cakap cakap....when I was in Bangsar.

When in Bangsar I am usually awaken early morning by the call to prayers from the Bangsar mosque…and soon I go to the morning market in Lucky Gardens to get breakfast - nasi lemak from that Malay lady who is much too generous with her portions because I am a regular. Then a few yards away I get Yang Tow Foo for my wife with extra soup. 

The fruits, if langsat is in season, I buy for my wife is from a Chinese hawker situated at the corner Tailor Shop just at the fringe of the morning markets. If I am in the mood for lamb, which I usually am, I know just the mamak stall to get it from but you need to tell him if you want it for curry or to fry with veggies. I don’t haggle on the price with him because we are past the nodding stage and now trade stories on how hard life is for him and me.  Then it is off to TMC just a short  walk away to get the rest of the groceries that my wife had pesan for me to get.

TMC is 1Malaysia incorporated at its very best. Everywhere you turn… Chinese, Indians, Sikh, Indonesians, Eurasians, expatriates who are at ease mixing it up with the locals…a veritable mixture of all that Malaysia can offer the senses in close proximity as you squeeze past each other down through the supermarket aisles….and in all that chaos there is a method in all the madness that manages to get you through the check out with the least possible delay.     

By the time I finish at TMC I am eager to head home for Bangsar Permai where we lived for a late leisurely breakfast with my wife….but not before passing the small Barber Shop where I get my hair cut to wave to the few barbers standing outside the shop watching the world pass by while waiting for the first customers of the day to walk in.

And between the time that I first leave my house until I am home again after my grocery shopping at TMC…not a thought on race, religion or politics crosses my mind. Ahh blessed peace from the maddening world outside Bangasr Permai…even though our place is just a stone throw away from NSTP. That is why I so much love Bangsar…everything and everybody is there..... all oblivious to the fact that it is places like Bangsar that 1Malaysia lives, breath and thrives.