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Travelogue 01
Out of Malaysia


“Let no one who loves be called altogether unhappy. Even love unreturned has its rainbow.”
― J.M. Barrie (author of Peter Pan)

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passengers ready on my favourite mode of transport - the train

My travels began in 1984. It is an easy-to-remember year as it is the year George Orwell envisioned a dystopian Great Britain in his book entitled... 1984.

My
"Out of Malaysia" initiation happened during the semester break of my first undergraduate year at the Science University of Malaysia, located on the island of Penang. I travelled on the mode of transport I love most -- the train. The 19-hour train ride from Butterworth, on the mainland of the state of Penang, to Bangkok, Thailand would have been a baptism of fire for some, but it was a watershed moment for me.

Check out the ebook, summary, notes and videos of 1984 here.

Back in 1984, I had a crush on a course-mate, who was 3 years older than I was. And she was on that same study trip. She made the overnight train ride not only exciting, but one that was also filled with emotional anticipation. The infatuation that I had for my senior was, I naively believed at that time, reciprocated. She was kind and warm and friendly toward me. Now that I am older - much, much older - I realise her reciprocal actions were those of a sisterly kind. She treated me well - like she would a younger brother of hers. 

But still, the thought of her liking me, no matter where that feeling had come from or what had motivated it, made the long journey on a non air-conditioned carriage pulled by a dieseled-engine train a colossal event.

I would not get the opportunity to embark on a long train ride like that one until almost 30 years later - at the end of 2013, when I hopped on an overnight train from Yangon to Bagan in Myanmar. (But that’s another story for another day.)

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We started the journey at about noon on the 3rd of May, stopped at the Malaysian-Thai border for immigration clearance at two towns - Padang Besar (in Malaysia) and Hat Yai (in Thailand) later that evening, and arrived at Bangkok, the capital of The Kingdom of Thailand the morning after.

Next → Bangkok

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