The bruised butt and the half-burnt face

In 2015, I decided to take my first official solo trip for no reason at all. I say this because the stamps on my passport indicating my back and forth flights from Manila to Abu Dhabi and vice versa had always been to go to college and visit family/renew visa respectively.

Malaysia to me will always be the place that changed me, or where some would say, the travel bug bit me. It marked for me my independence, not necessarily from my family because this has long been the case already (insert eye roll from the mother superior here) until recent events. It was more of a liberation of the self, so to speak, my fear level was so high then that I wished there was more to the flight than just three hours, but at the same time it seemed to have completely popped my fear gauge probably overheated (lol).

I had always wanted to travel but had also always been so afraid, a friend I met there said, "why are you so afraid of everything!", I too, had no idea but I kept doing the opposite of my fears for some reason!

I was afraid of living with a complete stranger but I was so broke and the trip was so sudden that I could only afford an airbnb so far from the Sentral Station.

I was afraid I hadn't done enough research that I'd run out of money before my week was up.

I was afraid to walk, get lost, go on the ice rink, ride the narrow-ass boat crossing a long-ass river with the brown-ass water.

I was afraid of the guy who kept following me and asking me if I wanted a tour of Kuala Terengganu.

I was afraid of not being understood.

Turns out however, the complete stranger was barely in the house, I had free access to internet, the two-bedroom was all mine though I barely spent time there only to do my laundry, he'd even picked me up and dropped me off and am still in contact with him almost 3 years later. He's an amazing photographer too you should check < a href="https://www.instagram.com/photobyjameslee"> him out and get your wedding photos done by him (and in Malaysia) because the man has skills and the country has.... sigh

I did not run out of money in fact I still had some to spare to last me till the end of the month of May back in the Philippines when I had done everything I wanted to do, and been everywhere I wanted to be in 5 days.

I walked so much my converse shoes broke, I had a blister the size of a planet and as painful as a lego stuck on my foot, I got lost a million times and found the serendipitous things. I went on the ice rink before closing time, ice was melting, sure enough I fell down on my knees then on my ass and if my skin was a notch lighter I'd have probably seen big-ass bruises. And that narrow-ass boat crossing a long-ass river with the brown-ass water, lead me to the most beautiful sceneries I had ever seen, to the nicest people I had ever met, and the tranquilest nights I had ever experienced under the brightest of stars.

Si, the old guy who kept following me started the tour charge at 120 ringgits (1500 pesos/100 dirhams), which went down to 100-0 real quick, after I kept repeating no, guess he really wanted me to see his city.

He even bought me tea probably because he thought I was so broke I couldn't afford a hot drink. I was again just afraid I'd run out of money before I get back to Kuala Lumpur.

I was waiting for the boat then that was going to lead me to a rather secluded island, the sound of that and the fact that I was beginning to smell like a bag of onions after a tour of KL on foot from dawn till dusk and a spur of the moment 8-hour bus ride to see the Crystal Mosque and Perhentian Island (I ended up in Kapas Island, less people they said).

Minutes after getting into the water, I was chased out by a huge fish so close to the beach. I decided to sleep on the sand under the sun and was woken up by some girls playing volleyball 2 inches away from me 2 seconds before the only boat back to the city was about to leave.

I was back in the cold bus before I knew it, with a half-burnt face to prove the most wonderful time I've ever had in my life, I no longer cared about being understood. I only cared that I was a different person in May 15 and was someone else by May 21, 2015.

It also didn't hurt knowing a bit of Bahasa Melayu so I could at least let the restaurateurs know, ENOUGH WITH THE SPICY FOOD! I KNOW I LOOK LIKE MOST OF YOU BUT MY BUTT HOLE IS BURNING!

And that was my Malaysia, truly Asia, life-altering, addiction-inducing, spiritually-enlightening, Malaysia.

Love and light,

Sarah, the _____ :)

PS.

Here are some of the pictures I've taken in Malaysia (working on my CSS skills from now on)

(The narrow-ass boat, on the long-ass river with the brown-ass water)

(GREEEENSSSS)

(Foot tour of KL, at the Petronas Towers)

(Pretty, pretty Batu Caves)

(Tear-jerking beauty of the Crystal Mosque)

(Kapas Island before the white people started coming out from the shade)

( Si :) )