@jaichai congrats on escaping the land of smiles and on creating yet another exquisite piece of work here. What a great morning in Malaysia article to read as I sip my cheap instant kopi.

I have lived in Malaysia for nearly two years now, I believe I might have mentioned this in our previous discourse. In fact I think you're the first steemian I had any interaction with. I've spent a cumulative couple of months in and around the south Thailand koh islands and Bangkok. In Bangkok alone for 10 days and engaged,meaning I am happy to only look and not touch the sirens, my honeymoon with Thailand came crashing down.

I still love the people and the country but I got the gtfoh vibe and go where you came from reality. Ran into the jaded English teachers at farang bars and understood the nature of both the locals and outsiders duplicitous means to an end.

You nailed everything I've come to learn as a westerner living in SE Asia, though my experience is vastly different as I came here for love and infiltrated Malaysian culture from deep in the heart of a no farang zone, or mat salleh as the malays call me. In this setting I'm viewed as a novelty at best, at worst a guy they'd like to make use of but my ability to confidently interact and navigate the diversity of the area fends off any parasitic types as they rightly assume I'm far too enmeshed or invested if I'm in this area to mess with.

That being said, if Malaysia as a nation can fix the woes of cleptocracy and practice what they preach about one Malaysia, IE "tolerance" and not succumb to the stratification combined with casual racism that makes social mobility difficult, and thus adopt some of the better tourism aspects from Thailand, they will possibly have a the grass is a bit greener here for a westerner. Long ass sentence I know..

We also know the grass is never greener, home is where the heart is, and the reality is, that for most humans the heart can only reside where basic needs are met, physically, and emotionally.

Great work again, you're an inspiration. I see some parallels between the lure of anything new and exotic whether it be a land mass of ridiculously hot women or a platform of social media attracting naive subjects to toil away with false hopes of anyone seeing or caring about their content. The reef is always more vibrant but alas attracts pests and petulance just the same..Where there are fences there shall be secrets, and secrets breed animosity even in a sea of transparency..

Posted using Partiko Android