Malaysia
The Simple Joys of Childhood
Life is so much simpler when you are a child. Happiness is as simple as an ice cream cone, be it from the hypermarket, the corner shop or the roving Wall’s man. Especially the roving Wall’s man! There’s something so exciting about hearing that familiar tune that they play (note the loudspeaker near the front … Continue reading
What God Hath Promised
Photo taken at Cherating Beach, Pahang, Malaysia on 13 September 2010. (Click on the photo for a bigger version.)
My Magical Night With Nature’s Fairies: The Fireflies of Sungai Yak Yah, Terengganu
RM25 per head, the man said. That’s how much they charge for a 30-minute boat ride to see the fireflies in Sungai Yak Yah, Kampung Ibok, in the district of Kemaman, Terengganu. But that price is for tourists, untuk orang kite mesti boleh dapat murah lagi (for us, Malaysians, we should be able to get … Continue reading
10 Colloquial Malay Terms To Learn
Every language in the world has its formal version — used in official documents, correspondence and newspapers — and its informal daily version — slang, bahasa pasar (literally: ‘market language’), streetwise lingo. Here are 10 Malay terms that fall in the latter category:- 1. “On The Way” I dare say that this phrase — ironically, … Continue reading
Tearing My Hair Out Over Jawi
This may look like Arabic to you, but it’s not. This is Jawi, previously the standard script for writing the Malay language. Adapted from the Arabic language, it uses all of the original 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet. In addition, Jawi has six unique supplementary letters: va (same as wa but with a single … Continue reading
