Familiar Faces in Unfamiliar Places

Air Asia sale!!! Goldie-Malaysia return flight tickets AUD280! It didn’t take me long to decide to buy the tickets for Eid. I didn’t realize at that time however, that it would take me about 4 hours and 30 minutes from Sunny Coast to Goldie by buses and trains. And because my flight is in the morning, I had to stay overnight in Brisbane or Goldie. I chose the latter. A friend reminded me to check whether Gold Coast airport is opened 24 hours because I wanted to just spend the night at the airport. No, it’s not. Huhuhu...  Lucky for me, Oz has many reliable hostels. I decided to stay in one for that night. It is 10 minutes walk to the airport and cheap. It’s the Youth Hostel Accommodation (YHA). Heh... The stay was pretty good. The journey from Sunny Coast to Goldie was, however, a bit of a challenge. I guess the big haversack on my back and 3 of hand carries made it more challenging?! Huhuhu... I did though meet many kind strangers that offered help throughout my bus and train-changing-ordeal. Ordeal? Haha! Drama! I took the bus to Landsborough at 2 pm and the train to Brissie was at about 2.35 pm. I arrived at Roma St Train station by 4 and changed trains to Goldie there. I’ve never been to Goldie; Robina to be exact. I’ve had shopping trips only up to Helensvale; the stop for Harbourtown. So, I was kinda nervous and had no idea at all what to expect. I nearly missed the bus that I would take me to the airport stop but luckily the bus drivers here are very friendly and can definitely recognize a clueless tourist. Well, I was like a tourist that day. Huhuhu... I’ve asked the bus driver to stop me at the airport stop because again, I have no idea where to do so. It was dark by then and yes, I break my fast with water on the bus. I’ve thought of eating some food I’ve brought but I decided to eat when I’ve finally arrived at the hostel. The bus ride was half an hour and I guess most bus driver would forget to stop if no one rings the bell. But he did stop me not so far from the airport stop. It was a bit of a walk but Alhamdulillah I safely arrived at YHA by 7 pm.  The walk did include me asking more than 1 person for directions. Haha! Me and directions in Oz; I get so nervy and kinda lost my brain functionality. Hahaha!!! 

I was waiting for the receptionist when I saw a girl wearing tudung (headscarf) walked into the room. She turned and saw me and immediately said “Macam kenal jek..” (I think I know you..) I smiled and didn’t really know what to say. She then asked me which high school I went to and I am actually her senior. We chatted for a bit and she helped me check-in to my room. Before she excused herself for the night, we decided to walk to the airport together the next morning. Yes, we are on the same flight to Malaysia. J After settling in, I then only have my dinner at the kitchen, and surprisingly it was not as weird as I thought it would be. I met a nice Brit guy, Luke who is travelling whilst doing casual jobs and have lived in a number of different countries. He also knows quite a bit about Malaysia. He also shared some fruits with me. Hehe... I finally went to bed at around 11 pm. Woke up for sahur at 4 am and got ready by 6 am. We walked to the airport together; Fafa, Hajar and me. Oh yes, there’s another Malaysian guy joining us to the airport. Erkk.. I forgot his name. Anyways, after we’ve checked-in, we just hang around the airport talking and basically getting to know each other more and more until it was time for boarding. Half way through the flight, we were sitting together in a row due to the boredom we experienced because the 3 of us decided not to buy the Air Asia in-flight entertainment. Huhuhu... Thanks to a row of empty seats though, Hajar, Fafa and I got to chit chat some more until we arrived. By the time we landed, I feel we’ve known each other almost all our lives. We looked like we’re long life friends having fun on our way home. But the truth is; we’ve just met. It’s weird, but in a good way how acquaintances in a foreign place could be so close in such a short time just because we come from the same country. We are Malaysians. Malaysians studying in Oz. We agreed to keep in touch and parted our ways at KLIA LCCT. This particular experience made me think and vowed to always appreciate my roots, remember where I come from and be proud. It also made me wanna be more literate on everything there is to know about Malaysia, apart from keeping my culture & faith alive. InsyaAllah.
 

“Hujan emas di negara orang, Hujan batu di negeri sendiri; Lebih baik di negeri sendiri...”

Hope to see you guys soon. Enjoy your holidays!!!