Knives and Forks are for Uptight People

We spent the first night Malaysia at a beautiful homestay near Chenderoh Lake. The place was incredibly idyllic and quiet. We stayed there with a local family that has lived in a small village at the lake for quite some time.

I spent some time talking to the guy who owns this place with his wife: He had worked for IBM for a couple decades before he decided to quit his job to do this instead, far away from any city or big-business environment. It took a few years until his former colleagues believed him that he wouldn’t come back. Today, 22 years later, he seemed very happy and deeply satisfied with what he is doing here, meeting new people who stay at their place every couple of days. I can see myself in his shoes in 20 years. 🙂

While some of us went kayaking on the vast lake, visiting a small island with a retreat that was half-destroyed by a flood a few years ago, the others just chilled at the lake or learned to play an old board game. And Saida, for a change from her law job at home in Holland, stayed to help our host’s wife to cook for all of us. Even though we only spent one night here, I really felt part of this. We even helped to distract their 15-year-old son for an hour, so they could secretly get a big birthday cake for him.

Rambutans

No fences

Dinner on the floor