How to Beat the Heat!

There's an old song that says that only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun. I haven't seen any dogs mad enough to go out in the heat of the day. Most dogs like to find a shady spot of some sort and dig in for a few hours during the hottest part of the day. As do I.

My son, on the other hand, would go trouncing off at full speed ahead out into the sunniest weather, pouring with sweat from head to toe. It didn't seem to bother him. He didn't even wear sunglasses. (He's back in the cold north now, suffering from the freezing summer weather over in Canada.)

My friend who recently returned to her home in Finland was caught wearing a sweater there on a "hot" summer day, much to the amusement of her friends. Now that she's back in Malaysia, she appreciates the cool days here. Ah, the human body. It's always searching for that perfect temperature that it will never find.

So, how does one remain relatively comfortable - or at least survive - in the searing warmth of SE Asia?

I began to carry an umbrella a few years back. It's like carrying your very own piece of shade. They have them coated in silver, which is supposed to keep down the ultraviolet rays. Though, I sincerely doubt that. I bought one anyway. It has a somewhat psychological effect.

The thing about carrying an umbrella is that, well, you have to carry an umbrella. Your arm has to be out there, carrying something extra. That's a little more effort exerted and possible another cause for perspiration.

Still, I discovered a few advantages that the umbrella has to offer. Besides keeping the inferno off the top of your scalp, the lovely tool can be implemented to shade your face, not from the sun, but from passers-by. And, what a comfort that can be. Rather than suffering the staring eyes of ne'er-do-wells, scallywags and nosey-parkers, one can tilt the umbrella slightly on an angle of roughly 45 degrees and completely blot of one's entire face!

How's that for an advantage?

Perhaps you haven't walked along the side of a highway in Malaysia or down a main street; in which case, you wouldn't be able to appreciate avoiding the good old Malaysian stare.  Actually, it's more like a gawk. At times, it's a gawk, followed by a shout, followed by laughter. It's all good - if you're in the mood. But, if you don't feel like being teased, yelled at, stared at or otherwise annoyed, pulling that umbrella down does wonders.

One can anticipate yards ahead when a tormenter is approaching and put the blockage into motion. It's as easy as that.

Umbrellas also offer shelter from sudden rain.

Here's a favourite of mine: to be used as a weapon. What dog (or man, for that matter) dares approach an umbrella-wielding woman? Mine has a four-inch point on the end, for goodness sakes. Be ware. I don't hesitate to use it.

Speaking of heat, what do we do about the sun? Do we slather on mounds of sunscreen?

Maybe you do. I sure don't. Not when I've heard so much about the downside of sunscreen. My replacement for sunscreen is coconut oil. Of course, the best kind is organic baby coconut oil. But, one should try to only get ten to fifteen minutes of direct sunlight per day. That will ensure your vitamin D requirements are being obtained. And, we all know the importance of vitamin D, especially D3.

When you first arrive in the tropics, ease into it. If you're from a cooler clime, it may take time to adjust. If you're staying for a long time, allow a month for your blood to thin and remember, after a month, you'll be feeling much more at home.

If you like to lay on your stomach in the sun, don't forget to protect the soles of your feet. Ever had a sunburn on the bottom of your feet? It makes walking very uncomfortable!

Drink water all the time. That's important, so I'll say it again. Drink water all the time. Whether you're thirsty or not, you need water. And, I don't mean beer. If you're drinking alcohol, drink twice as much water as alcohol. But, you know that, right?

Here, in Malaysia, we have barley water. It's supposed to cool off the heaty. If you're heaty, you can also drink this black jelly drink that's supposed to cool down the blood.

Of course, you'll want to shower - lots. Prickley heat powder is an option for those inclosed areas of the body. It can be found in Walgreen's or most pharmacies. Otherwise, corn starch is more natural and doesn't present a problem for the lungs.

Clothing? Wear 100% cotton clothing when possible. Your underwear especially needs to be cotton. Check the tags.

You may want to change your schedule so that the outdoor activities in your day will take place early in the morning or after sunset.

If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen. In other words, don't cook at home. Eat out. It's cheap.

Put a fan in the bathroom. You'll probably need an extension cord because most bathrooms don't have outlets. If you use a fan in the kitchen, don't point it towards the stove jets. Most stoves here run on gas.

Wet wipes or handi-wipes or baby wipes, whatever you want to call them, are great to put in your purse, or your wife's purse, or your girlfriend's purse. - Or your backpack.

At most restaurants, you'll find a sink where you're welcome to wash your hands. If you're lucky, there will also be a soap dispenser there. And even a mirror. Although, the mirror will most-likely be cracked and smeared.

So, my advice is to stay out of the sun when possible. Stay inside during the hot part of the day. Ok, the day is all hot. Maybe you can't tell the difference, yet. But, when your blood thins out, in about a month, you will. You'll say to yourself,

"What's going on? I'm not sweating."

When that happens, look at your watch. It's probably either before 9 am or after 7 pm. And that's why they say, "Mad dogs and English men go out in the noon-day sun." Take my word for it, it's not the mad dogs that go out.

The Beat Goes On!

Somebody please tell me why heat bugs get so loud! Their screeching or buzzing is ear-piercing at times. It's downright distracting is what it is. Now, are they calling to their mates? Or, is it the heat that drives them into a frenzy?

For the past two nights, the noise has begun at exactly 9 pm! The first night, I thought it was just a rough guess for the time. The sun had gone down. All was quiet. Even the dogs next door were at peace. Until, suddenly this unadulterated racket disrupts the entire neighborhood with a frenzy of wild high-pitched buzzing!

I thought that an electric wire had fallen down on the road or something, so I opened the sliding door to have a look. Nope. Just mind-boggling noise. So loud? I thought, "I've heard heat bugs before, but this is ridiculous."

Ten minutes later, it stopped. It was so silent, it was like a factory had shut down. You could hear a pin drop. That night, the noise didn't start up again. Not so last night.

At exactly 50 seconds past 9pm, it started up again! Ten minutes later, gone! Ahhh... but this time, they went right back at it and rose the crescendo to a maddening pitch. Ten minutes later, quiet. Again, they went into their crazy screeching for exactly ten minutes. So far, the buzzing has stopped after exactly ten minutes.

I'll let you know whether this happens again tonight. I don't know why they're so loud. But, I'm going to find out!

Electricity

One thing it's only fair to warn you about, if you are a newcomer to SE Asia, is the electricity. The voltage, of course, is higher than in the US and Canada. (Not sure about Europe, but maybe the same.) So, when you get a shock, it's not just a little sizzle. It can be a pretty big sizzle.

Even when I go to put a DVD in the DVD player, I almost always get a little pin prick shock. That's without even going near any wires or anything. So, you electricians out there can help me on this one, but I think it's because the current is not grounded properly. Is that right?

For an adult, it's very easy to get a jolt, but for children, I'm thinking, it must be very scary when it happens. There are live wires just protruding from my living room wall that could cause a fatality. I accidentally touched one similar to it that was partially covered and it gave me a full body jolt! These wires should be toggled at the ends in plastic coverings.

So, if you happen to see a thick bundle of wire sticking out of a wall, leave it be! All you tourists, or would-be tourists, be warned. The voltage is higher and the electricians are not always certified and certainly the wiring would not pass Western standard certification.

My son went into my "attic" (the space between ceiling and roof, which is just beams) to look for a way to plug in my fridge. He was shocked at the mess of wires piled together in nest-like configurations just sitting helter skelter on the beams!

While the voltage in Canada is 120, in Malaysia, the voltage is 240. (He made sure to shut down the power before touching anything.) Twice as much zap for your money.  

The funny thing is that, although the electricity comes out in more amperage or volts, the appliances here are built to run on low voltage. Even the air conditioners could easily run on 120.

For more information worldwide on the electricity output, here is a site I found useful:

http://www.kropla.com/electric2.htm

One more thing about the electricity in Malaysia. There are switches over the outlets that you can use to shut off the flow of electricity when it's not being used. I highly recommend using these at all times!

I was warned. I can't say I wasn't warned that the current can suddenly flux and short out appliances even when they are not in use! Yes! (Again, I have to remind you, this is a third world country. It's stuff like this that is a constant reminder.)

So, one night, I turned off my TV but forgot to go behind the TV to turn off the outlet switch. I thought, "No biggie. Besides, it's such a pain to climb in there behind all those wires to switch that silly little switch."

The next morning, I turned on the TV to discover it was dead. I had allowed my precious television to get killed all because I was too lazy to turn off the outlet switch. You see? That silly little switch would have prevented the flood of power from zapping my appliance while I slept!

Did I ever learn my lesson. I switch off everything I'm not using. I switch off the air-con outlet and unplug the appliance when it's not in use. I unplug my washer and I remove my rice cooker from harm.

"Better safe than sorry."