Tales from the Navy

Due to &^#%*@! who do not really know where to sit on an express bus when their seat numbers have been clearly stated on their tickets but did not process in their smart little brains, I ended up seated beside a crew from the Royal Malaysian Navy whose seat has been colonized by another &^#%*@ who have the same seat number on his ticket. Or so the &^#%*@ claim because he wants to be seated with his girlfriend.


&^#%*@! aside, it was quite interesting talking to this dude. I shall call him Mamat. My friend and I used to use 'mamat' in replacement of dude in Bahasa. :D


For eg: Mamat tu dari mana?
which means: Where is that dude from?

Not to be mistaken with: Mamak


Anyways, Mamat told me about:

-RMN (which silly me have not much idea about)
-the "kapal" he works on which was KD Jebat (which is one of the best ships in the RMN)
-how small KD Jebat is if we compare it to the US aircraft carrier ship (because I asked if we have one of those...)
-his job (he works 5 days a week! craps!)
-that Thursdays and Fridays are English Speaking Days on the kapal (good for them!)
-his boss
-his colleagues and subordinates
-where and what he studied
-which countries has he visited on official missions (shall not reveal)
-which countries he wish to visit in future (Japan, Korea & somewhere in the Middle East)
-where he lives
-where his fiance lives
-Malay traditions in a boy-meet-girl situation (Family to meet up first!)
-how the tradition is not practiced anymore in KL
-how living in KL is refered to as a test to a person's faith
-when he plans to marry
-how much he have to send as dowry to his fiance's family when they do get married
-how he has been saving for this dowry (whoa)
-how Minangkabaus in N.Sembilan normally have the whole kampung chip in food, like rice and spices and all things nice, to help in a wedding thus reducing costs (at this point, I think he wished he was a Minangkabau)
-what kinda weird exotic meat he has eaten
-how kancil (mouse deer) meat tastes very nice (I gasp and went,"But kancils so cute!!!")
-the food on board KD Jebat (which he said was good as the chefs are mostly culinary arts diploma holders from KTAR)
-etc etc etc.


I think, in that short 3.5 hours ride from Kluang to KL, I sort of found out a lot about the daily life of a navy crew and also the personal life of Mamat.


Of course there is the customary question:

"If I have holiday in KL and wanna stay at your hotel, do I get a discount?"

I proceeded to elaborate how small a fry I am and how things don't work like this anymore in this age but if he wants to stay in KL at all, I do recommend my hotel.



Aaaaanyways, I asked Mamat if there were any scary encounters on the kapal since we all know a lot of movies with scary encounters on kapals. He proceeded to tell me only 2 stories since I told him I don't like to watch scary movies or listen to scary stories as I get scared easily (at this point you will be asking, "Then why did u ask??!!" I know.).

1) Once he thought he saw a colleague on the deck when actually there was no one (normal)
2) Once he saw a dude with long hair and an eagle on his shoulder at the bow of the ship with arms stretched out on both side ala Rose in Titanic (at this point I laughed). The long haired dude then jumped and disappeared. (bizarre!)


I asked him so many questions that he thought I was interested in a career with RMN. (LOL). He seriously told me that at my age, if I apply, the chances of me getting the job is pretty good.

I just told him that I don't think I am fit enough.


To which he agreed. -_-