Yeah I needed a new wallet anyway

'I'm outside the 7/11' I messaged the Grab driver.
My feet are wet.
It was sometime around 11pm on the outskirts of Kuching. I had just arrived from the airport and attempted to catch a bus into the central city from the Kuching sentral bus terminal. Being the stubborn tough guy that I am, I decided to walk to the bus terminal, along the highway, on the grass.  You can learn a lot about the geographical makeup of a place by doing stuff like this. Today I learned that this particular part of Borneo consists of wetland; and that canvas sneakers don't offer much protection from water when your foot sinks into the ground.

The bus terminal closes at 22:30 if the sign on the door is any indication. Of course I had to walk there to find that out.
I guess I'll be taking a Grab ride into town after all!

Welcome to Borneo!

The next chapter of my journey really began in Pudu Sentral bus station, Kuala Lumpur. Throughout my travels, there have been pivotal moments which have had a lasting impact on my perspective and how I see the world.

This particular defining moment occurred when I hopped onto the airport bus only to realise 5 minutes later that I left my wallet back at the station. I had been thinking about getting a new wallet earlier that day but I never had any intentions of losing an entire weeks allowance and a train pass with about three months worth of credit.  Accepting the fact there was nothing I could do, I search for my passport wallet where theoretically there should be a backup debit card.
I open it up and see two empty transparent plastic pockets.
"Oh fuck"
I go through every compartment, feeling for the outline of plastic cards but to no avail I could only find expired transit cards and a hotel security card which are about as useful as Indonesian coins at a currency exchange.  I do however manage to find my backup stash of 100 Ringgits which although not quite enough to cover my 3 nights accommodation in Kuching, is a relief nonetheless.

At this point I'm wondering why all three of my debit cards were in the same wallet.  Or were they??
There is one more place to look... My electronics organiser bag - the final bastion of hope. If you can't find something, always check the electronics bag, it always provides the goods when times are tough. I know for a fact I have another 50 ringgits and a fat stack of Indian Rupees here but was my third and last debit card in here?
I unzip the main compartment.
The smell of burnt weed wafts out from the electronics bag.

'They can't charge me based on smell alone?' I think to myself.
'Some stranger exhaled all the marijuanas into the bag just as I was closing it!!' - That's my plan for if I get detained and questioned at the airport. I'm wearing my Khaki trousers though so unless there are sniffer dogs wandering about I should go unnoticed as I look like a respectable member of society and not a guy who was drinking Mountain Dew and watching 'The package' at 4am earlier that day.

Luckily I manage to find it tucked away amongst the medical emergency booklets and other stuff I'll probably never read.

And that is how I arrived in Borneo