Had an arsing good time miscommunicating with the masseuse at a Javanese massage place who only spoke Malay. i don’t know why we tried but we laughed ourselves silly. More with each entanglement.
Masseuse: You speak Bahasa?
Me: No, but you can try.Masseuse: If join member $150, facial free and t…
Me: Free facial?
Masseuse: Yes and t….Me: Oh, tummytuck free also.
Massuese: Yes.
Me: But I don’t need tummytuck.
*we holler*She tries again
Masseuse: If member ..$40.
Me: How much if not member?
Masseuse: Dua empat (she puts out 2 and 4 fingers together.)Me: $24? But you said member $40? (great logic.)
*we repeat hollering*Masseuse: … reception …
Me: Ok, I’ll check with reception later :).She helps me: Saya tak boleh cakap Melayu (translated: I can’t speak Malay.) But I’m not sure it mattered.
Between my almost “52h lecture + some online learn-it-yourself” Malay and her “key-words” English, we had a laughing good time.
So glad they didn’t have a chair available for foot reflexology so I got to climb upstairs and sleep on the bed. Very relaxing with the water sounds, repetitive music and strong herbal aroma. Made me think of Bali and the open-air toilets, and Nepal where goats roamed the mountains and almost butted us off a steep embankment.. :)