Sometime last week but I am not sure which day, I went to the market behind my house to buy the weekly groceries and still had RM10 left. Since I did not bring my purse along as it was rather bulky, I just tucked the RM10 into the right pocket of my pants. When I got home, I began to unload all the meats and vegetables I had just bought into the refrigerator and had totally forgotten about the RM10 in the right pocket of my pants and it sat there for several days.
Yesterday when my son Nicholas complained of sore throat, I decided to boil some herbal drinks for the whole family since the weather outside is very hot. I put a RM20 together with the house key into my left pocket of the same pants before heading to the market.
At the stall selling traditional medicine, I picked a packet of “Pak Ji Choe” for RM3. While busy asking the chap how many bowls of water to use and how many hours needed to boil the herbs, I quickly took out a note from my pocket to pay him, all the while thinking it was the RM20.
When he passed back RM7 to me, I was like, “Hey, just now I paid you RM20, so how come you give me back RM7? It should be RM17.”
“No, you gave me RM10. If you don’t believe me, here, have a look at the box where I kept all the notes and coins,” he replied while showing me the box. Yes, I saw with my own eyes that all the notes in his box are RM10, RM5 and RM1. There isn’t any RM20 there and this really had me puzzled. Is my eyes or my mind playing a trick on me, I asked myself.
Thinking it is futile to argue further with him and with so many pairs of eyes fixed on me, I decided to walk away, telling myself to be more careful next time. Maybe this is my unlucky day, I thought to myself. I have always heard of people saying the new notes issued not so long ago are very confusing. The colors are so similar to each other. For example, the color of the new RM20 is very similar to that of the old RM10.
When I got home and reached out for my keys in the left pocket, my fingers felt something and I pulled it out……it was the RM20. It quickly dawned on me that I have not even touch the RM20 in the left pocket. Instead, I had used the RM10 that I have put in the right pocket and had forgotten all about it that day.
I was overwhelmed by a sense of regret. I had wrongly argued with the chap just now.
Today, I went back to his stall and explained the mistake to him and he had a laugh. I felt better as I always like to buy his stuff.
All well ends well, right?
And by the way, do you find the new Malaysian currencies quite confusing, I mean, the color tone?
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188 Hugh Low Street, Ipoh 
Ipohgal,
I was bemused by your story about giving the man the wrong bill, and then being surprised when you didn’t get the change you expected. I found that often happened when I rode in taxis in Asia, But it usually happen when I had given the driver the right bill!
In response to your question about Malaysian currency, as an American, I must smile.With our currency, of course, all bills are the some size and color, form $1.00 to $10,000.00. You just have to read the numbers. While I can’t remember ever having substituting a ten thousand dollar note for a one, I have from time to time substituted a five or ten for one, (nearly always when paying my tab in a bar at closing time. 🙂 ) Sometimes the recipient straightens you out, some times he doesn’t. Anyway, I find the Malaysian currency system superior, even if the colors aren’t quite right.
Honesty is the best Policy.
Good on you for going back to the stall and explained to him 🙂 Yes, I find the new notes very confusing too and very often I have to double check if I have a rm20 note with me.