Iroiro na Mono 2

Hello. I'm quite sick of this background for my blog. My new year's resolution will be to change it.

I didn't realize that my last post was the one I made the night before JLPT. I was so traumatized post-JLPT that all I wanted was a cup of tea and some high-calorie cookies. I took N4 in the morning and N3 in the afternoon. The wait was so...hot. And I was wearing jeans. Uuugh. N4 was easy enough. But N3 slapped me left, right, upwards, downwards and diagonal.

After N4 my friend and I decided we will just take N3 for the experience. It wasn't that hard. I was just lazy to memorize all the kanji. As well as ill-prepared for the ridiculous time allocation. But N3 was a nightmare for more than just the content of the paper itself. Firstly it was set during the hot afternoon sun. Secondly, it was freaking postponed by 30 minutes because we had to wait for candidates who haven't arrived due to traffic! And despite that, our classroom had at least one empty desk at every row. Thirdly, we had to fill in an annoying questionnaire egged on by a predictably boring 'omiyage from Japan'. Fourthly, because of the annoying questionnaire, we left quite late. I walked out of my desk at exactly 7pm. The school didn't deem it necessary to turn on the lights, and although there was still a little bit of sun, all shaded areas of the school (stairs) might as well be nighttime.

So I walked down the 9 storeys stairs because it was too dark to be waiting for the lift on my own.

But things went up from there. Petaling Street was disgusting. There was pork and people spitting everywhere, yet I had to check out their game store. 5 ringgit PS2 games are still sold there after all. When I was done, I went to the head of the Street and contemplated my transportation home. Ideally wanted to drive, but being unfamiliar with the area, I decided to take a cab that morning. There were only two ways; bus and cab. Cabs are smelly but busses are infrequent. Walking would take close to an hour, and I was in need of a bathroom.

So I went to the Kotaraya side and stood by the roadside, contemplating. Then suddenly, a couple of haggard-looking tourists came up to me. There were two girls. One short, one Tall.

Short Girl: Excuse me, do you speak English?

Me: Oui. (Just kidding) Yes, I do?

SG: Do you know where is the monorail station around here?

Me: Ah, unfortunately there is no monorail station in the area. There are only the LRT stations...somewhere nearby. I've never actually been there.

SG: I see. *looks around desperately*

Me: May I know where you're going?

SG: We're going to Bukit Bintang. The Pavilion, you know.

Me: Oh. Well, from here there are only two ways to get to Bukit Bintang. Taxi or bus. Or walking. But that would be very tiring.

SG: *said something about how hard it is to get taxis* well, anyway, thanks for your help. *remains standing around*

Me: It's no problem. *contemplates, contemplates* You know I'm also going to Bukit Bintang. You wanna share a cab?

SG to Tall Girl: Hey you wanna share a cab to Bukit Bintang?

TG: Really? You would? Sure, sure!

Me: No problem. It's easier for me to get a cab since I'm local hehehe. Now stand back.

So we ended up sharing a cab. The two girls were Australians who are not quite tourists. They were on some internship program arranged by their college. Their actual internship was only for 1 week, but their college put them up for 3 weeks at the Renaissance Hotel. Prior to meeting me that night they got lost while walking on the highway. Thus, their haggard appearance. We chatted a lot in the cab and in addition to covering the fare (only 4.60 hehehe I'm good) They gave me a banana!

Funny how I didn't even ask for their names. But they were totally fun. I like such encounters. No attachments, just pure fun. Like one-night stands hehehehe. We parted ways at Pavilion which turned out to be a boon for our taxi too because he came to a long queue of tourists when he dropped us off. The moment we said goodbye I dashed off to the toilet.

I like American and Australian tourists in general. They are very friendly, and readily admit their own ignorance or shortcomings in a foreign country. And are willing to accept help. Unlike those European tourists.

Well then. I'll stop here before this post gets too long. Ta'ra!
p/s Klops: Yyes it's kinda nice getting back to exercising. I'm not going to lose to funny looking guy who thinks he's such an expert now even though he ran only ONE half marathon! and thanks for the suggestion!