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Alor Setar, Kedah, Malaysia
June 27 - August 8, 2023

Hatyai, Thailand
July 5 and July 19, 2023

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
July 9 - 11, 2023

Singapore
July 21 - 23, 2023

The last time I went home was in the summer of 2019, and it would take another four years before I could return. Living in the Midwest, the best way to get back to Malaysia was to first get a domestic ticket to fly from Louisville to San Francisco, to avoid making the trip too hectic. Even after the domestic flight, it would be about 24 hours of transit and flights with two stops in London and Singapore before finally landing in Penang. From there, it would be another 1.5 hours of travel by road before seeing my aging parents. I decided to make the most of my time in San Francisco by staying at my friend's house for about a week. I had a chance to meet with Amy, my first part-time employer, who hired me in 1992 after I graduated with a BFA in Graphic Design. I didn't expect Amy to take me to the columbarium where she had paid $32K for a spot to put her ashes, with space for her son Charles, who wanted to join her when his time comes. It was also great to catch up with another dear friend from Malaysia, Khee, who has been living in San Francisco since I met him in 1993 or 1994. Khee has been fighting cancer, which is currently in remission, and has now retired from his job as an engineer with the city of San Mateo.

The theme of this trip was reunion, first with friends and then with family members. When my flight left San Francisco on June 27 and arrived in Singapore two days later, I not only looked forward to reuniting with my family but also tackling some unfinished financial business, such as closing an old account from 2003. Since leaving for the US in 2015, these accounts had become obsolete. I watched "Everything Everywhere All At Once" starring Michelle Yeoh on the flight. Unfortunately, when I arrived, it was a public holiday, and I couldn't handle the financial matters immediately. My wheelchair-bound mom was unable to visit me at Penang International Airport, but my 98-year-old dad, still strong, made the two-hour trip to meet me with my brother. At home, my nieces received many gifts I had accumulated over the past four years, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic that had delayed my visit. While in Malaysia, I also busily planned the logistics of opening my store, named Slyck. I started an Instagram account and bought some merchandise, such as label pins and stickers, to sell at the store. I indulged in my love for durians, mostly by crossing the border to Hatyai in southern Thailand since Alor Setar was about two hours away. This trip took place on July 5th. Additionally, I enjoyed a variety of traditional Chinese Malaysian breakfasts, such as Hokkien mee (prawn noodle), dim sum, and family-cooked dishes.

Other fun activities with my nieces included running 5 km around Darulaman Stadium as part of the Run for Peace event organized by the Soka Gakkai Malaysia organization on July 8th. The guest of honor was HRH Tunku Intan Shafinaz, daughter of the late Sultan of Kedah. The next day, together with my brother and his family, we drove to Kuala Lumpur. After checking into Hotel Olympic, we grabbed lunch at a kopitiam, where everything seemed overpriced. I had another reunion with a friend from middle school, Devaraj. It had been years since we last saw each other, and I was thrilled to see that he hadn't changed much. We visited Pasar Seni (Central Market) for souvenirs on July 10th and stopped at Mid Valley Mall, Bukit Bintang, where I found a souvenir for Devaraj. He was pleasantly surprised to receive the chocolate from me. I also learned about his two condos, one equipped with three bedrooms and another rented out to an academic institution. On July 11th, we checked out and drove to Genting Highlands, where the temperature was a pleasant 23 degrees Celsius, before returning to Alor Setar. Another important mission was to pay respects to family members who had passed during my four-year absence, such as my mother's elder sister, her husband, and my mom's younger brother. My cousin helped me visit two separate places to pay my respects. I also reunited with Jo Kee, a junior from my college years, and Pam, a former colleague from the late '80s, who seemed to look younger, possibly due to some procedures.

I visited Singapore on July 21st via Scoot, a budget airline. There, I reunited with Henry Lim, a former subordinate from LaSalle-SIA College in 2003, and Dr. Suwichit Chaidaroon, a colleague from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information before I left in 2015. Another unexpected face-to-face reunion was with Yulius, another subordinate from LaSalle-SIA, who was in Penang with his wife, Nicole. They drove to meet me at Aman Central mall on August 2nd. The final reunion was with Husseini on August 7th, my fling from when I was 15. He hadn't changed much except for completely shaving his head.

The flight back home on August 8th took me from Penang to Singapore (1.5 hours) and from Singapore to London (13.5 hours) via SQ 322. The experience with Singapore Airlines was great, but the real torture began with United Airlines UA949, which was delayed, extending the journey by another 10 hours before touching down in San Francisco. Due to changing my flights to leave for Louisville from August 12th to 15th, I forgot to meet Alice Chong, a former classmate's aunt I befriended when I came to San Francisco as a student in December 1989. With so much on my mind, it felt like my subconscious was telling me enough is enough.