(repost from my other blog, see a bit of background below)
So it's 11pm at night, and I realise I need to eat something, I need to take my arthritis meds, and definitely cannot take it on an empty stomach. So then someone mentions that room service is still open. So as I said before, I was really not eating those days in Malaysia, in fact, the others bought me KFC a Zinger, but I just said no thankyou, and when I asked Lucinda if it tastes the same she also said, no it doesnt, and I wouldnt have liked it... So right now, I wasnt terribly hungry, lol I'm a weird one, If I dont like somehthing and there arent alternatives, even my hunger seems to go away. I decide to call him and ask him for a plain toasted cheese sandwhich (what harm can there be in that?). Well the guy struggles to speak English over the phone, and I tell him, I just want a toasted Cheese Sandwhich, only bread and cheese, nothing extra, no spices, nothing, just toasted bread and cheese. I repeated this a couple of times. He asked me Do I want a packet? I said I dont mind if it's in a packet or a plate, but I dont want anything else Just BREAD, CHEESE. Nothing else, No spice, no tomato, nothing...Just the above. While waiting for the meal, everyone in my room was on my case for being prepared to pay R40 for a toasted cheese sandwhich, but I said, i just want somethng that tastes like home, and I'm prepared to pay that for it. And anyway I still had lots of money left, but I really just want to eat something normal! But the rest kept going on with me, also slowly making me feel bad that I made that choice, though I didnt let on. When the meal came, it was a plate, with chips (nothing extra?) and the bread looked burned or funny, and I lifted the bread to double check before the waiter left, and lo and behold it wasnt just cheese, it was ham (packet = PIG! thats what he was saying do I want pig on it!) Also the ham wasnt pink, but a browny red colour...And I was like I'm sorry I'm going to return it, and they said it was ok, because I did state that I want nothing on it clearly, and I wasnt prepared to pay R40 not sure how many ringets for somehting I know I'm not going to like! And it being pork too especially I am not taking my chances...I felt bad though for returning the meal and semi gave into the saving my money plea, and went out at 11h30 to buy next door a packet of chips/crips and a can of coke and biscuits to eat so I could take my tablets.
(well got to australia, discoverd mcd's ate it everyday, and its so much better than our mcd's there, got addicted, and man picked up alot of weight since then!but at least mcd's tasted like home then)
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This is one of my memories of my time in Malaysia and Australia that could have given others a funny but slightly warped perception of South Africans. But before I tell you those memories, let me first tell you that though I love cultures, and places, I am a very finicky eater, (they even joke that I'm white sometimes because I dont like the typical coloured young person gatsby meal - extra large chip/frenchfries roll with lots of sauce, and other stuff on,eg. viennas (the pink muslim type), steak,etc.) So eating was especially hard for me in Malaysia, cause I dont like asian spices... Although the others were so happy about it, at least Miriam had a hard time just like me. Also point no. 2 seeing that chicken doesnt look like Chicken in SA in Malaysia and the little fastfood stores we walked past...I am slowly beginning to become a vegetarian (slowly).
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