like a hawker mall - meaning the food offered is done by local people made on the spot. It offers a wealth of options in one location for very reasonable prices.
Scenes from the Mall
What's your favorite chip flavor?
Chicken? Prawn? Seafood? Cuttlefish?
How about...
We noticed in our kitchen there were no butter knives. So we went to the mall in search of then,
You will notice forks and spoons a plenty,
Why? Because in S.E. and East Asia food is cut into bite sized pieces before cooking!
I would like to know how to use...
There are two malls right by us. However, one seems to be stuck in a state of being not quite finished.'
Fortunately the bridge between it and very active Aeon Mall is passable
2 comments:
I hope you'll try the huevos fritos potato chips and report back. They sound amazing!
It's so interesting to see the obvious differences between your current location and Sicily. The ease of walking, the cheapness of meals, etc. Hopefully those starker differences will make it easier to choose a place you'd like to be for a longer time.
I love the idea of a robot bringing me hot pot!!
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