F@%king F@%k!

Our bank card's home for a day.
Pardon the language but, OHMIGOD, I practically had a heart attack yesterday.

We needed to replenish our cash stocks, so we went to find an ATM. Since we were at a big mall, there was a whole bank of ATMs to choose from. Well, I CHOSE WRONG!!!

A few seconds after putting our bank card in, the screen said,

"There is a problem with your card. Your card has been retained. Please contact your local branch if you have any questions."

RETAINED?!? RETAINED!?!? What the f@%k do you mean RETAINED?!?? At first I looked at the screen stupidly. Then I looked at Ulrik stupidly. Then I started punching buttons (e.g. like 'cancel', like that was going to work) stupidly.

Since I was pretty useless, Ulrik went to a nearby information desk and they told him that, fortunately, there was a branch for this bank just across the road. Since I still hadn't recovered from the shock, he headed over to the bank on his own and, about 45min later, came back with mixed news. The good news was that we should be able to get our card back; the bad news was that it wouldn't happen until the next day.

So, today, we trudged back to the bank and, el hum d'Allah (Arabic for God be praised), we got our card back. For that, and for making it happen so quickly, we have to thank Mr. Radhi Yaslam Bin Zainudin, Bank Executive at Bank Rakyat, for taking such good care of us stupid tourists. Mr. Bin Zainudin, we promise we will never use a Bank Rakyat ATM again!

For more photos, see our Malaysia photo album.