Sitting here alone in this dimly kitchen, I wonder to myself, was this really necessary? Did I really need to get away from the city. What was the point of the trip? Do people really ‘find themselves’? Why do they need to travel so far? Does the distance help? Or is it just the act of going away that’s enough. Is it symbolic? Would things have been any different if I stayed in KL and just locked myself in my room? Maybe.
Maybe not. Being completely by myself for the past 3 days has made me realize I can live alone. I don’t really need to talk to anybody – it’s okay being by myself. I mean, sure, I respond to texts and Instagram comments, but that’s about the limit of my social interaction. I haven’t felt the need to talk to another human being in person. In fact, it feels good not having to deal with anybody right now. However, this doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the company of other people. It’s just nice to do things all by yourself every now and then.
Day 2 of my Cameron Highlands escapade. Nothing out of the ordinary, really. The only difference between here and home is that it was really cold last night and there was nothing I could do about it besides crawl under more layers of clothing. I’m starting to believe I’m really not cut out for living in cold weather (as evident in my previous posts).
I did wake up to some bad news though. I was thinking of using my laptop on the bed, but it died as soon as I unplugged it from the wall socket. I thought that was pretty weird, seeing how it was fine yesterday. I tried turning it on and it wouldn’t respond. I reconnected the power and it turned on fine. When Windows started, I checked the battery and apparently there was no battery present (impossible since this laptop has a built-in battery). I did some troubleshooting, and now Windows detects the battery but says that it isn’t charging. Computer still refuses to boot up without being plugged in (I’ve tried rebooting many times). I guess I’ll have to stick with pen and paper when I’m outside. Hopefully I won’t be having anymore problems. Am definitely going to take it back to the store since it’s not even 2 weeks old. Bah.
The rest of the day remained cold and started warming up towards the evening, which was good. But I’m guessing it’s going to be another cold night today – but I’ll be prepared for that. Ran out of toilet paper today (there was hardly any left to begin with) so I had to make a supply run. Also stopped for some lunch at Old Town because I wanted to see if it was any different from what we have in KL. It was the same thing, just a smaller menu. Food was still delicious (or I was hungry, I’m not sure).
After that I went to a tea plantation to drink some strawberry tea – that is some good shit. I’m probably going to start drinking it more in the future. Did a bit of writing and came back to the apartment. Messed around with the guitar and came up with a new tune, now I just to put in some words.
Had dinner earlier, walking distance from this place, substandard fried rice, but the food on the other tables smelt delicious. Came back home, and now I’m writing this entry while waiting for water to boil so I can make some coffee.
It might be too early to jump to some conclusions but I feel like this trip hasn’t been the best use of my time so far. I mean, sure I get the peace and quiet and nobody to bother me, but I’d get the same thing too if I was in a cafe in KL. The only difference is I can’t just pull out my guitar to start jamming whenever I felt like it.
I do enjoy the weather (when it’s not freezing) but Cameron Highlands feels like the kind of place people go to to die. Might just be this part of the highlands, but I’ll do more exploration tomorrow. So far, all I’ve seen are really old people or children. No one in between. Then again, there really isn’t anything for young adults here. I’m surprised there are schools though. And tons of Oppo shops. Also, I saw a Mary Brown and KFC on the drive up, no McDonald’s here (not that it matters – I’ve eaten enough McDonald’s for the month collecting the Adventure Time toys).
Welp, gonna get back to finishing my new song this evening before I call it a night.
So, it’s been a while since my last getaway. When was that? I don’t even remember. If you’ve been following me on Instagram (shameless plug), you would’ve noticed that I’m not in KL anymore. I’m still in the country, just currently located in some place where strawberries grow. Yes, that’s right, I’m in Cameron Highlands.
What in the world are you doing there, George? Beats me. I wanted to get away from civilization so I could focus on some of my hobbies I haven’t been able to spend time on – namely writing and music. A couple of weeks ago, I decided that I should head to somewhere quiet, away from distractions at home. I remembered that Alvin had a place available in Cameron Highlands, so I asked him for the keys. He gladly obliged (thanks dude), so here I am.
The drive took slightly over 3 hours today, mostly uneventful – I passed by one accident on the highway but that’s about it. It rained lightly, but I was traveling in daylight so it wasn’t a problem. I didn’t speed at all – going as fast as 110km/h, which was the speed limit for one of the highways. The roads going up were winding and some paths were terribly bumpy. But for my first time driving up here, I think it wasn’t too hard.
When I arrived in Cameron Highlands, it took me a while to locate the apartment (I think it’s been ten years since I was here last). I had to ask for directions to find the unit. Came in, unpacked my shit, cooked some dinner (had enough of driving for the day), setup the ‘studio’ and started noodling on the guitar.
I would say I had a semi-productive day – I managed to come up with one song based on some old lyrics I had written. It’s not something I’d call a finished product, but hey – at least I didn’t waste any time coming up here.
On the drive up, I noticed quite a lot of stores, but most of them were closed. I’m not sure because it was considered late, or they aren’t open on weekdays. Anyway, I shall do some exploring during the day to find out more. Hopefully they aren’t weekend-only places.
I haven’t got a strict time-table set up for my time here – heck, I don’t even have a rough schedule of what I want to do. Not sure if it’s a good idea to be this organized – I’ll just try this out for now. If necessary, I can make plans for my next retreat. Also, it’ll probably be somewhere closer like Genting.
The weather is pretty good at this hour, though it was hotter than I liked when I arrived. I brought my hoodies for a reason! Come on, weather, get chilly for me ( ?° ?? ?°)
Anyway, this was a pointless blog entry, just wanted to write something for the sake of writing. I haven’t gotten back into the writing habit yet. Hopefully this getaway shall revive that part of my life. I brought my drawing tablet too. Maybe I’ll participate in Inktober – I’ve only got 4 days to catch up on.
You know, I’m kinda surprised that there’s 4G connectivity here, considering how many times my phone showed ‘Emergency Calls Only’ on the drive up. Unfortunately I don’t have a lot of data left until it renews next week, so I’ll have to use it sparingly. In the meantime, I’ll focus on being productive.
Tilian’s Patient EP is the perfect soundtrack for this place.