Here Are 10 Times Malaysia Completely Took Me By Surprise

I’ve already been to Malaysia more times than I can count. At first, there were a ton of things that completely swept me off my feet. I had culture shock and was left dumbfounded by many things. As I returned to Malaysia time and time again, I gradually adapted to how things were in the country.

Malaysia really surprised me..at least 10 times!

Eating On Plates

I didn’t know this was a thing. Growing up in an Asian household, we always ate our rice from bowls.

Not in Malaysia. Instead of bowls, they use plates. One time, I was with a group of people. At some point during the dinner, I realized I was the only one eating out of a bowl! Everyone else had their rice spooned onto their plate and were eating from there. There isn’t a right or wrong way to do this, but I just realized it was something different than what I was used to.

It’s not a big thing, but I found it interesting! I was the only one who noticed it because I was the foreigner. 🤣

Geckos In The House

This was hard for me to adapt to! The very first time I saw a gecko, I let out a surprised squeak. Then I started exclaiming about how I saw something really fast run, out of the corner of my eye. I kept trying to see what it was.

Then I saw them again, just casually lounging about on the walls. They were little lizards! Yep, they were in the house. I’d see them darting about in the kitchen. I was washing the dishes one time and lifted the dish rack and BOOM, a gecko darted out. I was so surprised, I almost dropped a dish!

Thankfully, I’m not actually afraid of them. They aren’t particularly ugly or scary, they only startle me with their fast movements.

Chocolate in Fridge

I found this really weird! People would place chocolate in the fridge. Well, it quickly became apparent that it was the right thing to do. In Malaysian households, the common areas often don’t have air conditioning. This would include the kitchen for example. They might only have a fan. Given the unrelenting heat, chocolate probably wouldn’t last very long on its own.

In Canada, I’ve never placed chocolate in the fridge before! 🤣 I guess I grew to like it though. A piece of cold chocolate tastes better than a room temperature or warm piece for sure!

Bath with Bucket

While staying at a local residence in Malaysia, I saw this contraption and scratched my head. What do I do with this?

Luckily, there was a separate shower head, so I used that instead.

Many washrooms in Malaysia are “wet”, meaning there is no tub or shower stall to contain the water. The entire room gets wet from the water. Some prefer to use the scoop and bucket and splash water all around.

Even though it didn’t matter at all, I was still afraid to get everything wet. I felt like I’d have to dry it. 🤣

Re-Used Soap Base At A Restaurant 😱

I wrote about this in a separate story. In a nutshell, I visited a satay restaurant in Melaka. They serve something that resembles a “hotpot”, where you dip your food in a boiling broth to cook it.

In this restaurant, they re-used the broth from customer to customer! That was a bit of a shock to me. What about the customers who thought they food was slightly undercooked and “double-dipped”? It took me a moment to understand how it all worked.

Turns out the restaurant gives you the option to use a new broth. WHEW.

Cockroaches The Size Of Your Palm? 🫨

In Canada, I haven’t seen many cockroaches. I’d like to say I never really saw one! Spiders and other little household bugs are plentiful. I don’t like them, but I can tolerate them. If given the choice, I’d rather not kill any of them. I’d prefer to capture them and let them outside.

You can imagine my utter horror upon seeing a cockroach the size of my PALM in the washroom! Completely shocked. I could see it a mile away because it was that big. I wasn’t about to approach it. And nope, you won’t be getting any photos either. It’s already pretty well ingrained in my memory! Ew.

Meeting that cockroach has traumatized me for life. I didn’t know they grew to be that big and certainly never saw any in real life.

Needless to say, I’d like to never see another one again.

Crack A Mangosteen Open With Your Hands

For those who are not familiar with mangosteen, it is a fruit. It has a hard shell and the flesh of the fruit is white and squishy.

Now, I don’t know why this was surprising to me, but mangosteens can be opened by squishing them with brute force between your hands. I was told I’d get laughed at if I used a knife to cut open the fruit. So I tried it, but the fruit felt as hard as a tennis ball! There was no way I was cracking it open with my hands.

I wrote more about mangosteen here.

Interesting tidbit — mangosteen is also called the “Queen of the Fruit”. Who is the King? Durian of course! 😀 If you’re feeling yeet hey after eating durian, have a little mangosteen!

Squat Toilets

My first encounter with squat toilets was at the airport in Kuala Lumpur. After a long and exhausting flight, I was eager to visit the restroom to freshen up. Much to my dismay and eventual panic, I was greeted with a squat toilet. How in the world! I had many questions and not many of them have been answered so far.

In Malaysia, many bathrooms give you a choice between the two. There is a small sign on the stall door to indicate which type of toilet it is.

Guess which one I always go for?

No Soap in Public Bathrooms

This always disturbed me a little! I’d visit the restroom, but find no soap to wash my hands with! I thought maybe they had run out in one bathroom, but soon I found a pattern. I searched high and low, but found that many bathrooms didn’t have soap at all.

I ended up always bringing a little arsenal of wet wipes, tissue, and hand sanitizer with me.

With the pandemic changing the way we live, I think I saw more soap in the washrooms when I visited Malaysia in 2022. I truly hope they are able to make sure all bathrooms have soap!

Drinks In A Bag

I’ll never get over this! I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned this in a previous story, but it is definitely worth talking about again! Drinks come in a bag?!

Why don’t they spill? There is no lid! How? What?

I saw how efficient everyone was with the bags. There were no spills. Everyone enjoyed a nice cold drink in a bag with no issues. I was the issue.

So I learned to embrace these drinks in a bag.

I’ve gotten over most of the shock of these things so far. Since I don’t live there, I have to adapt again whenever I go. Luckily it doesn’t take long. And then sometimes there are other new things that surprise me. I suppose that’s the beauty of travelling.

What are some things that have surprised you during your travels? Please share with me in the comments below!

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