mardi 4 juillet 2017

FOURTH OF JULY IN KUALA LUMPUR: NOT A SINGLE AMERICAN FLAG TO BE SEEN

I found myself in Kuala Lumpur on 4th of July 2017. I am aware that it is an important holiday in USA even though I have not been in USA on that day, in recent memory.
It was a day of rest for me, at the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel in KL. The staff had allocated the Suite and I appreciated it, as I am to fly to Doha the day after. 
I had wanted to do two things today, The Cuban Ambassador was busy, so I made my way to the KLCC and presented myself to Ana, the therapist at Guinot. She does a very nice facial and I remember it was in 2008 that I had the first facial treatment by her.
 It is always interesting to take Pre and Post  Facial photographs

 Call it what you want, I had a great desire to eat a dosai, that south indian staple now transplanted to Malaysia. At the Food Court, a resto called SaravanaBhavan serves up a nice Rava Masala Dosai.
 Being involved in the study of Obesity and especially the prevention of Obesity and its complications among adolescents, I am very aware of the increasing girth of Malaysians, especially the Muslim Malays and their children, who now hold the dubious honour of being the fattest adults and children in SE Asia.
 here a child is welcoming his friends to his house, and you cannot ignore the symbolism: the display of wealth and at the same time the corpulence of the child. I think people are becoming aware of the fattening of Malaysia, no doubt contributed by sweetened beverages, power drinks and American Fast Food.
 It was a quick walk back to the hotel, I always feel a tinge of nostalgia looking at the scene above, for various reasons.
 It was good to say HELLO to the excellent staff at the Executive Lounge, warmly welcomed by them, many of whom have become friends:spent a little time talking to an Intern from France as well as another one from a local college.
 The food in Malaysia reflects the cultural and genetic variability of its population
here Chinese, Malay and Middle Eastern cuisines intermingle with a reasonable Sauvignon Blanc from Chile.
The night was falling, I thought of an Azeri friend, and made mental note of the various friends in USA and Cuba that I was missing.. 
At the same time grateful for a wonderful trip with NAT to Cambodia, who taught me a lesson or two about Malaysia and also about human innocence and behaviour; the wonderful reception in KL, the increasing fondness for this country and happy.
I am off to Doha where I hope to esconce myself from the heat, correlating the experiences of the past two weeks. I hope to meet some Ceylonese Friends,and enjoy a meal with them at their favourite restaurant (Sri Lankan of course) in Doha.
This visit to Doha to show solidarity with Qatar during their difficult times with their neighbours.

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