Tiara in Transit

There was a perfect plan to Malaysia – Learn my mother tongue, get fit, and skill up on cooking the local delicacies.

Operation Mother Tongue – I was going to learn Mandarin and practice with my grandmother. She doesn’t speak english, and this way I would finally be able to have a conversation with her, and with more than a third of the world’s population (bonus!). But when I proudly told my grandmother that I was going to take Mandarin classes, she replied ‘Mandarin?! I don’t understand Mandarin!! Don’t you know I only speak Cantonese..’ (Nope)

Operation Get Fit – I was going to sign up to a yoga program and use this time in Malaysia to concentrate on getting healthy, as I had failed to do so in the ashram in India. I discovered a yoga studio near where I’m staying and did one hatha class which put my back out for a week. Since then I’ve been too scared to return. And too lazy to go anywhere else.

Operation Culinary Courses – I was going to take formal cooking classes to learn to prepare a couple of my favourite local dishes at an expert level. In reality, formal cooking classes have instead become informal eating lessons. I’ve learnt that I can easily devour more than three yummy meals a day, 7 days a week, with no problems! In fact, every day I become a better, faster, stronger, food disciple, knowing exactly what I feel like hours before meal time.

New plan! Malaysia is my gastronomic adventure, where I will spend quality time with the family eating. And if this leads me to a soft, cushiony, immobile place, then at least I won’t be able to understand my grandmother when she tells me off for getting fat.