Lah

This post is part of the A to Z Challenge. Each post will be associated with a letter of the alphabet with the theme ‘Malaysiana‘

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“Don’t lah…”

“I know lah!”

“Yeah lah!”

Like Alamak, if you hear someone peppering their sentences with the word lah, you’re probably in the vicinity of a fellow-Malaysian (or Singaporean).

The word lah doesn’t translate into any word although it is used in a variety of situations – to emphasise, tease, cajole and more! I’ve heard some non-Malaysians try to sound local by including lah in their conversation. Unfortunately, their placement of lah in the conversation is not quite right! Sadly, the correct usage of lah can’t be taught because so many factors need to be considered – context or how well you know the other person you’re speaking too! most of the time, depends on the tune and also the context!

Here’s a video of the usage of lah in a variety of situations! This video is an example of its usage in Singlish (or Singapore English) which is nearly identical to Manglish (Malaysian English)! 😀

Kuala Lumpur

This post is part of the A to Z Challenge. Each post will be associated with a letter of the alphabet with the theme ‘Malaysiana‘

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The capital city of Malaysia is Kuala Lumpur, which translates to “muddy confluence”. I know, not so poetic.

Source: Lonely Planet

Kuala Lumpur or KL (kay-el), as us locals refer to it, began as a mining town in the 1870s. At the time, tin was being mined across the valley and was gathered at this point to be loaded onto pack animals that then had to ford the Klang River (which runs through the city), and walk many miles to where the river finally became navigable.

I don’t live in KL but in Petaling Jaya, a satellite town, which was established when the KL population exploded. However, when I send out postcards to strangers via postcrossing, I always wrte “Greetings from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia!” instead of “…Petaling Jaya, Malaysia!” I suppose I do this because folks would be more familiar with the capital city of a country instead of one of its secondary cities!

I go to the city centre of KL rarely. Traffic into the city is horrendous, although less so with public transit now. Still, there’s nothing to draw me to the city because I can get everything I need in Petaling Jaya or PJ (pee-jay).

When I was younger, an excursion into KL was a treat. Mum would announce during the week that we’d make a trip to a mall in KL and early Saturday morning, we’d dress in our best and get into the car for what felt like a long ride into the city. Eventhough, it really wasn’t. We’d spend half a day in KL and by the time we got home, would be happy and tired.

My relationship with KL grew when I was 18 and enrolled in an A-levels course at a government-funded college in KL. I felt like a fish out of water, relying on newfound friends who were more familiar with streets and neighbourhoods of KL than I was. To this day, those places in KL that I got to know during those two years of A-levels remain precious to me – Taman Shamelin (Shamelin Garden), the bus route from my college hostel into the heart of KL for ice cream, and so many other places that are etched in my memory.

This unfamiliarity with KL and its environs does present somewhat of a conundrum though when friends from overseas come to visit. I become like a tourist myself as I attempt to take them around the city of which I don’t know too well either. Some would say that I should be ashamed to not know KL as well as I should. I don’t think so. I know enough to pinpoint the tourist attractions and for me, that’s enough.

What do you know about Kuala Lumpur? Have you ever heard of this city before?

A Mini April A-to-Z Announcement

Dear fellow readers – I am currently on vacation and though I had every intent to write my A-to-Z posts ahead of time, that intention somehow got lost in the wind. However, whenever possible, I will make every attempt to post on-time but if you don’t see my posts that day, do expect to get a spree of catch-up posts the following days!