In 2004, I was lucky enough to visit Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia; the people were so friendly, the skyscrapers even towered above the sixth floor of the Equatorial hotel opposite the giant Petronas twin towers. It was early evening, on my first day in the city, and I felt a little hungry, so off I went to find food and passed one small, local restaurant.

A friendly waiter came up to me and said in good English ‘You eat, curry, without no water, I give you meal and drinks free all night’ Been a regular curry eater on nights out back home, I took up the offer, and sat at the table, the fans whirling around me, which helped cool me down because it was an humid day.

The waiter brings over a dish of curry with a bowl of rice, and what made me suspicious was that he was sniggering as he brought over my dish. I saw out of the corner of my eye this older man sniggering too, so I became nervous.

I tucked into what was a very red curry, and thought to myself, this cannot be as hot as a vinderloo back home – BIG mistake, this was the hottest curry I have tasted in my life, apparently, it has 21 chillies in it. My eyes watered, and the waiter took great delight in telling me that my face was red, but then rushed up with a litre bottle of water, sniggering all the way.

Apparently, this gullible traveller had been tricked into eating a Devil Curry, I couldn’t eat it all, but I had a great time sat in that restaurant getting to know the locals, and finding out the best attractions to visit including Bantu Caves and the huge twin towers.

That evening in the restaurant it made me realise why I enjoy travelling so much – meeting new people, learning about new cultures and realising that you can’t beat the experiences that travelling abroad brings.

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