No Gifts, Please

I think I should probably drag out the KL posts as long as I can, right?  I mean, a trip to Malaysia is the most exciting thing going on in my life right now.  James is in Alabama this week, which I think we can all agree is not going to produce any great cultural experiences worth writing about.  (Just kidding, all my sweet friends and readers in B-ham, you know I love to tease about those skies so blue!)  ;)

When I travel abroad, I usually try to bring something back for my sweet husband.  He's a hard one to buy for - especially in foreign countries - so sometimes I resort to local candy and sweets.  Since it's the New Year and we had "Be Healthy" on the ole resolutions list, I decided to forgo sweet goodies for something else.

I was very tempted to buy him a fake Gucci wallet from the expansive China Town, but then realized he probably wouldn't care about having a REAL Gucci (much less a good knock off).  I found lots of menswear in Malaysian Batik - a style of fabric which is super colorful and bright - but it's just not really James' style.

Malaysian Batik - credit

My search through the Central Market on the last day had me grasping at straws, until I saw what I thought could be a great gift - coffee!  James is a big coffee drinker, and I have brought him back local coffee before.  Usually from places known for coffee, but, hey, maybe Malaysian coffee is the new thing?  Plus, this was the "world's most exclusive coffee"!

I ventured in and a small Malaysian man was eager to help.  I started smelling the bags and checking out the price, trying to do the math in my head to figure out the conversion.  The price was my first clue that something was off - nearly $150 for a bag of coffee!?  Then, the gentleman starts to explain why this is so exclusive:  it starts with rare coffee berries from Indonesia....that are eaten by a small cat...that has special enzymes in his stomach which ferment the berries...which are "passed" and "collected" in order to make the coffee...  Yep, you read that right.  PASSED.  I'm no biology genius, but I'm pretty sure the only way that animals "pass" things they eat is through...you know.... 

GOOD GRACIOUS, how do people think up some of this stuff?

After the poor guy tries to assure me how delicious it tastes (really?)  and I stop laughing (obviously very mature about the whole thing), I explain to him that I would not be purchasing this for my husband.  If there is one thing my husband hates more than cats, it's cat poop.  

So, I came home empty-handed, but I think James was quite okay with that.  :)

(Now that I'm home and can look this up on Wikipedia, I see it's actually real coffee! Oprah even did a show about it, so you know it's legit, y'all.)