Journal 66: The King of Malaysia Lives in My Condo

Okay, you might be reading this journal and thinking that you will eventually find out what the joke is about the title.

‘What gives,’ you might be asking.  Well, nothing.  It’s actually the truth. No sarcasm or humor involved.  The King of Malaysia really lives in the same apartment building as me.

In fact, I got to hang out with his private security guards yesterday and I when they took him away in his Bently to go do whatever Kings do for fun in Kuala Lumpur, I got to be one of the few people that they trusted to capture some video of him as he left his suite.

It was a pretty cool experience.  I even went over to talk to the Secret Servicemen and royal security guards in his entourage to say hello.

Now, if I were to approach the Secret Service around the President of the United States, I would quickly be thumped in the skull, arrested and likely interrogated for the following 24 hours about my intentions.  But here in Asia, they take a different tack.  Essentially, they all seemed cool-headed.  But they also carried an air about them that was attentive and action-ready.  So while they were alert and clearly capable of handling a security situation with practiced diligence  they also paid me the respect that I paid them.  And that is one of the most outstanding things that I really love about Asia.

When I was in Thailand I saw King Bhumibol Adulyadej the first week I was in Bangkok.  He was going into the Museum of Art at Siam Center.  And now I am getting to see the King of Malaysia, Abdul Halim of Kedah, the first week in the capital city, Kuala Lumpur.  And even though the King and Queen (who was also there, by the way) only use this suite once or twice a month, they are still part of my collection of neighbors.

Crazy, huh?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8tWddfC3Ps&w=560&h=315]