I woke up at 11:30 today. Since it was checkout day I hurried to take a shower and get everything ready. The hotel here didn't have many people and didn't seem busy, so I thought it would be okay to be a little late and took my time getting ready. Tomorrow I'm going to Brunei, so I felt a bit excited and a little nervous.
After checking out without any problems I asked, "Can I leave my bag here?" and they were like, "Yeah, you can leave it on the sofa," super laid-back, so I relaxed there for about an hour deciding where to eat and replying to friends. It was raining outside, so I didn't really feel like going anywhere.
Firmly assert your own opinion
In the end I decided to go to a nearby café. The café I had originally planned to go to was packed and seemed to have a wait, so I went to a different café right next door. I had brought a notebook and wanted to jot down my analyses about myself, so I wanted to sit at a four-person table rather than a low table.
A café staff member asked me, "If you're alone, can we put you at a two-person table?" But I thought it was important to clearly express my feelings, so I said, "I want to write a little in my notebook and that table is too low, so I'd prefer this one. I'll only stay for 20 minutes."
They agreed. I really thought it's important to assert your own opinion, and I felt that being able to do that meant I was truly growing.
Traveling alone makes you think about a lot of things and of course there are times when it gets to you, but at the same time there's so much you can learn and an immeasurable opportunity to know yourself.
I read in a book by Taro Okamoto: "By knowing others you discover yourself." In other words, by interacting with others you find yourself within that. So I thought it's also very important to engage with people.
When traveling alone you can eat everything
I ordered a morning set. I hadn't had a fancy morning set in a while: sausage, bread, scrambled eggs, salad, mushrooms, and bacon. It was really delicious.
I felt like I had charged up my energy for going to Brunei tomorrow. I usually leave the mushrooms, but when I'm traveling alone I can eat everything, same with tomatoes. Why is that? Maybe when you're alone your willpower and independence kick in and become stronger—there's no one to rely on. If that's the case, I thought that's actually great.
I was able to say "Bye" myself
When leaving the café I heard a Westerner say "Bye" and I thought they were really confident and impressive. I still have self-doubt like, "Am I someone worthy of being told 'Bye'?" so I have a habit of acting as if to prove that I deserve it.
But this time the other person said "Bye" first, so I said "Bye" too. That was good in its own way.
I went back to the hostel, sorted my backpack, and decided to walk to a hostel near tomorrow's bus terminal. At that time I greeted the people at the hostel who were sitting on the sofa relaxing by saying "Bye" of my own accord.
I thought this was another big sign of growth. Communication with people is really important, and people are immeasurably important.
I've gotten used to the 23-kg backpack
I walked to another hostel. It was quite a long journey. Moving with a 23-kg backpack is really tough. When I first started my trip around the world it felt so heavy that my head would hurt and I would feel dizzy, but now I've gotten used to it and it's not that much of a burden anymore. I thought that getting used to things really is important.
This hostel was the same one I used in 2023 and it was pretty good. I checked in there again. Maybe because I was carrying heavy luggage they said, "Your passport is fine," and showed me to my room right away. After leaving my things in the room I decided to go to the gym, grabbed my shoes and protein, and headed out.
At the gym I did my usual routine with dumbbells and running. The facilities were inferior compared to gyms in Thailand, so I couldn't help but feel less satisfied. There were limited mats for stretching and it wasn't very spacious at all. So it was kind of a "meh" feeling. After spending about three hours at the gym I went to have dinner.
Outside the gym there was a movie theater that had a distinctive smell. I couldn't find any escalators no matter where I looked, so I had no choice but to take the elevator down to the first floor. I decided to walk to have dinner.
Three days straight of Japanese food
For dinner I went to conveyor-belt sushi (lol). That makes it three days straight of Japanese food. Coming to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, and choosing Japanese food over local dishes. I reaffirmed that Japanese food really is the best, and I felt grateful to have been born in Japan. I ate a lot of oyakodon, edamame, and sushi.
When I returned to the hostel there were a lot of Westerners sitting at tables, chatting on the sofas, playing instruments and singing, looking like they were having a great time. I was honestly surprised. The difference between this hostel and the one I stayed at first is huge. I thought it's amazing how just a different hostel can make it so social.
I was very tired so I didn't join in and instead relaxed in the hostel bed. I washed my protein container, took a shower, and because I had to get up at 6 tomorrow I went to bed right away.
