Happy Malaysia Day!

In my thirty years of living, i've spent a total of about eight years of it in Malaysia. As an expatriate living there i had a love-hate relationship with the country. But now that i'm living on the other side of the world from it, i realised i do miss elements of the place.

What do i miss?

Well first and foremost, it would definitely be the food. Seriously, it's so good AND so much cheaper than here. Then a close second would be the handful of friendships i've managed to keep along the way.

To all my Malaysian friends and readers...

DiGi Malaysia Day - Astro My Story
Director: Rajay Singh / Eugene Lim Producer: Pete Singh
Line Producer: Lance Lim Agency: Naga DDB, Malaysia

Even if you're not Malaysian, you should still watch this DiGi advertisement. I think it's funny. It makes me smile. It's in Bahasa Melayu, which i don't understand but it's got English subtitles, so that helps.

Yes i know, eight years of living in the country and i still don't know how to speak Malay. I'm terrible, i know. But with practically everyone speaking English, i didn't find it necessary to learn a new dialect or language - well that's my excuse.

Anyway, for those of you who don't know what Sambal blachan is, it's a chili based sauce. A Malay style sambal consists of fresh chilis with toasted shrimp paste (belacan) which is then pounded in a stone mortar to which sugar and lime juice are added. [source]

I find it too hot but i know many people who LOVE IT!

DID YOU KNOW:
Malaysia Day is held on September 16 every year to commemorate the establishment of the Malaysian federation on the same date in 1963. It marked the joining together of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore to form Malaysia. [source]

However, on August 7, 1965, Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, decided upon the expulsion of Singapore from the Federation due to frequent disagreement in politics, economic, financial and social policies, leading to the Independence of Singapore on 9 August 1965. [source]

Malaysian culture or Malaya culture is a mixture of Malay, Chinese, Indian, and various indigenous tribes [source]

There ya go, just a little bit of history for ya on this sunny, 10˚C Thursday morning.