This was my first time experiencing Chinese New Year in Malaysia. An experience I will definitely remember for the rest of my life. Here is my story.
I had just arrived at the airport in Miri direct from Kuala Lumpur. It was one of my worst 2 hour flights I have ever had. I was jammed in economy class like a pack of sheep. I spent my first hour trying to figure out the source of stench that lingered in the air. After a careful analysis of my surroundings I suddenly remembered what the smell was. It was... DURIAN.
The Indian man sitting in front of me must have been eating durian prior the flight. Initially I thought someone was letting off gas on the plane. It smelt so bad I wanted to change seats.
The last time I had durian was a month or so ago in the form of homemade durian ice-cream. At first taste it seems pretty good, it was very sweet and creamy. The taste had a uniquely rich custard flavour with lots of almonds. But then the real taste hits you after a few mouthfuls. Travel and food writer Richard Sterling best describes the smell of durian, "its odor is best described as pig shit, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock".
Anyways, I was on my way back to my friends place in Miri. The city was very suburbanised. Everyone lived in Mcmansions, which bared close resemblance to the style of housing in Sunnybank Hills but with large covered patio's and car ports built into the side of the building. After a while it became an eye sore with the lack of variety in housing. Along the way fireworks were shooting up and exploding just beside us every now and then. It was an amazing sight. I never knew it could have gotten more amazing.
Boring and bland housing in Miri
We decided to countdown Chinese new year with my friend's family at one of their relative's friends place. We were greeted at the front entrance by an armed guard with what appeared to be a Winchester Model 70 bolt action rifle. In the background you can hear fireworks going off.
We drove up the pathway and then we saw a house which was bigger than the house shown above in the picture. Everyone was like "woah the house is pretty big" but then we realised the driveway continued on and that house was just an entrance house. We continued up the steep climb and came to an Y intersection with a group of what appeared to be homeless people seemingly sitting on the brick retaining wall. We asked them which was the way to the house and they pointed left. It turned out that these people were the house maids and gardeners for the owner.
We came across another decent sized house but continued on knowing that it was just another entrance house.
Finally we came up to the house. The house featured an extremely rare and mouth-dropping garage collection complete with sports cars, SUV's and luxury sedans. The most noticeable collections were the Lamborghini Aventador, perhaps one of the only select few in Malaysia. The Nissan GTR and one of the more reasonable cars I'd like to own in the future, the Range Rover Evoque in stylish red.
We were ushered into the guest banquet room where we shook hands with the family members wishing them 新年快乐 / xi nian kuai le (happy new year). We were then led into the guest dining banquet area which showcased the hidden magnificent beauty of the house.
It was definitely an awe-dropping sight. I love houses. My mum used to take me to house inspections and open houses when we were purchasing some property when I was young and I enjoyed exploring each new house. I originally wanted to become an architect but preferred the financial and large-scale side of things so this is part of the reason why I became a town planner so that I can be a developer and real estate investor in the future.
But this house was a whole new level of huge. It was one of the biggest private homes I have ever seen in my life. The house stood five-storeys high complete with a Olympic sized swimming pool. It was a palace. My friend's uncle was certainly very well connected in Miri.
I stood by the balcony and admired the view. It overlooked into the bay with fireworks going off in the distance. Anyways, the countdown to Chinese New year was near. The firecrackers ignited the start of the countdown. The pyrotechnician was all set. This was going to be my first private fireworks display in someone's backyard.
The fireworks display was spectacularly well designed and was magical. It was certainly a once in a lifetime experience. The video can only showcase so much. The rest I'll leave to a story I'll have to tell you in person.
"Gameover" said James as the fireworks display finished. The fireworks display was impressive. I'd say it's more impressive than the riverfire and New Years fireworks display I've seen in Brisbane. We were then ushered down into the guestroom to have a couple of beers, sing karaoke and to play some pool.
The hosts first song of choice was "New York by Frank Sinatra". Frank Sinatra is one of my favourite classic jazz singers of all time. Olivia ong being my number one favourite. But with an Asian singing in a horrible accent, it felt as if the host was a westerner wannabe.
I have a very unique taste in music compared to today's generation. I have very peculiar tastes. I enjoy a range of genres from Chinese pop, jazz, indie, clubbing, lounge, techno, hip hop, rnb, classical and blues. It all really depends on the mood and setting. The music must accompany the ambience and surroundings. I tend to listen more to Chinese pop and easy listening piano jazz while at other times I'd occasionally listen to clubbing, hip hop and rnb music.
I'll finish this blog by saying that this has been a very unique experience to me. I've celebrated most of my Chinese New Years in Australia and it has been nothing like Malaysia. Fireworks going off, firecrackers going off, red lanterns and stickers everywhere, smiles all around. If only Australia shared this much festivity.
The Chinese culture is certainly something to be proud of.
Next blog: Immersing in Malaysian-Chinese culture