I woke up early today as I know deep in my brains that today is the day I get back to mainland and drive back home. It is the day that my little adventure together with my friends had come to an end. Though it had been 7 wonderful days of adventure and I really do not want it to end, however, all good thing must come to an end, right? So, that morning, I went out for my last morning walk at the beach. As usual, it was surprisingly calm and good after last night’s ferocious thunderstorm. The walk was different this time. As usual, I did my devotion with God as I walked along the beach but I was saddened by the fact that I had to leave my temporary paradise after some great days here. I would have liked to stay more days. However, I take comfort that I will be re-united with my family soonest and nothing beats that, really. Rested on that thought, the morning walk became bearable and fruitful in many ways. I am very thankful that it did not rain that morning. It was cool, calm and slightly breezy.
Walking down the right side of the beach, I had met up with another angler that morning. Abang Mie , who was from a nearby kampong and he runs a makan joint nearby at the nearby kampong. I started out by greeting him and soon, we were having a conversation. He had shared on the hard times during the MCO period and that morning, he was trying his luck out early that morning for a fish. We shared a conversation as usual about fishing and he had brought prawns for the fishing. I told him that he would get a fish that morning and I prayed silently for him. I noticed that he had made many casts that morning but nothing was biting. Just as he was about to throw out his line, I noted on the surface of the water some activity of fishes. I immediately told him to throw his line in front of a chasing pack of fish on the right and waited for the action. I guess, he did what I had asked as I believed it was out of courtesy. Lo and behold, a fish immediately yanked his line and the line flew out from his reel. It was the sweet sound of long “tzzzeeeeerrr” and the fish was off with the bait. He yanked in professionally and soon, he landed about a 1 kg Giant Trevally fish. That’s a real beauty! I was happy that day and so was he! He thanked me for the tip but I told him that his fishing skill was exceptional and thus, the landing of the GT fish. I left him to revel at his catch and I was really happy for him. I came back to the room and by then, both Santokh and Ragu were up. We cleaned up, cleared our rubbish and got ready to leave the resort and get some food in town. We had breakfast at one of the food shops in Kuah town but I must say, it wasn’t a nice wan tan mee. Kinda dry and doesn’t have much flavour either. This was my only complaint after some time here. Anyway, I just wanted to fill my stomach for the ride to Kuala Kedah.
We then returned our rented car , got back our deposit and headed towards Kuah Jetty ready to board the ferry for Kuala Kedah. As usual, we went through the very strict Customs checking but we had ensured that we did not flout any laws nor rules. Afterall, we are law abiding citizens la……We went passed the Customs with flying colors and soon, we were awaiting to board our ferry to Kuala Kedah. Upon boarding the ferry, this time, we were seated on the upper deck of the ferry. We snoozed for 2 hours and soon enough, we had arrived at Kuala Kedah at about 1.15pm. We were delayed as Ragu and I went to retrieve my parked car at Faiz’s parking shed. I had to negotiate the tight parking space but it was alright.
When we finally took the car and picked up Santokh at the jetty , it was quite late. We loaded up our baggage and things we bought onto the car. We sped off to Padang Serai with our destination in mind – Ragu’s house. We had been informed earlier that Mdm Villasini had prepared lunch for us and we were late for our lunch date. By the time , we arrived and deposited Ragu safely in the arms of Mdm Villasini, it was already late evening. We immediately freshened up a bit and had our meal of fried shark meat, fried stingray, stingray curry with ladies fingers vegetables and fresh raita ( fresh onion, coriander leaves and spices mixed with fluffed up yogurt – what a lovely dish indeed! ) I really loved the raita dish a lot. In fact, the entire dishes was so good that I had to re-fill my plate with rice for 3 times or was I that hungry??!! It was that good. Again, Mdm Villasini made ginger tea for us. It was really very good. Truly appreciate her care for us.
As we bade farewell to Ragu and Mdm Villasini, Santokh and I hit the road towards Bandar Puteri, Klang. Along the way, we re-collected what had happened and we are so thankful for the great hospitality, love and care shown to us. We are so humbled by the simple gesture of kindness shown by friends and family to us. I guess, I told Santokh that we must have done something good in our lives to deserve such great honour from these people. We have been so blessed with people that we met along our journey and the great fellowship we had. We are doubly thanked that no mishap took place and everything was in great order as planned. We are thankful that God had been there throughout our journey – keep us safe and in tandem in His will.
Upon arrival in Bandar Puteri, Klang, Santokh’s wife, Jane and daughters were at hand to welcome him home and hugged him tightly. What a lovely sight! It was heartening to see daughters hugging their dad and telling him how they have missed him. I was almost in tears but I know that Santokh had done good for his family to get such a reaction. That night , Jane had prepared some food and drinks for us. I decided to take the Masala tea ( lovely lovely drink made by Jane ) as I was still very full from the meal at Ragu’s house. Though Jane, Santokh and the girls had asked me to stay for the night and rest, I was adamant to get home as I did not want to break my rhythm of driving and I do miss home too. Santokh and I chatted a while over the adventure we had gone through with Jane and their two daughters. We had a lot to laugh at and a lot to remember about this adventure. However, like I said, some things stay secret ; only for the adventure - out of respect to the people we’ve met! I solemnly bade farewell to Santokh , Jane and their two daughters at about 11.40pm that night. I‘ve had had the best adventure with my college buddy, Santokh in an adventure that I will cherish for the rest of my life. We’ve travelled through cities, towns and kampongs just to meet and fellowship with our friends. We could never be disappointed as it was truly a good outing and an adventure. What more could we asked for?
There are so many people to thank for in this adventure but most important of all, I want to thank God for allowing me to travel safely and avoiding any mishap. Afterall, anything could have happened but by the grace of God, we had made it back safely. I want to thank my family too for allowing me to journey on my own and giving me my space. Thank you to Jane and the girls for allowing their dad to travel with a crazy guy like me and taking their dad for an adventure! Special thank you to all the families we met and the hospitality shown to us. I humbly thank all of you for that.
I arrived home that morning at 1.15am , Thursday, 28th April, 2022. SLing was pleasantly surprised to see me at the door as she had expected me to take a rest in Santokh’s house. I just wanted to be home and there is no place like home.
Will I do it again? Absolutely, YES! You will never know when your lights will be snuffed out in your light. Therefore, live everyday as though your life depends on it, bring joy to the lives of others and let your goodness shine. Someone said to me before I started this journey,
“When our time on earth is done, money or material things will not matter. But love, time and kindness we’ve given others will shine and live on forever.”
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