The special people we met were kind enough to explain a few things that were puzzling to us, looking at Malaysian life as outsiders.The special people we met were kind enough to explain a few things that were puzzling to us, looking at Malaysian life as outsiders.A curious thing happened when it started to rain in Malaysia... head-covering became an urgent concern! A drop of rain and one hand was automatically raised and placed on top of the head. One baby had the "good fortune" of having inventive parents who tied a plastic bag over her head. Utterly confused by this quiet panic that happened with a sprinkle of rain, Daud explained to us that Malaysians are afraid of "sunny rain", believing that it leads to sickness. As we looked on with confusion at the Malaysian habit, I'm sure the feeling was mutual. One man said to us "You walk in the rain?" unable to comprehend that we were welcoming the rain to break the uncomfortable heat we had been feeling!

Around K.L. we started noticing people pointing by holding up a clutched fist and indicating direction with the tip of the thumb. Triggering a vague memory, we recalled reading that Malaysians considered it rude to point with the index finger. Knowing something and successfully erasing a well entrenched pattern of behaviour, we found, were two entirely different things. We also realized just how much pointing we do as we fumbled to tuck away the offensive finger and replace it with the indicative thumb! Garry put our minds to rest, however, when we asked him about the offence we would cause by our pointing. He assured us that offence would not be taken, the Malaysians would just assume we were uneducated!

And then there's the old paranoia and over-generalising of things that you hear about the customs in the country you are visiting. "Remove your shoes" was fixed in my brain as a "rule" - something that was expected before you entered a Malaysian house and something I tried to remember. However, arriving hot and tired in Alor Setar I deliberately pushed the "right thing" to the back of my mind and trompsed into the room with my bike boots on. A lady bearing towels approached, removed her shoes and placed the towels on the bed. Any concerns I had about my boots inside being a problem were erased when she said "Your bikes will be safe there, but if you want to make sure you can bring them into your room." I figured she wouldn't be too concerned about my boots after all!