Wesak Day

Today is Wesak day. This is the holiest of all Buddhist days to mark the birth, enlightenment and final passing away of the Buddha. It is celebrated on the 15th day of the 4th lunar month each year. For many people it will be a good time to get together with friends and family for good food and celebrations. For others it will be a sincere moment to reflect upon their own lives. So for all you Buddhists out there a happy wesak day to you. For non Buddhists who want more information you can simply googlise “Wesak”.


Here in Malaysia we try to respect all religions, so today is a public holiday. With it falling on a Monday it means we have a holiday weekend. For Malaysians that means “sales, sales sales !!!” and so the shops are full.

So Mrs. Klite and I are at the curve to get a few items and some food from Tescos. Of course we notice a few sales, so naturally we look. We discover a few items that have been on our “to get” list for a while. So with as much gusto as possible we dive into the crowds all fighting each other for that inevitable bargain. Having come out happy as larks we pass the next shop and see other bargains. So with abandonment we dive in yet again, and we repeat ad infinitum. Now we have done very well out of this and we are pleased, but it turns out my credit card company were not so happy as alarms rang at their security center and so my parents in the UK were getting phone calls from them to try to talk to me, even though I have told them that I’m in Malaysia with a contact number here.

So eventually I have to call them via mobile oversees just in case they suspend my card at inopportune moment. The quality not being good with the noise of Tescos car park I asked Mrs. Klite to take over the conservation as she could hear them better. It turned out that the alarms had rung because my spending patterns had dramatically changed to one that looks like my card was stolen. When Mrs. Klite explained that we at the sales I think there was a groan on the phone. The sort that may accompany a rolling of the eyes, with the thought that a woman and a credit card have gone over to the dark side (star wars).



On the wesak day itself we did consider to join the throbbing millions of lemmings to watch "Revenge of the Sith". I had wanted to go after dinner in KLCC, but the crowds were very long, and I hate queuing. When Star Wars first came out my father took me to watch it at the Granada cinema in Harrow. I’m not sure whether he was trying to be a good dad by taking me or he didn’t want to look like a sci-fi geek so “taking the son” would be a good excuse. The queue for this cinema was very long – all the way around the back. We waited outdoors on a cold afternoon for what felt like hours. So eventually the queue moves to let people in and I'm thinking thank god for that – warmth here we come, only for the doorman to stop us. The person in front of us was the last person for a seat and after him there were none left. So there we were, first in the queue for the next showing! This was going to be several hours later because in those days they show a prequel film as well. So decisions to be made, first in the queue, but a long wait in the cold for what would eventually be a word wide seller. Most people would say “sod it” come back when there are fewer people, but we persevered. I think it was worth it, I hope it was.

So back to wesak day, too many people for star wars so we leave it until the crowds quieten down a bit. So how do we make the most of this day? By colouring Mrs. Klites hair ?! yes you did read that right, Now I have never done any of this stuff before except helping my brother bleach his hair a century ago with this product called “sun in” with some strange results – but that’s another story. There is a reason that people go to a saloon to colour their hair, namely to get it right. So I follow the instructions on the box and apply this brown goo that looks like it belongs in a diaper, smells like it too. Twenty minutes later – result, but not the one Mrs. Klite wanted.
“well done Mr. Klite – you have done it so well – too well!”

Mrs. Klite hair had gone several shades too light and her description of what she now looks like was a reference to a certain type of character from the streets of Malaysia. I can’t repeat the words because they are deemed offensive. I swear I saw one of the cats either yawning or laughing in a mutely dog manner. So we had to swan off to shops again to pick the “right” colour. Here is a tip for married men, when your wife ask you if you think the hair colour looks right for her think of the dreaded question “does my bum look big in this dress” and proceed with caution. Also take a book to read because women take forever deciding the colour they want. So I had to do the whole hair colouring business again and Mrs. Klite was finally happy with the result. Doesn’t look any different from the original colour to me.



Music of the moment : The Killers – Smile like you mean it