👼 An Angel in Chinese skin! Check out what scenario the Universe wrote for me! TripLog #4
Just a week ago I was sitting in the capital of Malaysia in a dirty, smelly s**thole surrounded by thieves. Each day was a struggle for survival, for a little sleep and something to eat. There was no chance for a better situation, but I didn't appreciate the Universe. I didn't know yet what kind of flip it was going to take for me. Just listen…
ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
Thanks to your help, after a night spent at TBS station in Kuala Lumpur, I finally managed to buy tickets for the bus, which was supposed to take us to Ipoh. It is the third largest city in Malaysia, which is located by around 200 km from the capital city.
Together with C. (my girlfriend) we fell asleep from exhaustion as soon as we sat in our places. The journey took more than three hours. When I was woken up by an alarm on my phone, I felt a huge relief. I realized that the KL chapter had been closed. I didn't know what would happen next, but I was sure that it wouldn't be any worse.
Ipoh welcomed us with rain and lightning, but fortunately we booked a room close to the station. We wrapped the luggage in foil that I got from the owner of a small shop, turned on the map and set off in front of us. The rain didn't make any impact on us because we knew that this time a clean room, a warm shower and a comfortable bed were waiting for us. We crossed our budget for accommodation by 5$ to be sure that we would spend at least that one night in normal conditions.
I took a shower for almost an hour. I wanted to be sure that I washed off all the dirt of Kuala Lumpur that I felt on my hair, skin and clothes. I don't remember even when I went to bed, and the alarm clock already announced that it was 10:00 a.m. and it's time to get up. At 12:00 we had to check out and move on.
These two hours passed quickly. Shower, breakfast from leftovers from yesterday dinner and looking for peace for the next night. We managed to find an occasion and for 15$ we rented a small, clean room about 3 kilometers away from the city center. We knew it was okay because, taught by experience, we carefully checked the opinions about it.
We packed things and went to the station. In my wallet I had lass than 4$, which had to be enough for the journey to center and something to eat in the evening. This was the last money left on our account after we had booked the room.
It was about 12 kilometers to the center of Ipoh from Amanjaya Station, where we got out the night before. Initially, the plan was to walk the route and try to catch hitchhike on the way, but it was too hot for that - the thermometer was showing well over 30 degrees. We knew that if we walked with all our stuff in such heat, we would not go far. The cost of a taxi to the city center is about 5$, so such an option was out of the question. So we decided to wait until it cooled down a bit and we will be able to walk, but then I got lucky again.
When I was sitting at the bus station I saw an old, collapsed bus entering. I didn't understand the inscription on the board, but my intuition told me that I should approach it. I asked the driver if he is going to the city center and he told me that he stopped 3 km earlier. That was enough. The ticket price for one person was 0,80$, so we loaded our stuff and hit the road.
MY BUDDY CALVIN
The driver left us at a tiny station from where we set off on foot to the place where we stayed. After arriving at the place I entered the code into the door, which was sent to me by the owner, I found our room and full of fear I opened the door. It turned out that this time everything looked like in the announcement.
I left my stuff and went out to the patio to rest for a while and catch my breath. Then HE appeared! The biggest Chinese guy I have ever seen!
He welcomed up in English and asked if he could sit down. In such situations, it's better to just nod and I did it. He took out the cigarettes, gave me one and asked me from where I coming from. I told him our story and I had the impression that at first he took me for a mad man. When I was talking about what happened to me in Kuala Lumpur, he became interested, started asking for details and the conversation rolled on by itself. I talked about our journey, about the fact that I have a blog, I love to cook and I want to open a foodtruck We talked through two cigarettes and then Calvin, because that was his name, said goodbye and left. I returned to the room and didn't know that what had just happened to me was not just a friendly chat. The Universe let me know again and sent someone to change the direction of the journey.
Because in the place where we stayed there was no reception I had to find someone with whom I could talk about renting a room for a longer time with the option of paying when we check out. Well, that's right - there was no reception. I decided to go downstairs and ask because there were also shops in the same building and I hoped that someone would lead me to the trail of a man with whom I could talk.
Immediately after leaving, I saw Calvin again, who was leaving a kind of garage and asked if he knew who is the manager of this place. He smiled widely and said "I AM! It surprised me, but I thought that it good because after our conversation on the balcony I felt that the guy has a lot of good energy.
There was no problem with renting a room for a week, the only thing I had to do was send a passport photo to his brother-in-law. It turned out that the rooms he rented were family businesses, so they shared their responsibilities. Such objects as this one they have several in Ipoh.
- Are you hungry? - He asked.
- Like a wolf! Can you recommend a place where you can eat cheaply, a lot and without getting poisoned?
He told me to go to a place where I could eat good, fried noodles. I saw that he liked eating well, just like me, so I was already looking forward to a bowl full of delicious things! He explained to me how I would get there by the shortest way and that's how we stood for a while talking about local food.
- And tomorrow I invite you to dinner in my restaurant, be ready about two! - he shot to me like a cannon.
I thought I had heard or understood something wrong, because there was a "working man" in front of me in a slightly stained T-shirt, who had just left from some kind of a gate.
- Your restaurant? - I asked shocked a little less politely than I would like to.
- Well, my own! My family runs three restaurants in Ipoh and I taking care of them.
The legs were bent under me, I didn't believe what I had just heard, and I think that Calvin noticed it.
- Don't worry about anything, I'm paying! - He shouted with a smile.
- It's not about money (although I didn't have it), but about how lucky I am. - I sat down impressed for a moment.
IPOH IS THE REAL CAPITAL OF MALAYSIA!
And that's how I met the wonderful man who turned the course of the expedition by 180 degrees. A few days ago I lived in slums, in a dirty Kuala Lumpur, and today I have a clean room and can explore the local cuisine with a guest who has been living in Ipoh for several years and runs restaurants here! And this is not one, but three! In addition, he runs a company that produces delicious fish cake ( I have already recorded material from it, which will soon appear on the profile).
The next day Calvin took us to such a delicious dinner that after two weeks of DAP diet (dirt and poor), I did not believe in my own luck.
He walked me around the background, showed me new ingredients, told me about the philosophy of Chinese cuisine and allowed me to believe that miracles happen! So far I have eaten in two restaurants owned by him, but he has also taken us to several places where you can taste local delicacies.
I did not pay a single penny for it, because he categorically said that I am his guest and that money did not matter to him. In return, he only asked me to describe to you how looks live in Ipoh and to show you what delicious things you can eat here. Of course, he didn't have to ask me because the food here is just magical. This week I will publish materials from which you can find out what treats can be placed on your plate. After this trip I take Ipoh as the capital of Malaysian taste!
That is not all! It turned out that our room was mistakenly reserved for other people for the weekend, so as a compensation he took us to another place which they rent. And it so this chapter of my story I'm writing for you from the villa. Yes, from the villa! Normally they rent it for over 100$ per day and we pay ten times less! I'll be honest - it's the most beautiful place I've ever stayed! Take a look at the @see-it-feel-it profile and see how our current conditions are different from those we had in Kuala Lumpur. For me it is a mindblow!
I knew that life is sometimes quite tricky. I also knew that it writing the best scenarios. But I didn't expect that such a big crisis could turn into a hospitality for such a great person with whom I could prepare for you exactly the kind of content I wanted to publish here from the beginning.
I still have a problem with the money, but I hope that thanks to the videos and articles I'm preparing, I will finally be able to fall asleep calmly and at least for a few days set the pressure aside.
I am very grateful to the Universe, to Calvin and to you Steemians! Recently, I only confirmed that I made a good decision to go on this journey. I already know that what is going during it is not a coincidence, so I throw myself into the whirlwind of events and look forward to what the next day will bring. I feel that my adventure is only just getting off the ground, so sit back, buckle your seatbelts and hold on!
See you soon!@foodini
