this came as more than a surprise to me. actually, surprises are almost shocking by design. this was different. this was slow. this was gradual. but glad it was.
was in langkawi on holiday and it's one of the quaintest islands i've been to. i know most islands are, but this was different. people seem to have a sense of calm that comes naturally to things around water bodies. i'd first noticed this in beach doggos, they are calmer than my usual city doggos. observe next time you're petting one that lives constantly around water. it's this same calm in people here. but i still didn't get why it took me a while to relax around them.
then it hit me. and i hated that this could have been the reason. it was religion. not loud, not in your face. just there, as part of their lives. but this one carries a lot of baggage. not theirs, ours. so, Langkawi is an openly Muslim state. this was my first time in one. and it got me noticing everything with a very very keen eye, their ways, smiles, gestures, the stores, the way they do business, the way they treat each other and the way they treat someone foreign. it was just new. like getting the chance to peek into the backyard of a house everyone said was haunted. the curious cat in me is always and forever going to want to peek, explore, know, as much as i can, without being a menace (or maybe one, depends xP). so i did. the peeking for 40ish hrs.
and in a snapshot, here's what they live, talk, walk, and be like. houses flat and low with courtyard-like open spaces on all four sides, no boundaries, well spread out. fonts and colors straight out of windows 2010. cars from the 90s, still going. siestas in the afternoon to beat the heat, gawd, yes. and people leaving their bike helmets right on the bike seats. unlocked. unbothered. basically, no scarcity mindset what.so.ever. like they just know there's always enough for everyone. made sense later why we didnt come across cops, anywhere on the island. do they even have them? dk.
took me a while to get the vibe. but by the last evening, it was plain and simple. people cannot be boxed in. opinions about other people's ways are always going to come from a point of view, where you grew up, what you were told, what you grew up hearing. for me, there was nothing off-putting, odd, or fearsome about any of the people or the interactions we'd had. i was still only left wondering, what is it about them that makes us stand at arm's length?
i've met Muslims from Pakistan and Bangladesh back in Barcelona. there they're in the majority compared to us Indian folk, and they're alright too. so then what is it, propaganda? some vague fear about numbers and maps and who's going to outlast who? some version of history repeating? honestly, i don't know. i think it's a gracious dump of all of it, slowly fed, rarely questioned. so from here on, i think i'm going to take it with some achar rather than as samachar (xP, get it?)
anyway, langkawi is beautiful. great weekend getaway too. definitely go soak in some island sometime :)))) hit me up for the wanderlog link
ok byeee xo