Another weekend getaway. This time to my favourite place on the coast. Everything seems brighter under the sun. Colours, feelings. The slight price of added melanin is worth it to spend a few hours bobbing in the ocean.
As someone who doesn’t like in their hometown, it’s places like these that make living away from family okay. I feel so grateful that I’ve gotten to experience so much even though I’m as young as I am. I read once that God made places like this to give us a glimpse of paradise on earth. I’m sure paradise above would be so much greater.
I took these photos at Semporna, Sabah, last year. These boys are Bajau Laut etnic people. I saw them playing under the jetty I was on. They were jumping off the 10 foot high jetty into the sea-urchin laden sea. In these photos you can see them on a foam-board. One of the boys found a pomelo’s skin and thought it would make a great hat!
More pictures can be found on my instagram @_travelcamera
Date: (March 2020) A week before life as we knew it changed.
Location: On a ferry from Labuan to Sabah
Mid-March 2020, my grandfather celebrated his 71st birthday as he visited Labuan Federal Territory. This trip marked his completion of visiting all the 14 states of Malaysia. I’m very glad I got to do it with him.
Since that trip, I’ve only seen him once and even that was only for an overnight stay.
During our Labuan trip we knew the unavoidable was coming. The virus had already hit China and was rapidly spreading. It wouldn’t be long before it hit our country. However, what nobody could expect was the impact of the virus. Thus, nobody was prepared for it. I naively assumed it would be over in a few months, yet here we are in our third lockdown with thousands of cases daily. I still naively hope that we will be in the clear soon. My greatest wish of last year was to be able to spend Christmas with my family. It didn’t happen. Despite that, my greatest wish this year is still the same.
I frequently contact my grandparents through video chat but it’s just not the same as being in their arms.
I love looking back at photos from my previous trips. Even photos as insignificant as this window on a ferry, brings me back to a time where I could feel the sea breeze on my face and wrap my arms around my grandpa.
Taken a few months ago, this picture captures how I felt amidst this pandemic. I was so fascinated watching them arrive to the beach alone as the sky grew stormy overhead. They wanted to watch the storm and they came prepared for it. The sky looked like it was going to cry and there was a gray sunset. However, it did not rain.
To me, this symbolises how I felt waiting for the storm to come. Alone, trying to be prepared for the unknown.
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