Hello, Malaysia!

Unlucky #4

Our accommodation in KL was in unit 3A on the 30th floor of a 46 floor tower. On one of our earlier rides up to our room in the elevator, we noticed that there was never a number 4 on the keypad.

For example, the 3rd floor was followed by floor 3A, and then by floor 5. Similarly, there was no 14th floor, but instead there was a floor 13A, followed by floor 15. Same with the 24th (23A) and 34th (33A) floor, and so on.

There didn't seem to be a problem with having a 40th floor, but there was no floor 44. In its place was floor 43A. Even our room, one of 10 on the floor, was numbered 3A instead of 4.

We postulated that this had something to do with bad luck, in the same way that some buildings in Canada or the USA don't have a 13th floor. But finally, during a Grab ride with an especially friendly and chatty driver, we got the scoop straight from the horse's mouth.

We already knew that in Chinese culture, the number 8 is considered very auspicious. It's a great number to have in your address for example, and a great day of the month to be born.

But we didn't know that the number 4 represents death for the Chinese, and is considered a very bad and unlucky number to have in your address. For this reason, according to our Grab driver, if the developer of a project is Chinese, there is never a number 4 in the suite numbers, and any floor that would have a 4 in it is instead labeled with a substitute number, like 3A. Mystery solved!

Here's a picture of the elevator keypad in that particular building, so you can see for yourself. Zoom in and try to find a floor that ends in a 4. Good luck, 'cause apparently you'll need it if you do find one.

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