No worries. The world is getting smaller and you can get anywhere in a day. Roger and Bev anxiously glanced at their watches β time for us to go. Roger called for the bill. Knowledge is power. When you breathe in that first wet, soggy lungful of air and stagger off the plane at daybreak shagged out and jetlagged the last thing you want are battles with the immigration Gestapo.
My innate pessimism proved entirely unfounded and with that hurdle safely negotiated I pushed the trolley purposefully through the terminal ignoring the urgent whispered offers by the taxi touts. The bus station is tucked away in the dark bowels of the airport and the first bus to Nilai was already jam packed with bleary β eyed early morning commuters.
I battled my way through the crush of passengers and presented a surprised driver with a ringitt note. I mistakenly thought was a ten and snatched back. After an interminable tour of the outer reaches of the airport we reached the nondescript town of Nilai and shoehorned ourselves onto a connecting bus to Seremban, a busy, anonymous forgettable sprawl. Daud Musa converted a broken down and neglected traditional Melaka house into the Kancil Guest Lodge.
It exudes a comfortable and homely feel. An antique gramophone, a cluster of Chinese ceramic pots and an ancient trishaw give the place an air of authenticity. I was fully prepared for some verbal sparring with Daud but recent events in New York would add spice to our discussion.
I hardly raised a cup to my lips when Daud put the Bin Laden bombings on the agenda and plonked himself in the corner of the Muslim hardliners. I was tempted to tell him that he was spouting bullshit Al Qaeda propaganda but out of expediency I kept quiet and just listened. Daud was talking crap but he really believed what he said! Instinctively I knew that it was not the time to engage in a full β scale spat. At that moment our relationship changed.
