Have you ever noticed that we live in a very colourful country?

Have you ever noticed that we live in a very colourful country?  

Well, it wasn't until last year that I actually realise how rich our culture was... My trip to Bali, Indonesia was actually the eye-opener for me... It wasn't that I didn't know Malaysia has many different ethnic groups with different cultures. But as what many would have heard 'the grass is always greener on the other side'.

Being a tourist in Bali, I took pictures of many different places... I go 'ooh' at the beautiful beaches... And I was 'wah'-ing at all the talented craftmen... Colourful paintings are seen on the walkway of different streets, beautiful sculptures made of wood and metal also... As a typical tourist, I visited the batik painting place and the silver jewelery makers... Also not forgetting the colourful temples. 

But the whole point that I want to bring out is...  

All these are actually available in Malaysia too!!! Maybe not exactly the same, but we have amazing beaches and different cultures as well... We have the all red chinese new year, the green Hari Raya, and the colourful Deepavali... 

One of my favourite sight in Bali was actually the colourful shops selling paintings. They are bright and cheerful looking... Let me share with you what I discovered lately... The Indian streets and Hindu temples in KL are just as colourful... Look at their sari (Indian traditional costume for the women)... It's usually in bright colours as well! 

It took me a trip away from home to realize it... Far too often we criticise people of different race from us... Someone took our parking spot, and we say 'See the Malay people!' Or whatever race group they are from... We smell the Jasmine flower (those white little flowers) used by the Indian and we comment on how we don't like the smell and so on... I myself am guilty of this sometimes... Body odour or cutting queue or stealing has nothing to do with race! Stop discriminating a certain race based on bad habits by a certain individual or a group of individuals.  

While tourists to our country are enjoying the diversity of cultures, shouldn't we as Malaysian celebrate it as well?  

I put on a new pair of glasses after coming back from Bali... And beyond seeing the different skin colours, I saw the different cultures. We hold the choice in our own hands. Which glasses are we putting on? What are we deciding to focus on? It's all in our own hand.