YA LEUM.21 — Welcome back, Mathieu!
It is August! Finally, August has arrived!
Mathieu had returned to France for three months to visit family and save money to continue traveling.
Before returning to Asia, he had planned to move to Australia to open a bakery.
However, it seems someone had changed his plans… Going to Australia was no longer a plan, and the only plan left was to discover our love-to-be.
Since I left Cambodia, I stayed two weeks on my own in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I signed up for workaway — a platform that allows travelers to pay for their room and food by helping their host with household needs, projects or other jobs. This is ideal for travelers who want to travel long time, but have a tight budget. Like me.
Kuala Lumpur was our starting point and from there we would decide where to go. There was just a certain thing: there was no returning ticket, so the world was our oyster.
Since the beginning, I was moved he worked day and night to be able to follow me in my travels, since he had already visited most of the countries.
We spoke for three months, everyday! We were not still a couple, but we looked after the other as such.
All went amazing in this period, expectations and the promises were at his top. Now, it was the time to face reality.
Time to start!
August 11th arrived.
We planned to meet in the city center, but I showed up at the airport as a surprise.
He arrived ready to cross-mountains, deserts, oceans and forests: one tent, two mattresses, one sleeping bag, stove, pan, plates, pocketknife, flashlight, cards, etc… On top of that, he still prepared a special gift, which included a handmade bracelet and a homemade chocolate cake baked in the night before. This last one made me emotional, probably because I secretly wished chocolate cake…
This man was taking it very seriously. “If it is to do it, I will do it all the way”, he told me.
Meeting him after so long was a joyful moment. Mathieu radiates joy and fun, although we just had spent five days together, we were confident that meant something bigger.
According to him, this happens just once in a lifetime, so we were set to take the final test.
To start, we planned to travel around Malaysia. It is an easy country to travel, with a vibrant culture, lush nature, a food paradise and easy to hitchhike.
The day after his arrival, we planned to hitchhike to Ipoh. Ipoh is one of the main cities in Malaysia, including street art, beautiful architecture in the old town and perhaps the most interesting to me, the immense range of dishes influenced by the Chinese community.
The start was uneasy — I had hitchhiked a few times before, so I knew the tricks. However, I had the impression Mathieu was a skillful hitchhiker prepared to hit the road. I let him take the lead, but soon I realized I would have been more efficient: we started hitchhiking late, since we changed our starting point too many times…
Starting late is never a good option, because I prefer not to arrive to the places in the evening. Specially, when nothing is booked.
A nice man took us close to Ipoh, in a very tiny and uncomfortable car. From there, late in the afternoon, we got another lift until Ipoh. We finally book a guesthouse and all went fine.
The situation was stressful in the morning, but eventually we managed, and very well.
First day completed with success.
This day was what the upcoming days would look like, but with more adventure.
We were both looking for adventure, did not exactly how to find it, but we were certain we would say yes to the unknown that was still yet to come.
The mysterious unknown of discovering the world with someone you love.
August 2017,
Patricia Assis
