gratitude

sometimes trips carry certain themes. if i were to characterize my trip to malaysia, the theme would be one of gratitude. days before my flight, i came down with a strong confusing mix of cold/flu symptoms and i feared that i might be too sick to fly. with positive thoughts and lots of sleep, my body thankfully healed the day before my flight. gratitude: i felt blessed with fortunate timing, good health and was excited, ecstatic really, to be on my way, on vacation.

on the flight to malaysia, i sat next to bill, an american diplomat who had been living in malaysia for the past two years. he amused/annoyed me with his psa about how i should work for the state department but when i told him that i had never been to malaysia before, he offered me a reassuring bounty of information about how easy and safe it was to travel throughout the country. he confirmed that i would have an amazing food parade and if i needed any help that i could contact him. gratitude: a point of contact to call for assistance, if need be.

once i arrived in malaysia, i found it pretty easy to get around by trains, ferries, and lots of different buses. i like knowing where i'm going, how to get there, and of course, how to get back. the ease of travel throughout malaysia, calmed my fear of getting lost. (and if i were to have gotten lost, most malaysians speak some english so language would not have been a significant barrier. phew!) while i was in penang, i was able to even navigate my way outside of georgetown, where i was staying, and venture into other areas to visit an amazing buddhist temple and to cool off by the beach. gratitude: knowing where you are, where you need to go and how to get there. bonus: easy to understand maps, guides, directions, helpful locals and bus drivers.

FOOD. oh the food! it's always about the food and malaysia has no shortage of amazing--SCRUMPTIOUS!--dishes. there is a significant chinese and indian population throughout malaysia so i feasted on the best chinese, indian, malay, and fusions of all three tastes every day. the sheer amount of choices made me wish my stomach were bigger and since most meals were less than 5 dollars, (some of my best meals were even as little as 1 dollar! ONE DOLLAR!) i felt so damn lucky. fresh fruits and fresh squeezed juices on the street, exotic spices and new desserts. incredible. it even got the point that i would think about my next meal even while i was eating. i most certainly miss the curries of all kinds. korea does kimchi absurdly well, but, curries, not very well at all.

and, connectivity. i traveled to malaysia alone because i wanted to. after 6 months of backpacking throughout new zealand alone, i felt empowered, beaten down, confused, and ultimately, confident in my skills to be fine, alone. and in fact, sometimes, to want to be alone, finding it absolutely crucial to be alone. in malaysia, i had met other travelers along the way but they were fleeting. that's what we travelers do...we move. around. a lot. the best part though, was that i never felt lonely. i spent a lot of time just looking, observing the lives around me. some of the locals would look at me and smile. from them, i felt such radiant energy and a connection that is often times missing in our daily lives. or maybe, it's not that it's missing, but, we're so absorbed in our own individual worlds that we lose the connection to the BIG WORLD. thankfully, vacation time allowed me to see, embrace, absorb and restore. gratitude: TIME.