Anyone Need a Ride?....Seriously, Anyone?

Because we finally have a car! We have now joined the rest of these guys in KL:


One of our biggest frustrations in KL has been transportation. Not having a car means that you are at the mercy of the weather, the taxi drivers, and hoofing it to the subway station every time you want to go somewhere. It's a control issue with me, and a couple of months ago, I hit my limit.

So we bought a car. FREEEEEEDOMMMMM!!!!!

We picked it up last week, and I have to say, it's some of the best damn money we have ever spent. We love our little Perodua. We've named her Lucy.

Lucy is small, but that's exactly what we need in the city. The lanes are narrow, the traffic is (sometimes) harrowing, and the parking garages have tiny ramps and parking spaces. I have no idea how people even maneuver a Camry into some of these parking garages.

We love Lucy. Seriously, every couple of hours or so, M and I will turn to each other and say "Why didn't we get a car sooner?" It's our very favoritist toy ever these days! After we picked it up last week, we drove out to dinner every night. On the weekend we drove all around town, even through Chinatown on a Saturday afternoon, which is taking your life into your own hands. A true madhouse. So our off time consists of thinking up different reasons to drive the car. Do we need to go to the grocery store? Let's go by towels! Let's go to dinner! Do we want to go to the mall?

M seems to have gotten pretty comfortable with the driving style here. Lanes are mere suggestions. Sometimes they abruptly end because people are double parked. They merge on a whim. People like to straddle them for kilometers on end. Blinkers are never used. Scooters rule the road and weave in and out of traffic. We are learning all about the "traffic circle" and how to read the signs in general. The signs will tell you what part of town you are going to, but generally, they don't tell you what road you are on. So with M at the wheel, and me attempting to read the map, it's like the blind leading the blind. I guess that's the best way to learn, I suppose. It would help if half the streets weren't named Damansara something.

In general, while the traffic can be bad in some places, we find that most drivers all work together, far more so than in the US. If you need to change lanes, they will let you in. If they are in your blind spot, they will give you a friendly honk to let you know, rather than hang out of their window screaming obscenities at you. In Houston, using your blinker is like waving a big sign saying "Cut me off! Please race ahead so that I don't dare move in front of you! Where you are going is far more important, and I understand that if you are one car in front of me, that means that you will get to your destination a full two seconds before I will. So please, go right ahead!" (Yeah, it's a long sign). Here, when you use your blinker (and I think we're the only ones that do)...they let you in. Brilliant.

We love Lucy. Lucy takes us where we want to go, rain or shine. Lucy smells like new car, not like a cab or stinky subway. Lucy plays great music. Lucy has working seat belts, airbags and air conditioning. Lucy doesn't overcharge us. Lucy will take us to Melacca, or Penang, or Cameron Highlands, or Singapore. Lucy's meter always works, and Lucy gets her gasoline at a full-serve station (I didn't even know those still existed).

We love our new addition to our family.