I was meeting with my drama group – The RLT Players – at an Indian restaurant for drinks. And they types of drinks ordered said a lot about our culture and climate.

First off, picture an outdoor open-air restaurant with a thatched roof covering a large part of it. Then pictures rows of curry and a large tandoori oven making the hot nan bread and luscious skewers of meat.

Then pictures us drama nerds in the back of the restaurant, talking about plot-lines and ideas for our upcoming Christmas show in December 2015.

And then the drink orders:

• Mango Lassi – pureed fresh mango with yoghurt and sweetness, topped with ice cubes – wonderfully refreshing
• Orange Lassi – for the one girl who didn’t like mango. I don’t get that either.
• Orange juice – freshly squeezed and sweetened
• Watermelon juice – same as above, except with watermelon.
• Milo Ais – Chocolately milo mix added to sweeet milk and other sweet goodness
• Teh Ais – the refreshing blend of tea and sweet milk – one of the best drinks in Penang Island.

And all of those are, of course, just a fraction of the wonderful fresh drinks available for consumption at our amazing little restaurant of ours.  We packed away ten of those drinks for the equivalent of $8 USD.

Another wonderful perk of living on this amazing tropical island. I know I’m going to miss it tremendously someday, but for now, I need to keep reminding myself to not take anything for granted, even drinks. Enjoy them all. Bask in their glory. Extol their virtues. Write blog posts about their value.

Drama and drinks. A great combination.