This morning, I woke in Tanah Rata early to catch the 7:00 am shuttle for Penang. Fortunately, the shuttle only had six people on it so there was plenty of room. Tonight, if the shuttle is able to continue, they have 11 crowding into a 10 person fan. I say “IF” because we had to pull over for a brake problem on the way. Coming down the mountains, the left front brake (immediately under me) got smoky hot! We stopped for it to cool, uncertain if we would continue. Our driver called the headquarters to discuss the situation. He’s been driving for 20 years, was very safety conscious and decided we would continue slowly and gently the next 90 minutes of our journey. At this moment, it’s probably being checked by a mechanic somewhere.
International day is an expression I’ve used when I have a day of running into a huge variety of people in one day. I said good bye to An from Vietnam and Andrew from Borneo. My shuttle companions were from Germany, Amsterdam, Spain and Malaysia.
Within moments of arriving at Hostel 54, I met a couple who are 15 months into a trip. They are riding their bicycles and have ridden 18,000 kilometers which computes to roughly 11,185 miles. They are taking a break for a few days and heading to Cameron Highlands hiking with a friend who met them here before riding on to Singapore and flying to Australia.
While waiting for my room to get ready, one of the last room available in this area, I started visiting with Tatiana who is from Slovania. A couple just returned from the beach (after getting rained out) who are from Eastonia but living in Finland.
A group of three people returned to the hostel and two joined me at my table to write post cards and check email. They are from France and began their trip in Istanbul, are 6.5 months into a one year journey and are about to head into Thailand. The man traveling with them at the moment is from Italy. (Yes, we talked about good coffee!)
From that small window of a few hours out of my day, you can imagine the stories I’ve heard, trip adventures that have been shared and enthusiasm that has been nourished. This is a huge part of the reason why I travel.
I now have recommendations for how to see Komoo Island from the French couple and suggestions for a quiet island to stop at for a relaxing visit and snorkeling off the shore with no telephone or internet, free travel to and from which transports the locals and food, provides no electricity form 10:00 pm until 6:00 am.
I’m sitting here wondering who will pop into my life next?
Ciao….
What an adventure!!!! The best part of traveling is meeting friends. You’re very good at that. I look forward to more updates.