Welcome to Malaysian Street Store

While I am in a self-adulation phase about my name since my last post on King Indra, I thought that I might sneak in another post on the same theme. This one is in a different part of the world, in Malaysia.

When we arrived at the Kaula Lumpur airport on our last trip, we were greeted with this fresco of Malaysian street store on the passageway to the arrival terminal. It’s as though someone is waiting for your arrival in the country, with flower garlands and Chinese lanterns. Certainly, it’s a pleasant surprise to see your name boldly written on the wall when you first arrive at a place you have never been before, irrespective of if it’s intended for the purpose you like to believe. I instantly had a liking for the country even before we could clear the immigration checkpoint.

Leaving aside the euphoria about my name, I was also somewhat intrigued by this particular choice for the first impression of Malaysia for newly arrived. It wasn’t the Petronas towers, or any other scenes from George Town on Penang island or the Malacca, depicting colonial-era architectures, but an ordinary street scene of Malaysian daily life. Sometimes, it is good to be reminded of the value of the ordinary over the grandiose. And I am not talking about my name.