Spot the Difference (My 1st week in KL)

There are so many similarities between Kuala Lumpur and Manila sometimes I forget that I’m not just in another part of town (Caloocan?). The people look similar, when I go to the mall or the grocery the same superbrands are available, and the weather is pretty much the same. So I go about my day thinking that I can probably easily get the hang of things but then I start spotting the differences, some big (like right hand driving on the left side of the road) some small (groceries come in bulk, not in single packs). In my first week I’ve learned so much I’ve gotten quite excited (and sometimes afraid) of what’s coming next in the life of a girl who’s never lived away from home.

Lesson # 1 Pirated DVD shopping
I thought it would be like going to my favorite ”suki” vendor in the nearby tiangge and selecting the DVDs. Here the vendor actually has a shop in Bangsar Village where he pretends to sell original VCDs and DVDs but the shop is half empty so its obvious there are more wares in the back office. I flip through the title selections, get disappointed they don’t have Ugly Betty (yup I got hooked on that cheesy series before I left Manila) then fork over some cash for Nip/Tuck, House and Lost. Suddenly within a few minutes they close up shop, roll down the steel grille and get our numbers so they can pass us the pirated goods later on when the police aren’t watching. After 15 mins (in heavy rains) we meet at street corner and shop manager (wearing a cool bluetooth headset) directs us to his cohort in a running car who hands us the DVDs through the window while urgently instructing us to keep it in our bags. It’s like dealing drugs!

Lesson # 2 Shipping cargo
I brought over a balikbayan box with more clothes, bags, shoes and books than could fit in my 20kg baggage limit on the plane and I thought the smartest and cheapest way to bring it over would be through the unaccompanied luggage methodology (airport to airport) wherein my box would be picked up from my house, loaded onto a Malaysian Airlines flight and then be ready for pick up at the KL International Airport a day after I arrived. I envisioned going to KLIA (which is an hour away from my condo), picking the box up from a conveyor belt and merrily going home. This isn’t what happened.

Thankfully accompanied by a local driver, we head off to the KL Cargo Terminal (not KLIA as I expected), get fill out 2 forms to get 2 passes to enter the compound (which is roughly the size of the UP Campus), go to a far building to get them to issue us a guide to go to Customs (in another building) for some clearances and payment, and then another building to pay some local charges, then still another building to finally get my box which seemed less important as time went by. Finally you get it checked by Customs in a different station, then go back to the Customs building for final clearances before surrendering your pass at the exit. Time elapsed: 2 hours (excluding 2 hours of travel time). I’m never doing this again!

Lesson # 3 Language
Yes they speak English everyhere but its of the British variety. I’ve found myself stumbling several times:
Example:
Me to Guard: Excuse me, where can I throw my trash?
Guard: Huh?
Me: Trash…you know…garbage? Where is the garbage can?
Guard: Huh?
Me: Umm…dirty stuff container?
Guard: Oh…you mean rubbish bin!

I don’t know why it took us that long to understand each other.

Vive l'difference!