7) BACK IN IPOH . . . WE ATE

For the serious eater, three meals a day are not enough, and in Malaysia, the fourth meal of the day is often eaten at the Pasar Malam, or open street market which sells food and an assortment of other loot from alarm clocks and socks to CDs and hairclips. If you can't buy it here, you may not actually need it.

Needless to say, nightlife thrives in Ipoh and most people can be found at a food market, which is a food court with table service. Pass a stall and place order, leaving your table number to ensure delivery. It is just past 9pm and hundreds of people are squeezed shoulder to shoulder around tables crammed with plastic dishes in kindergarden colours, stacked with dumplings and chicken feet and bowls of noodles.

As we wander, I see the eyes follow me, hundreds of pairs of eyes are following me, critiquing my reaction to every new smell and sight. I am bookended by my Aunt and Uncle and on the locals faces I see the confusion, the questions - who is she? And why is she with them? But I do not flinch because this is old hat. Being stared at may initially feel like you are an animal at the free-range safari, but it fades and becomes routine, and in the end you just smile and nod at all the onlookers.