Malaysia

If you ever want to visit the moon, forget NASA—you just need to head to my hometown in the east of Malaysia, my host says. And that’s where the confusion begins. There’s an east, west, north, and south Malaysia—so far, so good—but then you also get an east of western Malaysia and a south… or maybe there isn’t? The longer we talked about it, the more tangled my brain got. But one thing’s clear: to see the moon, you’ve got to go east.

The roads there are so bumpy they’ll give you a lunar experience without the zero gravity—moon crater vibes, anyone? Plus, we’ve got the best noodles around! And trust me, they’re so good that even someone in my group chimed in, “You can’t find these anywhere else, not even in Kuala Lumpur!” We’re seriously considering starting an eastern noodle restaurant chain. The soup has the perfect blend of spices and a mysterious white-to-greyish hue that’s just as unique as the noodles, which, by the way, are a local Sabah specialty with Javanese roots.

And did I mention we have the tallest mountain in the country? It’s a whopping 400 meters! …Oh, wait, I Googled it—turns out it’s 4000 meters! The mountain is called Mount Kinabalu, and it’s like a giant canine tooth sticking up out of the earth. An earthquake recently gave it a bit of a makeover, which oddly enough reminded me of my first big project in vet school about canine fractures in police dogs. Those dogs bite with such force that their teeth often break, which, having been to the dentist for a broken molar myself, I can totally relate to. Fixing those teeth is tough—almost as tough as climbing that mountain!

Now, Malaysia’s got around 1.3 million cats and 700,000 dogs, which is pretty standard for a predominantly Muslim country. More cats than dogs, naturally. But I’m here to chat about something close to my heart: our perfect diets for common cat diseases, especially GI disease and megacolon. Megacolon, by the way, is a condition where the colon becomes abnormally enlarged and loses its ability to properly contract, leading to severe constipation or a complete blockage. This often results in a build-up of hard, dry feces, making it difficult and painful for the cat to pass stool. If left untreated, it can lead to serious health issues and may require surgical intervention in severe cases. Nutrition is absolutely crucial in the early stages of this disease and after the surgery.

But let’s noodle back to noodles. Every region in Malaysia has its own noodle specialty. The northern part (of the west, I think?) is famous for its food with Thai influences, including Laksa. Down south, near Singapore, they’re known for Otak-Otak—a fish cake wrapped in banana leaves with a taste that’s simply chef’s kiss. And the eastern part of the west is all about beaches and the infamous king of fruits, Durian.

Oh yes, it’s durian season now, so the markets are filled with that delightful aroma of… raging diarrhea? People say that if you can ignore the smell, it tastes divine. I’m still working on that one. For now, this forbidden fruit remains firmly forbidden for me!