It wasn't my intention to write this post.
I have, after all, already written three.
But then I looked again at the collection from this weekend trip, and thought to myself, with this being my first time back to Malaysia after a twenty year hiatus, heck, maybe I should write a fourth.
So here we are, armed with a batch of pictures that born and bred Malaysians would not bat an eye to, but is fascinating to someone who has spent her whole life on a little dot of an island surrounded by flat ground, concrete buildings and horticulturally planted trees.
For the record its not as if there can't be any rubber trees or palm trees or anything of that sort.
We used to have them.
We just don't grow them now.
Somewhere along the way the ground dried up or something, I don't know.
And so it becomes such that if we want to get grounded with nature or have our fix of forest and cultivated farm, we have to cross the Causeway and go upcountry.
Locals here on the island often say that they go to Malaysia to visit family, for the food and for the shopping.
Whilst that's true, there are those of us who do go to the country just for a quick glimpse of what our own island used to be, yet no longer is.
There's a kind of vibe in the country that seems to be also prevalent throughout parts of South East Asia. The vibe is a little hard to define but it's a kind of small-town, kampung feel can be described as both idyllic and rustic at the same time.
It really depends on how you define the vibe.
Could it be the presence of the coconut trees?
Could it be the presence and color of the soil, or the untouched tropical forest that surrounds many a house and which you don't realize until you're in these parts?
It's difficult to define just what this is that makes one feel familiar with the kampung vibe- it might even be the harmony- but there were plenty of such scenes, most on the outskirts of Melaka as the transport was going in, or out, and in a way, it made me feel at ease.
The world hadn't changed.
Sure, it had evolved, but in places like Malaysia where there was more than enough land, they could keep what places like Singapore used to be. They could keep things at ease and timeless. They could decide- on their own- whether or not they wanted to evoke change.
In a sense there was a huge part of just 'letting it be', and even though people like to say that it's not good for progress etc etc, perhaps that is a factor we stressed out urbanized people need.
It wasn't just the kampung vibe that I caught my eye.
There was also, the presence of space and the sight of all them trees.
A long time ago I used to get bored with the view of palm tree after palm tree after palm tree, but no more. Now the sight of them actually calmed me down and soothed me.
But what really caught my attention- what I really, really were eager for- were the hills.
It would have been nice had I been able to see the hill range of Titiwangsa that stretches over Pahang, Kelantan, Perak, Selangor and Negri Sembilan, but seeing the foothills of the foothills along the North South Expressway wasn't too bad either.
The hills fascinated me.
Probably because I'd just come from Kanchanaburi not too long ago.
Or probably because I've been fascinated by their hills ever since I discovered that the hill in the horizon seen from my bedroom window back in Singapore was likely one of the Gunungs in Johor.
There was a time when I'd get bored with seeing tree after tree after tree out the window of a bus journey.
But now, no more.
The view has become soothing.
The view has become nostalgic.
And I'm thankful for it.