curated
by
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)
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.)
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.