Takraw

Young and energetic Malay men living in the kampungs often indulge themselves in a game called Takraw (a.k.a. foot-volleyball). It's a native Malay game. Familiar in almost all over south-east Asia, with different names in different countries though.

Malay Footbath

A tub of clear water sits at every entrance of a house in Malay kampung (village). The local culture requires everyone entering the house to take off their shoes (if any) and dip their feet in the water to wash off sand and debris. Tropical hot weather dries your feet quick, no need to worry about leaving wet marks on the wooden floor.

Ibn Battuta mentioned about similar practice in 14th century Maldives. Possibility of cultural exchange here.

Foot-bath might pose a problem if you have a small coral-cut on or under your foot. Which is quite likely if you have been in the ocean once or twice. Regular wetting of injuries slows down the healing process. Wearing adhesive bandage to keep sand/debris and water off the wound is suggested.

Politics and Malaysia

Majority of the Malaysians don't feel comfortable discussing politics. Neither with each other nor with foreigners. This was a set back for me. For me, getting hold of the history and politics of a country is important for understanding it. History can be learned from reading, but for politics I prefer to know from the people.

Can!

A couple of days before my flight to Malaysia I met Ruta Žukaitytė in a Couchsurfing meetup at Dhaka. She is from Lithuania (the real name is Lietuva) but lives and works in Singapore. She's been to Malaysia several times. She shared some important observations about Malaysia and it's culture with me, things that only a foreigner would notice. One such observation was "Can!".

Trishaw

The Malay version of rickshaw is called Trishaw. It has structural differences with the human powered vehicle we have in Bangladesh. Basically it's a bicycle with a steel rod and tin sheet structure welded to the cycle on the side. The appendage consists of a seat, shades for protection against sun and braces on the front for support. The Bangladeshi version is a highly modified bicycle complete with springs, retractable shades etc. where the carriage sits behind the driver and the overall structure is symmetrical about the line of action of driving force.