YA LEUM.22 — the first step of trusting Humanity
To get to know locals in the touristic context it is quite different from getting to know them in their daily lives. And for me, traveling is about getting to know the people as they really are.
To have this experience, we were keen to hitchhike and pitch the tent as much as possible, also because it was affordable and fun.
After the short stay in Ipoh, we hitchhiked to the Cameron Highlands.
The Cameron Highlands is a lovely hill station north of Kuala Lumpur, with a much cooler temperature than the rest of country. Therefore, locals, the main tourists in the area, do day trips to take a break from the warm lowlands.
The area is full of attractions, from walking through the villages to strawberry picking, strolling along the numerous tea plantations, or enjoying a nice lunch with a view over the farms, there is not much time to be bored.
Since the area is so green, we were convinced it was easy to pitch the tent. It was not the case.
Upon our arrival, we searched for spots, but there were too exposed. So, we gave the camping site a try, even though in the context of traveling, I am more fan of wild camping. Well, we lasted two nights, because I did not like the vibe of the place.
So, we packed again, and walked around. We faced the same problem of the first day. However, I noticed there were plenty of houses with big gardens… so we asked!
In one of the countryside-like houses, we saw a lady gardening. We approached her, asked for a small spot to pitch the tent, and offered to pay something, which she denied.
Ashna could not speak English, but between gestures and honest smiles, she offered us a small place with a shed in the garden. We could not be happier! Specially because rain was frequent and we were carrying a giant improvised blue plastic to cover the tent… everyone that saw it, did not hide a proper laugh to our mobile shed aka somethingtoavoidwaterinsideofthetent.
The garden was marvelous, big and with a lovely view. We had tea with Ashna and had a google translation conversation. We learnt she had two kids and was working in the municipality. She would come to our tent to offer coffee or fruits and to make sure we were doing fine.
Well, against our highly positive hopes, it rained! But our mobile shed and other improved arrangements, helped us to have a proper night sleep. I can say we fought the rain successfully.
In the morning after, Ashna told us we would need to leave because apparently there was a religious festival and she would need to use the garden for the festivities. She told us, she talked to her neighbor and maybe we could put the tent there.
The neighbor was just the house opposite from us, on top of a hill, with a bucolic and flowery garden.
When I looked up, I could not believe we could stay there! Just the fact I could visit that place, I was already happy.
But, Mathieu went there to talk to the neighbor and she said “of course you can stay, but not tonight because I have someone over. Come back tomorrow!”.
Well, now time to find a new place! No problem, traveling is about being on the move anyways, so here it goes.
We packed our things and looked for a new place for the tent just for that night. We did not pack everything exactly; Mathieu found a good idea to carry the tent open around the village. Well, it is true it can be annoying to close and open the tent every time.
So, since that attracted some attention and we were also asking some indications to people, another wonderful human being offered us to stay at a separate small house he had.
Oww my friends, what can I say?
Kindness took a whole other level today!
So, no tent tonight. Still our traveler’s mattress, but a safe, covered, and warm place.
The next day, we spent some time with this nice family and moved to the flowery garden overseeing the village and the hills. Yes, we were looking forward to it.
Arrived at the bucolic garden, we were received by Fatima.
Fatima is a wonderful 70 year-old lady living together with her sister for many years. Their extended family comes to visit them often, however they do not live close by. Her sister is as sweet as Fatima, however less talkative. They both could speak some English, for us that is great because we love to engage in conversations with the new people we meet.
With the coffee they offered us, we sat long time telling each other stories about our lives.
Fatima told us the story about her life, the life in the Cameron Highlands, curiosities about Malaysia and traditions about their religion.
I was so relaxed. I was so fulfilled. I was so touched. I was so happy.
We spend a wonderful time with these two sisters who treated us like family. They looked after us, like my mum does.
We spent time with them and barely did sightseeing.
We came for this, we looked for this, and we got what we asked.
In our last day, we had a farewell meal together and they prepared us food for the way. They found us cute, they said “It is not every day we see a couple like you traveling with a tent. Here where we live, it is new. But we like to see the new and help if we can”.
The plan was to go back to Ipoh hitchhiking, when they learnt that they were a bit worried, so they prepared a nice package with food for the way.
We were sad to leave, like always. But we must continue moving, that is the deal we made with ourselves.
Again, back on the road, with a nice sign to wait for someone to take us to Ipoh. The wait was long, although there were so many cars passing, the few stopping were not going our direction.
Until other amazing people stopped and took us with them. They were a nice Malaysian couple who took a weekend off in the Cameron Highlands. They were so friendly and so engaged to tell us about Malaysia. So they offered to stop at a very famous tea plantation and a cute village known by their strawberries.
Well, that did not come as expected! So, our drivers turned into our guides and later to our friends as we met them again in Kuala Lumpur to go out for dinner. We kept contact!
It was a such a positive day!
Our destination was Ipoh because we were planning to go to George Town, north of Malaysia.
So, they left us in the beginning of the highway to start hitchhiking again. However, it was late, and I am against hitchhiking in the evening. But Mathieu is more adventurous than me so he convinced me to try to get a lift around 5pm…
We were in the beginning of the highway, so there was nothing around besides a gas station. In case we could not get a drive, we asked the gas station if we could put the tent just for the evening. They said no.
We returned to the highway to hitchhike, but I was negative with the outcome of getting a lift at this time until George Town, a city two hours away from our starting point. So, I started looking around for a place to set the tent for the evening.
I noticed on the sides of the highway there was a flat green area, so while Mathieu was putting his hopes on a lift, I moved our luggage to that area.
Not too long after, we saw a western guy on a bicycle coming to our direction.
“Hey, are you guys planning to go to George Town? It may be difficult to get a ride at this time. Behind the gas station, there is an accommodation for travelers. It is free and you can stay as long as you want. You also can just spend the night and wake up early to hitchhike. It is called the Castle.
I am also a traveler myself and I stay there with my girlfriend. We have been traveling for long time already and we found this place on couchsurfing by chance. “
Then, for a second, I realized I have heard about this place before! Yes, I saw this place on couchsurfing but did not pay too much attention. So yes, it was real, and it had good reviews. So, it does not cost to check it out.
I was amazed! I could not believe how lucky we always were. This Canadian guy fell from the sky.
The sun was ready to set, the sky was shining in a jumble of yellow with red, the day was ending nearly…
The Canadian traveler with the bike on his hands, Mathieu and I with the backpacks of a long journey, stopped to watch together the splendid sky that toasted us with a new angel.
In these moments, we take a step back and we trust in humanity again.
I can trust it because I felt it on my skin.
Traveling is about these moments. You let yourself go with people apparently so different but still so like you.
I have been traveling for four months now and meeting people every other day.
Every single person I meet, is participating in my transformation.
I feel I start changing. I feel my comprehension is expanding.
My consciousness is about to turn into new directions.
My confidence is growing slowly.
People’s appearance is fading away.
I listen to them, as I listen to myself.
Something is changing.
Humanity feels like home.
I am home.
August 2017,
Patricia Assis
