A for Attan, B for Busuk, C for Cat!

Finally safe and sound eating satay and roti prata in Singapore. Everything is in order. My cat, Attan, still remembers me when I called him at the bus stop and he followed me home. Nearly 6 months I've been away and it has been nothing short of an adventure of a lifetime. I've never crossed so much sea, walked over so much land and flew over vast space in my whole 25 years of existance. And what intrigued me the most was that I was amazed at how far I can be stretched mentally and physically.

Milestones,

In Haatyai, I didn't sleep from 9pm till 12noon the next day.
Ferry rides make me wanna puke but yet on the way back to Singapore I had to take 2 of them.
I finally managed to cross the whole stretch of Peninsular Malaysia with one bus ride, from the Thai-Malaysian border to the Singapore-Malaysian border.

I was in 3 countries in one day. Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia.

I managed to be able to converse in Thai quite fluently to the extent that many thought I was a Thai.

Realizing I had the potential to be a linguist excites me because a new form of belief has emerged and that is hard to come by for me.

I visited Wali Song, the 9 Holy Men who single handedly transformed Java into a Muslim country. To do that, I had to travel throughout Java itself, east, central and west. The journey itself was one of the most testing experiences that I had ever gone through throughout my travelling stint anywhere.

I guess many of you would know by now how random I can be when it comes to travelling. One day I can be in Krabi, Thailand and the next thing you know, I will be in Solo, Indonesia. I guess what keeps me keen on travelling is the journey itself. Every journey that I go through, will certainly have it's own story to tell. For example, in Thailand, I have no problem at all when it comes to taking buses to travel 12 hour straight to head up north of Thailand. But here, I nearly puked my whole gut out when I took the local transportation across east of Java.

Travelling allows me to see, experience and then reflect. It may sound silly but I travel to have a sense of suffering. To understand what people from other parts of the world have to go through and endure daily. The problems that the people in Singapore go through is minimal compared to what Indonesians or Thais or Cambodians have to go through.

Next reflection. Why are the Indonesians and Thais very warm, helpful and sociable people? What happened to the Singaporeans? Is it because as a nation gets more educated, liberal and has a pro-western influence, the more reduced its virtues and morality? I do not know. It is just food for thought.

In Indonesia, when I took the local train (imagine Indian dilapidated trains) an old man can ask a young girl where she is heading for. People acknowledge each other on the streets with warm and friendly smiles. I guess I yearn for what I can't get in Singapore, humility, so much so that I have to travel far and wide to satisfy my personal desire which is to experience and learn humility.

For now, I just want to stay put for a while and do more reflections and just share amazing stories to those who wants to hear them.

jamiel
concrete memoirs