Urban Legend : ‘Tahi Lalat’

I was born with a tiny tahi lalat or mole on my right foot. It may not seem very significant but people in my culture have this superstition that a tahi lalat on the foot means the person will travel a lot. However I don’t think it’s logical or realistic to base the journeys of my life on a tiny little dot on my foot. Well whether it’s the power of the tahi lalat or powers from on high or the power of choices I’ve made, I realized that I have travelled relatively a lot. And it’s not like I look for travel, it just happens!

By the time I was 23, I’d already studied in 2 kindergardens, 3 primary schools, lived in more than 15 houses in 5 states and traveled to all the states in Malaysia. (Secondary school and university doesn’t count because they were one each). I’d also traveled to Singapore and Bangkok.

Then something weird happened. A second tahi lalat appeared under my left foot but I didn’t give it much thought. For some time after that, I was stuck in a mundane job that required no travels whatsoever but I did travel frequently to East Malaysia for personal reasons.

After about a year of total boringness, I joined a different company. And suddenly I was travelling to Cairo. I could hardly believe I was in the land of the great pyramids, the land of bible stories, that I was in denial my first three days there! Next it was Jakarta and Bandung. Now it’s going to be London, Jamaica and Honduras. Every time I travel, I get this scary-excited feeling. It’s that feeling I get when I’m on a rollercoaster that’s inching up the steep climb and I’m excitedly dreading the moment it will zoom downhill, making my stomach fly up to my throat. I’m excited because I’m going to discover new places and cultures and food and but at the same time it’s scary because I’m not traveling for holiday but for business. So basically it’s the same shit, different place, different time zone. But then again, it’s going to be an all expense paid trip (or shall I say shit? ;) So if things go wrong, I shall blame my two tahi lalats :))

By : Anya