YA LEUM.23 — The unexpected meeting at the traffic light
We woke up in the Castle!
A place where artists, artisans, musicians, magicians, storytellers, handymen and anyone willing to learn about the world are welcome to stop by, stay and participate in the creative atmosphere.
The owners of the house are an open-minded Muslim couple, warm hearted, willing to share their place with different types of mindsets and people with different ambitions.
What a special space, I may say. I could not imagine a place like this could exist. The house itself is simple, travelers must carry their own equipment to sleep, but for the rest, everything is shared. There are always hot rice and vegetables in the kitchen, and it is easy to make yourself comfortable.
The Castle had 2 floors, there were plenty of space to put a mattress or even the tent. There were also an awesome, but too high for me, tree house where you could put the tent. For more privacy, we opened our tent and just stayed around.
Phenomenal! What a place! I have never seen anything like this. This concept, the ideas of the people staying in this house, the willingness, and the trust of the owners, challenged many of my perspectives. One, would doubt about the intentions of such couple or even about the travelers staying in The Castle saying “There’s always free cheese in a mousetrap” ; meaning, what is the catch?
I do not usually belong to the club of the skeptics. So, for me, it is fairly easy to embrace such initiatives. However, it did challenge the reality I knew; I was astonished by the trust and generosity of so many people in the same place. That was not the world I knew. At least, until then.
I had to quickly adapt to these new way of thinking. I have had these beautiful desires of living in a society where we give without expecting nothing in return; we give because we truly care, and we see the connection with other human beings so clearly. The Europe I knew, it is different. Everything has a price, people constantly seek to get the value they think is fair; generosity, compassion and comprehension are more discussed on social media than integrated in our hearts. Maybe I think I am not that, but I am. Maybe in the perspective of the Thai, Cambodian and Lao people I represent the paradisiac but still greedy Europe. Who knows…
I have been summing up countless experiences of true generosity. People who gave me food and floor because “we share what we have, when we have”. This kindness was not new, but The Castle made me stop and reflect deeper about the world I live in.
What happened with faith, trust, confidence, and expectations about other people who are just like us? How did all trust in others got so ugly and blurry? Why giving is more bizarre than taking?
We did not stay one night as initially thought. We liked too much to see other travelers like us. Those travelers who do not have a returning ticket. Those who have a vast curriculum in hitchhiking, camping, farming, volunteering, and wondering. Those who have crossed the ocean by boat, backpacked in Africa, lived as a monk, farmed in the USA, or crossed continents by bike. These extraordinary human beings cross your path once. They worth more than any hike, volcano, or forest. So, we stayed longer.
One morning, Mathieu and I decided to go for shopping and later to walk in the city, Ipoh.
There was not a strict plan but do things slowly. We were both happy, the good mood was around.
On the way to the supermarket, we asked for directions to a car stopping at the traffic light.
In the car, there were a very friendly Chinese couple, who explained in detail how to get there. As we were leaving, they said, “we also go to the supermarket, do you want a lift?”.
Owww, so lucky again! What is happening to us?
“Yes”, we said. We are the people who usually say Yes to things.
Incredible nice couple! Fun, light, smart and… foodie lovers. They gave us tips about Ipoh, what to do, where to go and shared their love about food. They live in Malaysia for years but are Chinese…. So yes, I understand where all that passion for food comes from. The Chinese has a top cuisine and are really food orientated. So, on the way they asked us “Did you have lunch? Would you like to try some Chinese delicacies?” That is the right question to ask to Patricia!
Even, we hadn’t had breakfast yet. So, the answer was like “YES, can we go now?”.
I arrived at my type of heaven: loads of real Chinese food to share. They ordered so many new things for us to try… pork in so many ways, soups I could not exactly grasp the taste, a variety of vegetables with different types of cooking, new ways of tasting chicken… I won’t even mention the same catalog for desserts. Did you know Chinese desserts are a huge highlight among the Chinese people? Pumpkin pancakes, sweet egg buns, deep fried durians, sweet soup balls, almond and grass jelly…there is an endless list of sweet dishes also to share. What a banquet!
As our new friends Ben and Mei said, “this food is meant to share and we are just two, so it is always better to do with other people”.
At the end, my happiness was beyond the limit, because real Chinese food is one of my favorite food in the whole world! Amén to them.
Time still to continue with the plan to do groceries, let us not forget that.
We arrived at the supermarket and the lovely couple asked if we would like to meet their four kids and have Chinese tea.
What do you think we said? Yes, guys! We always say Yes!
Every single time we stayed at someone’s place or were invited over, we would bake a cake or make French crepes (Mathieu did, I do not cook crepes). They were delighted with the idea because they knew their kids would love to bake a cake together.
We shopped for the cake, for the tea and let us go meet these incredible family.
They were just leaving close to The Castle, in a beautiful and comfortable house. When we arrived, we met their four kids who were not shy at all to talk to us. So, even with the kids we connected so well!
We got to spend time with them all, and each of them has a special gift. They were excited to show us their dancing, singing, painting and language skills. Nothing stopped the confidence of these kids to show their talents to these two strangers. What a bless!
We got ready to bake the cake and it was a big party in the kitchen! While the cake was in the oven, we moved to the living room to play karaoke and other games. That was so much fun! Ben and Mei also joined, and we all had a good time. Later, we shared the cake which was a huge success and then we moved to the tea corner.
This was my first Chinese Tea Ceremony. I knew the existence of the Tea ceremony in the Chinese culture, but that was it. I will never forget this graceful and relaxing experience.
The Chinese Tea Ceremony is performed in different occasions, such as weddings, as a sign of respect, gratitude or as a symbol to welcome visitors. The tea ceremonies move from religious manifestations to social and cultural events.
The ritual includes different phases, but everything must be perfect, from the attitude of those who participate to the tea selection, the ambiance, the technique, and the tools.
In the beginning, I noticed Ben preparing the table, jug, cups, water, and the different teas carefully and in silence. However, I noticed the calm atmosphere, but I was not quite understanding why. Later, I understood he was organizing the tea ceremony, therefore this person is called the Tea Master. I felt so special to be part of this fascinating ritual!
Each time, Ben would silently pour a different tea in our cups. He would explain the meaning of the herbs, talk about the ceremony, and just talk about life. Each time he was pouring tea, he paid the same respect and elegance to every drop. I had the most marvelous tea of my life. The ritual lasted four hours. At the end, almost at dinner time, I was feeling so full and somehow lightheaded after drinking so much liquids.
Nevertheless, that did not last very long and we even planned to go out for dinner. Ben and Mei wanted to show us a food plaza with different types of dishes. We tried again many different foods, but my favorite was something called stinky tofu. Very smelly, but very delicious.
All this in just one day! And because we asked for directions to someone.
We were lucky since Ben were not in Ipoh all the time. He used to work in other countries and this period he came for holiday in Malaysia. In the day after, he offered to be our guide for a day. We visited a temple, Ipoh and the cave.
Still that evening, we came back to their place to play board games with their friends all night!
Getting to know this family made me again a different a person. I still cannot explain why, but when I get new insights, I transform along with them. When you see things with your eyes, you just comprehend them better…
Ben and Mei are a special and loving couple, that built a wonderful, healthy and confident family. They are eager to experience life, to share moments and to accept you as you are.
Sometimes, I still think, what did they see in us to accept us in their family and house?
Thank you, Ben, Mei and the whole family! You reminded us about hope, family, love and trust.
Thanks to you, we are now better human beings.
August 2017,
Patricia Assis
