Muddy Junction

Mom joined me on the trip to Malaysia. She flew for 23 hours from New York to Hong Kong to Kuala Lumpur. I guess you could say she missed me...
Beryl spent a good portion of her childhood here actually. From age 12 to 18 she was a certified Kuala Lumpurian with Batik sarongs and a pet monkey named Solomon. After graduating from the International School of Kuala Lumpur she went off to college in California and hasn't looked back until 12 days ago. "A lot has changed in 40 years," she says. Skyscrapers are EVERYWHERE, the Petronas towers keep two watchful eyes over the city. A massive influx of expats clogs the streets and sidewalks. It's a metropolis in the tropics with shopping malls, street vendors, a monorail and the occasional homeless guy sleeping on a cardboard box.
One thing mom did remember was how to speak Malay. Growing up she would always yell out "makan!" meaning eat, when dinner was served. That was the extent of my Malay but when we sat down to have dinner she was having full blown conversations with the whole wait staff! I was impressed and so were the locals. Next thing you know everyone was speaking Malay to me and all I can reply is "makan!" After that, she taught me the basics and I could at least say "thank you."
We shopped for silk scarves, saw the sites, met with some of moms teachers from high school, ate heaps and heaps at the all-you-can-eat-and-then-some-buffet, and kicked it poolside from time to time. A wonderful hiatus from the pb&j's and hostels if you ask me. Thanks for everything Ma!
As I waved goodbye to Beryl I quickly realized that I'm alone now on the opposite side of the world from where I'm trying to go. Where are my all inspiring Bike & Build riders? Where is Robert C. Seamans? Where are the Kaiwiki boys and Uncle Micah? What ever happened to Kegan?! All this time I've been away I've been able to thrive on the comfort of having a partner in crime or at least a familiar face to experience this all with. Now I sit in a food court in KL and see nothing but Asians. Friendly faces none-the-less, but foreign to me.
Ive got a train booked to Thailand tonight. That's about all I've got booked but it's a start. I'm going to finish what I started. I have to. Looks like I'll just need to make some new friends.

P.S. if anyone is interested in coming to Africa in May please email me at cschmitt586@g.rwu.edu

Mahalos