In 2014, I was 19 years old and I wrote: “Masih mencari yang satu cephalic” on my Facebook page and blog. I also wrote on my blog entry about looking and searching for my travel buddy (see: https://azsyerrah.wordpress.com/2014/10/17/socialite-but-at-the-same-time-anti-social/).
According to a 19 years old Syerr, we have 4 years to wander so hurry up and show yourself. Alhamdulillah, no one shows up and I am glad I did not wait. 25 almost 26 years old Syerr is grateful for that. I was having so much fun (plus super busy being undergrad student) to the point that I stopped writing on my blog for 2 years and when I finally updated something, I made sure my little achievement of traveling alone was on top of the list (see: https://azsyerrah.wordpress.com/2018/12/27/overdue/).
I did not write about my escaped every semester break to Penang, Perak, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Malacca (2016-2018) on my blog but I sure did share them on my Instagram posts with long ass caption lol (check ‘em out @/azsyerrah). One thing you should know is that my parents do not know I traveled alone to all those places because if they knew, hell no they would give me their permission. I am their only daughter after all. Also, that is the reason why I block my parents on Instagram. I do believe berkat ibu bapa itu penting but someone taught me, kalau tau tak dapat berkat, jangan bagitau. In my defense, I was not doing anything illegal or would bring shame to myself or my family. It was merely me learning how to become independent and enjoying my early 20s.
Since I was in my early 20s, I did not have that much money (even now, tbh) so I used my scholarship money to travel, backpackers style! I traveled by bus and I walked a lot. I even got a nosebleed every morning for a week from walking too much under the hot sun. I am not exaggerating. At that time, Grab did not exist yet. I also slept at motels and hostels but mostly hostels to save money. I stayed at an all-female hostel and usually the room would be empty because a co-ed room would be cheaper for the female foreigners since they did not have to cover their aurah. I guess they also did not mind sleeping in the same room with males. Basically, I was staying alone but paid for the price of 4/6-beds bedroom! The price range was around RM20 to RM40 per night. I also don’t mind sharing bathroom.
All of that doesn’t matter to me. Kita datang nak jalan jalan bukan untuk tidur and mandi tempat orang. Of course, some people would disagree tapi kalau ada duit lebih, ikutlah nak duk mana pun. To be honest, traveling alone is not that bad sebab boleh ikut kepala sendiri. Lapar, makan. Ngantok, tido lah. I preferred and enjoyed going on adventures on my own compared to travel in groups. Besides, I can only do a small group consisted of 2-3 people sebab banyak orang banyak perangai so maleh aqu. I am not going to write everything in detail here since I need to move on ASAP but I will be sharing a few photos below. I sure would love to relive the moments again except the time when I was verbally harassed by perverts.
I lost most of the pictures because I broke my first iPhone (see: https://azsyerrah.wordpress.com/2015/02/05/guess-what/) but thank god for Instagram. Furthermore, I used to be obsessed with Georgetown, Penang but it changed after I got a taste of Ipoh, Perak. Nice people, beautiful old town scenery and very calming.
On a different note, in early January I received an email from Google Maps Timeline (see photo). I enjoyed the time I spent in West Malaysia for five years. 19-24 years old Syerr had a bittersweet time, indeed. I crossed lots of numbers on my bucket list and I made teens Syerr very proud (especially going to 6 gigs in one semester!).
My current life is very mundane. I hope the pandemic ends soon. I don’t want my mid-20s Syerr to keep on being jealous of early-20s Syerr and for late-20s Syerr, I hope you are happy and doing what you love di sisi orang tersayang. Harapnya sudah berjumpa dengan kawan kahwin.
Stay safe everyone. Signing out. Fare thee well.
p.s I have been helping in taking care of my baby nephew since he was a week old. I think I am great at taking care of a baby – probably gifted ecewahh. I could not believe my family trusted me with this kind of responsibility. I don’t even trust myself with the responsibility of carrying parking tickets.
azsyerrah 