Asia has brought me more faith in humanity.
Lets start with our last night in Satun. A sign at the front desk of our hotel reads "currency exchange" so I inquire about getting some Malaysian Ringgits. The hotel manager fetches another man from the back who beckons me to follow him out of the hotel.
In the darkness I follow him across the street and down the block - all the while telling myself no one wants to steal my money, credit cards, IPod, passport or camera that are attached to my body. The man opens a metal gate that is in front of a little shop...I follow him inside to where a couple old ladies are sitting surrounded by cigarette cartons. They speak in Thai and point at me while I try to look "normal." Then one of the ladies leads me threw another door made of glass...to yet another lady counting money at a desk with her man friend in a windowless room. They then give me the weak exchange rate for my US dollars, copy my passport and scoot me out the door. Safe into the night.
This morning, I hugged Ashley good-bye (as she set off to an island yoga retreat) for a couple weeks till we meet again. No sooner had I left the hotel with my big backpack, did a lady on a scooter stop me, "Where are you going?" she asked.
"Umm..to the bus stop...by Seven-Eleven...to the pier...to Pulau Langkawi...to Malaysia..." I try to explain. She points down the road toward 7-11...so I walk there. Scooter Lady is waiting for me. She asks the people standing around about the bus...they point across the street. She asks the taxi drivers and the sea-law drivers for help. "Don't worry. I will take care of you," she tells me. Did I look worried?
"Get on the back of my scooter," she points. I point to my backpack towering over my head. "I am too heavy," I hesitate, but she insists. Forgetting the bus, I ride on the back of her scooter for about ten minutes before she stops at a little eatery with a sea-law parked outside. She explain to the driver where I need to go and tells me it is 20 Baht (about 60-70 US cents). She gives me her phone number and tells me to call her if I am in trouble. Her name is Sow and she won't take any money. Then I am off to the pier with some Muslim women in a truck of vegetables.
At the pier a man helps me with my bag and points me to the ferry ticket office - not yet open. I find a coffee stand and have two cups of fresh coffee. I see my friend John, the Taiwanese man from our hotel in the ferry line. He invites me to stay with him at his hotel for free in Langkawi but I tell him I am going to the beach.
I clear customs in Thailand and get onto the "ferry" for Malaysia. They are playing the theme song for Titanic so I feel strangely reassured as I note the life jackets on the wall. John sits by me and tells me all about his business as a fish farmer. He is going to Malaysia to check his "cages." Then he tells me good places to visit in Malaysia and Bali as well as the places to steer clear from.
I clear customs in Malaysia - no questions asked. John arranges a taxi for me across the island to Pantai Cenang - the beach area where I want to stay. We part ways and I travel by taxi to the beach, only to find the hotel already full. The taxi driver walks me to two more hotels before I find one with a room. A double room costing almost $20 US - but I am hot and tired, so I take it.
The taxi driver leaves me at the AB Motel and goes back to get my backpack at the first hotel. I am slowly noting the contents in my backpack that I can live without if he decides to steal it. I wait almost 20 minutes for him to return. But he returns.
Welcome to Malaysia.
