Ladies, gentlemen and alien species,
Better late than never, they say. Time flies, I have experienced. Now, almost four months after publishing my last post, I have decided to bring this blog back from the grave and cast some light onto my recent endeavours and ordeals.
In order to do so with reasonable ease I must ask for your forgiveness. Although my prolonged silence may be seen as a betrayal, please understand that the circumstances which I have endured did not allow for many scriptures to be created, let alone published. I beg for your welcome me as I come out of the shadows of the Mirkwood I've been in. Bring me to the nearest tavern, for although I may not have exercised the role of raconteur for long, I come loaded with stories for your delight.
Let's begin with no further delay. Ready yourselves: following is a piece of writing I typed long ago as is indicated. I will try to follow a chronological order in my forthcoming narrations.
Where do we go now? Ah, yes, that evening. Somebody took out a bit of vodka from a plastic water bottle, and we had a little bit of Tanduay rum left. So, yes, we had a lot of fun. I walked Pip back (she was staying a bit far from the centre of the town, so the way was a bit too dodgy for this gentleman to let her go alone), and spent some time around places that bring cherished memories to my heart. Magically, Semporna quiets down at certain hours, and all that can be heard is the moaning of the sea and the rumour of the stars. Magical, to a soul trained to appreciate moments of serene loneliness in company of the Moon.
Better late than never, they say. Time flies, I have experienced. Now, almost four months after publishing my last post, I have decided to bring this blog back from the grave and cast some light onto my recent endeavours and ordeals.
In order to do so with reasonable ease I must ask for your forgiveness. Although my prolonged silence may be seen as a betrayal, please understand that the circumstances which I have endured did not allow for many scriptures to be created, let alone published. I beg for your welcome me as I come out of the shadows of the Mirkwood I've been in. Bring me to the nearest tavern, for although I may not have exercised the role of raconteur for long, I come loaded with stories for your delight.
Let's begin with no further delay. Ready yourselves: following is a piece of writing I typed long ago as is indicated. I will try to follow a chronological order in my forthcoming narrations.
As I type this, I
travel at several hundred kilometers an hour, from Borneo to peninsular
Malaysia. It is time for a change: most probably, I won’t bathe in salt sea
water in many months, and my existence will be limited to the ground I stand
upon. The little fish will have to wait to see me again.
And as I ran out of battery, I am taking this document two days later while sitting outside my wonderful room in Banlung. But, I can’t leave bits of my story untold, so this chapter will still narrate the events occurred in Semporna, Borneo.
There is much to tell, actually. It is no easy task to structure all of this, but let’s get it going and see how the story evolves.
The one reason why I haven’t been writing for so long is the good company I have enjoyed. About a week and a half before I departed, we welcomed three new members of staff – a French instructor, Marie, and two Divemasters, Tom (from the UK) and Kelly (Australian). They all stayed at the staff house, so at that point it was them, Andrew (American), Awang (Pilipino) and myself. Sara, the Swiss DMT (Divemaster Trainee) was still around, but she was staying somewhere else. As you can see we were quite a crew, and I must say I’ve loved my time with them. I didn’t spend a moment alone – we hung out every evening. That distraction, the business of finishing off my course, and the lack of a reliable internet connection have kept me from reaching out and using my computer, but hey, I had a solid amount of genuine fun.
Let’s get to the events, shall we?
And as I ran out of battery, I am taking this document two days later while sitting outside my wonderful room in Banlung. But, I can’t leave bits of my story untold, so this chapter will still narrate the events occurred in Semporna, Borneo.
There is much to tell, actually. It is no easy task to structure all of this, but let’s get it going and see how the story evolves.
The one reason why I haven’t been writing for so long is the good company I have enjoyed. About a week and a half before I departed, we welcomed three new members of staff – a French instructor, Marie, and two Divemasters, Tom (from the UK) and Kelly (Australian). They all stayed at the staff house, so at that point it was them, Andrew (American), Awang (Pilipino) and myself. Sara, the Swiss DMT (Divemaster Trainee) was still around, but she was staying somewhere else. As you can see we were quite a crew, and I must say I’ve loved my time with them. I didn’t spend a moment alone – we hung out every evening. That distraction, the business of finishing off my course, and the lack of a reliable internet connection have kept me from reaching out and using my computer, but hey, I had a solid amount of genuine fun.
Let’s get to the events, shall we?
So that’s the crew,
and this one night we decide to make a little party/hang out/gathering at the
staff quarters. I carried some sixteen liters of beer through half the town,
while others went to buy some pasta to cook.
The apartment got full
of uplifted spirits as each came back from a well-deserved shower after a day
of blue-sea diving. Let’s have it good
tonight! We invited a couple of costumers – one of whom is a British
journalist living in KL. It’s an important fact, so keep it in mind. She had come
to Semporna to write about diving in the Celebes Sea – recently she’s been
focusing on adventure sports and such activities. She’s a wonderful lady, a
woman who lives life to the fullest and greets the Sun and the Rain with a
smile.
I’m getting carried away. Enough compliments for you, Pip. I’ve things to tell my readers.
There we are, all the staff and a few costumers, gathered at a balcony, with a bucket of Dutch beers and Malaysian ice and a pot of hot pasta ready to go down our throats. Then, Zeus unleashed thunder and lightning. Like, you know, a metaphor for what’s coming next. Good writers use them, right? Am I writing well yet? Nevermind.
The door opens, and in comes a (pretty short) Chinese lady with a rather unfriendly visage, from now on known as The Dragon, followed closely by Jerry, the dive centre’s boss.
I’m getting carried away. Enough compliments for you, Pip. I’ve things to tell my readers.
There we are, all the staff and a few costumers, gathered at a balcony, with a bucket of Dutch beers and Malaysian ice and a pot of hot pasta ready to go down our throats. Then, Zeus unleashed thunder and lightning. Like, you know, a metaphor for what’s coming next. Good writers use them, right? Am I writing well yet? Nevermind.
The door opens, and in comes a (pretty short) Chinese lady with a rather unfriendly visage, from now on known as The Dragon, followed closely by Jerry, the dive centre’s boss.
 |
| I shall feast on your guts! |
Resuming the story: we
got told off, just as kids, by a woman who didn’t even introduce herself. “You have to clean up after yourselves! Do
not make noise, the neighbours complain! (funny thing is, there are
absolutely no neighbors around – it’s all commerce and restaurants around) Outsiders not allowed in the staff quarters!”
And so on. It’s ok to be told the rules; anyone can accept there are some
directions that should be followed. What is not right is the way that this
random woman, who turns out to be Jerry’s fierce wife, comes in and treats us
like children, with no trace or hue of respect in her speech, telling off staff
and customers altogether. Very
infuriating, but we were happy to be hanging out and paid no attention to her
45-minute-long rant. As she left we resumed our party without further delay,
except the time due to mock her and laugh at the comedy we had just attended.
Is the first song done?
Because now comes Sweet Child O’ Mine, by Guns ‘N Roses!
Where do we go now? Ah, yes, that evening. Somebody took out a bit of vodka from a plastic water bottle, and we had a little bit of Tanduay rum left. So, yes, we had a lot of fun. I walked Pip back (she was staying a bit far from the centre of the town, so the way was a bit too dodgy for this gentleman to let her go alone), and spent some time around places that bring cherished memories to my heart. Magically, Semporna quiets down at certain hours, and all that can be heard is the moaning of the sea and the rumour of the stars. Magical, to a soul trained to appreciate moments of serene loneliness in company of the Moon.
*
The next day, I’m
sitting at the hotel reception, trying to write some emails and see if there’s
still a world outside, when The Dragon
sits in front of me, and without even waiting for me to take off my headphones,
she starts shooting an interrogatory at me, about “who dumped the cigarette ashes down the balcony the previous night”.
Needless to say I’m a non-smoker, and that I didn’t quite analyze the movements
of my companions that evening. “But you
must know!”. I ended up saying along the lines of “You’re not going to get any more information from me, because I simply
don’t know. Nonetheless, if you shall speak to me, do so with respect, for you
are nobody to me and have no right to tell me off this way”. “Well then, if you
ever have any problem, don’t come asking us for help!” were her last words
before storming out of the hotel.
After a minute, Merle
(the lady in charge of management for the dive centre) comes up to me asking
for the money for the rent, stating it was absolutely urgent, so I had to go
all the way to the ATM across the town. Groaning in my mind, I realized something
was suspicious in all this. Indeed, to my question, Merle said a simple “yes” with an ashamed expression, as I
handed her the money. They were kicking me out.
*
In the end, Andrew got
kicked out too, but we got our money back, and we were facilitated new
accommodation – we actually got promoted! Our new room had air conditioning and
a bathroom of its own. Not bad for the last four nights of my stay in Malaysia.
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