Trip to Malaysia

For photos of the trip, please see link below:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_U9DpQYzRfdTEQyZUlLMmNhX2M

They say vacations are supposed to be relaxing. The word vacation usually elicits images of sitting on a beach sipping piña coladas, or massages at the spa. My vacation to Malaysia however, was not filled with spa trips, but rather trips to some of the world's most recognizable landmarks. Needless to say, there was a lot of walking.

I would like to start off by thanking Gillian for showing Sydney and I such an amazing time. This country is absolutely breathtaking, and I am sad I am not here longer to experience more of it. Kuala Lumpur in particular is far more developed than Siem Reap, which in a strange way made me feel at home with all the skyscrapers and taxis summoned with that wonderful brick; which seemingly no one has the power to take their eyes off of. I never realized before how many people take pointless photos and videos they will probably never look at again. I cannot begin to tell you how many selfie sticks I saw, being wielded like light sabers by young photography padawans. I am guilty of it as well, but I try to experience life as much as I can through my eyes, and not a screen. The memories will still be there when my phone inevitably shits the bed.

During my Pchum Ben holiday week, I was able to follow one important rule of vacationing: leave work at work. It was nice not having to worry about teaching, and during my travels, I became the student. I learned a little more about me, time, and the consequences of big mistakes.

There is a lasting debate concerning whether time is merely a construct created by us humans. Does it really exist? Or is it something we fabricated to make sure we all know that report has to be finished by 12:00 pm? My time abroad has encouraged me to believe the latter. This week alone perfectly illustrates my entire time as a Minerva Fellow, as well as the entirety of my time at Union. Looking back at this week, it has seemed like an eternity. We have been doing so many new and exciting things that the days couldn't possibly blend together, resulting in a feeling of a never-ending week. With that being said, Monday feels like yesterday somehow, and we constantly check the time exclaiming, "it's ___ o'clock already?!" It's baffling to me how these two perceptions of time can exist simultaneously. On one hand I feel as though I have been away from home forever, but on the other I feel as though I just got here. It's a surreal feeling that can only be explained by the enigmatic nature of the human mind, and its current understanding of time.

(If you want a really good movie about time, check out Arrival with Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner)

When I landed back at the airport in KL from Penang, I actually thought I was in the wrong place, due to the overwhelming feeling of having just been there hours ago, when in reality it had been days.

When Sydney, Gillian and I were making arrangements for our trip, I was less than excited to find out one of the flights was full, and I'd have to fly solo. At the time, I thought, "no big deal, it's only an hour earlier." Little did I know, that couldn't be further from the truth. Fast forward a few weeks, and I was looking at my boarding pass and realized that the time was 05:55. I thought that was strange, as 17:55 should have been the time indicated for a 5:55 PM flight. In realty, where I sometimes take my own vacations from, my flight was at 6:35 am, and I had to catch a 4:15 am taxi to get to the airport in time. Luckily, the nicest woman ever works at the hostel we are staying at and was able to arrange the cab for me, as getting an Uber at 4 in the morning in Penang is close to impossible.

After I thanked her for her trouble over and over again, I sat down and we had an interesting conversation about life. I had expressed my distaste for the traditional Cambodian practice of charging a local price and a "foreigner price," and she was able to put it into perspective for me. Cambodians like to assume foreigners are rich, which is why they charge higher prices for non locals. Since I do not confirm the stereotype, it annoys me that I am always charged a higher than normal price (although it has improved my barter skills). She heard my concerns, and put it to me like this: even though I am not rich financially, I am far richer than most of the people selling to me. I have an education, family, friends, great experiences, good health, an amazing dog, the list goes on. What I failed to realize is that rich does not exclusively pertain to money. Rich can pertain to friendships and other intangible aspects of life, and someone who has millions of dollars but zero friends, really isn't rich at all.

My parents often say they wish they could have given me more, but I'd like to take this chance to say; Mom and Dad, you've given me more than you will ever know. The very words you're reading right now wouldn't exist without you, and I could not be more proud of my upbringing as it as brought me to where I am now, and molded me into the person I am today. Given the chance to change it all, I wouldn't change a thing. We may not have millions of dollars, but we have what some millionaires could only dream of.

After seeing some live music during my last night in Penang, I realized I was a few ringgit short of being able to pay my cab fare. I walked in the middle of the night to the closest ATM to grab some cash; closed. I walked back to the hostel to see if I could borrow some money from Gillian; fresh out. So I pulled up a list of the closest ATMs, and ventured out into the night once more. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't slightly scared during my search. I was cat called by a large group of people in a language I couldn't understand, rats jumped out from random holes left and right, and homeless people were suddenly everywhere.

At one point I walked past a bus station which had turned into what looked like a refugee camp. Not one bench was without the warmth of a cardboard box and tattered drifter. The scene looked like something out of one of my favorite video games, Fallout, which takes place in a post apocalyptic world left behind by nuclear war (apologies if that sounds a little too real at the moment). I stumbled across two ATMs in my search and both were locked behind glass. I tried the next three blips on Google Maps, and all were inside locked buildings. I was starting to become paranoid, checking behind me every 30 seconds and wondering how I was going to pay the cab driver who would arrive in a couple of hours. As I was walking down a deserted sidewalk between two strip malls, I decided it was time to give up. It was time to head back before I was mugged and never to be heard from again.

Like a scene from a movie, I turned around and the only thing I could see were the gleaming red and white lights of CIMB Bank. And I could faintly make out a gray polo in front of one of the ATMs, which meant the bank was open. I excitedly and cautiously made my way over, careful to not get too excited, and as cinema would have it, I made my withdrawal. The lesson learned is that I suck at making travel arrangements, and it really sucks when you fuck them up. But more importantly, sometimes when you stop searching is when you find what you're looking for; and in this instance, I found it instantly. Hopefully next time I'll get it right from the beginning.

While Malaysia was fun, I am physically and mentally exhausted from the cramped plane rides and miles upon miles of walking. It would've taken me forever to detail every account of my trip, so I hope the pictures will help. After all, each one is worth a thousand words. I'm excited to be going home. And for the first time, that home is Siem Reap.