It's amazing how two people can live the exact same experience, yet have completely different interpretations of the events. Often dubbed the Rashomon Effect, this phenomenon has been the subject of countless books and movies, most notably Rashomon itself, and is familiar to us all. I have personally witnessed a few examples during my life, but none as dramatic, hilarious, sad … [Read more...]
Singing and Dancing in Malacca’s Chinatown Interferes With My Dinner
The city of Malacca is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located 150 kilometers southeast of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. It is famous especially for the bright red buildings that make up the Portuguese built historical downtown area, but for this post I'm going to focus on Jonker Walk, also known as Malacca's Chinatown; more specifically, I'm going to focus on its Chinatown at … [Read more...]
Surreal New Year’s Eve in Kuala Lumpur
A few years ago, I found myself in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the end of December and got to enjoy my first New Year's Eve in a Muslim country. My night began like so many, on the rooftop of my hostel, where a bunch of people, including eight or nine Finns, were having a few overpriced beers. The Finns had arrived in four separate groups and had found each other purely by … [Read more...]