Today is one of those drop-dead gorgeous days here in Kuala Lumpur. Blue skies with nary a cloud, a gentle breeze, and clear, clean air. In fact, it’s been heavenly the entire month of January. Sitting by the pool this afternoon, Heidi and I began to talk of home, specifically what we miss. (excluding family and friends…that’s a given)

Here are our top five lists….

Heidi’s List
SEASONS – You do not see seasonal changes here…no chilly winters with the crisp biting wind, winter sun reflecting over fields of snow, no fall colors or fruit stands selling apples and pears, Smallwood Farms with pumpkins galore, or the newness of spring with crocus poking up out of the ground or cherry blossoms painting the orchards. It is continual summer in KL, with variations. Look at the weather report any day and you will normally see the following: 90 degrees high/ 74 degrees low, 83% humidity, chance of thunderstorms. In October and November we tend to get more rain, January brings blue skies and breezes, early March bring more rains, June and July get hotter.
COSTCO – There is no Costco here, or an equivalent. Nowhere to go to buy a case of 64 rolls of toilet paper, a gallon of ketchup, or that double pack of chunky blue cheese dressing you find in the refrigerator aisle. No giant warehouse with everything you need.
FREEDOM TO DRIVE – Heidi does drive and has her own car but it isn’t a carefree exercise. There is traffic, lots of traffic. You drive on the left side of the road. Motorbikes and scooters weave in and out and pass you on both sides. Traffic lights and stop signs appear optional at times. If you want to merge you have to be aggressive. Without GPS, it is hard to get around. You are always on edge.
CONVENIENCE – At home everything you need is right there….you go to Safeway and you’ll be able to find almost every ingredient you need a week’s worth of meals..all in one place. Here, say you need some Jif Peanut Butter. You may have to go to three or four grocery stores to find it. And when you do, you buy every single jar on the shelf for you may not see it again for months and months. Drinking water…besides the garden hose, you know it will be clean and safe at home. You don’t ask in a restaurant if the water is good to drink…you know it will be. In KL, you drink bottled water or you confirm the water is filtered. Convenience is missing, everything is here, you just have to work a little harder to find it all.
WALKING – In Wenatchee, Heidi would just throw on her tennis shoes and out the door she’d go for a walk. Sidewalks everywhere. Trails just around the corner. Here it just isn’t the same. Like most big cities there is an element of danger, a chance of being robbed. The sidewalks, if there are any, often have gapping holes in them. You may get a whiff of sewer now and again, there is a lot of trash. It is hot, so you time your walks for early morning or evening.

Bob’s List
BROWN SUGAR AND GRAHAM CRACKERS – If you make cheesecake, you need those graham crackers. Once promised a cheesecake at school and couldn’t find graham crackers ANYWHERE. Wound up finding a box of Teddy Grahams…hated crushing all those cute little bears!!!! Brown sugar is here, most of the time, but it doesn’t pack. It is in a crystalized form, large crystals. It is the same color, the same taste but just not the same.

BIKING – I miss my bike. I do see occasional bikers but they must have nerves of steel. There are more speed bumps here than the rest of the entire modern world. The bike is not respected here. Several of our faculty members have been in near death accidents. I just don’t want to take the risk. I miss those long miles on the bike. I miss biking to Lake Chelan. I miss ending up at the loop. I miss my bike.
MOUNTAINS – There are no Enchantments here, no Mt. Rainier, no Pacific Crest Trail. I miss getting up high, away from everything and everyone, smelling the pine and fir, the fresh air. Know you won’t get dengue from the mosquitos that pester you. Know the snakes make a rattle to tell you they are there. Here you cannot climb the mountains and gather their good tidings. (thank you John Muir). There is hiking and hills, just no Cascade Range.
BACKYARD GRILLING – I miss my Weber. The smell of steaks on the grill. Salmon on a cedar plank. Pork chops with rosemary and garlic. Mmmmm Mmmmm….oh how I miss my Weber.
SHOES THAT FIT – It is a rare Asian man that has a size 13 shoe, so stores do not carry them. I buy all my shoes at home and bring them here. I miss the abundance of size 13 shoes!!!!

Funny what you miss. Our next post will be what we find here that we don’t have at home.

In three weeks we are heading to Krabi, Thailand and Phi Phi Island. Should be fun.

Spring break we are going to Vietnam (Hanoi, Halong Bay, Da Nang, Hoi an) for a week!!!

Can hardly wait for that. Of course we will post and add photos.