expat~ observes from expat magazine malaysia

An Article from Expat Magazine Malaysia

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Lance arrived in KL just a few months ago.
He brings a fresh perspective to understanding the
local scene that some of us ‘old-timers’ might have
forgotten. Lance hails from Perth.

I fell in love today. I was down at my local bank working myself up into a right old state over some ludicrous banking procedure that was taking over an hour to sort out, when out of the corner of my eye I saw an angel.

The angel was in the form of a beautiful young Malaysian girl. She was dressed in a stunning pink colored kebaya, which is a traditional style of dress I’d never really paid that much attention to before. But somehow this young woman made it seem glamorous, dare I say ‘sexy’ even. At a guess, I’d say she was about twenty two, twenty three (hey come
on, I can dream!!!).

Anyway, what struck me next was how petite she was, maybe five four, and yet she carried herself with such poise and confidence. She looked graceful,serene and completely at ease with who she was. She stood with a straight back, shoulders high and parallel, and she had long black hair that had the sort of shine and lustre that you see in those silly shampoo commercials, only hers was real.

I don’t know how long I was gazing at her,maybe half a minute, and then all of a sudden, for no apparent reason, she turned towards me and caught me looking at her through several slow moving lines of customers. Her first reaction was to smile at me, and as she did her face lit up like a christmas tree. She had sparkling doe-like eyes, and a broad natural
smile that can turn a sure-footed man into a wobbly mess. For a brief moment, perhaps three seconds, my world was perfect , apart from my legs which were a wobbly mess.

Then her boyfriend (I assume), some guy of about the same age came over, grabbed her by the elbow, and whisked her away. And that was the last I saw of her.Hey, it’s OK. I’m over it. I think I’ve fallen in love another fifty times since then.Not surprisingly, the beauty and mystery of Asian women is one of the most common topics of conversation amongst expat guys, especially after they’ve had a few. Yet it’s seldom spoken about in public. It’s like some kind of secret that we dare not share with our partner for fear of them developing a
complex (if they don’t have one already) about these angelic creatures who walk around in slinky, figure hugging size eight dresses, or tight fitting jeans (or kebayas even), with perfect skin and an infectious smile. But the fact is there are so many women up here who are just like that girl in the bank - they are absolutely gobsmackingly gorgeous. What’s surprising is that most of these girls seem to have no idea of their striking beauty. Maybe it’s
because you can see a Miss World Finalist just about everywhere: shopping malls, supermarkets, wet markets, clothing stores(especially clothing stores), music stores, book stores, shoe stores(another big favourite), hawker stalls, cafes, restaurants,small companies, large multi-national companies, advertising agencies, airport terminals, airplanes, fivestar
hotels, four-star hotels, three-star hotels, hostels, buses, trains, cars, taxis, motorcycles, plus the obvious places like nightclubs and bars.

For a bloke who has now lived and worked on four continents, Kuala Lumpur has turned out to be a wonderful surprise. It is blessed with more beautiful looking women per square metre than any other city on the planet. And when you think about it, it makes perfect sense.

The geographic location and political stability of Malaysia provides the perfect melting pot for Malay, Indian, Indonesian, Thai, Burmese, Vietnamese,Phillipino, Singaporean and Chinese cultures to move, mix, marry and multiply, which is what has been happening in towns and kampongs around the country for generations. So you end up with this extraodinary array of exotic looking women, and you see all these subtle genetic influences in skin
colour, facial features, hair colouring, body shapes and accents. It’s mesmerising.


Of course, looks aren’t everything - it’s what’s inside that counts right? Well again, Asian women are different. As a general observation, material possessions, status, and wealth do not seem to mean as much. Asian women tend to be family orientated, they usually have a strong faith, they look after themselves,they can cook up a storm, they’re charming and
intelligent and they go to great efforts to please, if not worship, their partners.
Clearly, for expat men who have grappled back home with the multiple roles of boyfriend or husband, soul mate, breadwinner, sensitive lover, responsible father, financial guru, astute real estate investor, wine and travel expert, witty raconteur, motor mechanic,
plumber, electrician, general handyman, and general all-round nice guy to everyone and everything,working up here, and enjoying the company of gorgeous Asian women makes a damn good change.

Even if it is only for a year or two. Anyway, I’m climbing down from my soap box now. I much prefer my high and mighty pedestal. Besides which, I think I’ve just fallen in love again.

Gotta go.
Lance