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Malacca, Malaysia
Early in 1988, a newlywed couple from the States was traveling in Malaysia. While in the ethnically diverse, historical treasure-trove of a town called Malacca (Melaka), they hired the services of a 60-year-old rickshaw driver named Peter Ong. Thanks to a simple act of thoughtfulness on their part, Peter remembers them still today.
I met Peter myself in late 2007, when he also offered his rickshaw services to me. Pulling out a handful of postcards from previous customers, he seemed particularly happy with one from New York and invited me to check out the back, which read:
Dear Mr. Ong,
You’ve been a wonderful and knowledgeable tour guide through Melaka. You were kind and thoughtful (thanks for the bag of bananas!).
Thanks for recommending Chang Hoe Hotel.
Best Wishes,
Scott & Jennifer Ingber
New York USA
The card was dated January 30, 1988, and friction had so worn the front cover that New York’s skyscrapers seemed to be chain smoking. Though I didn’t take Peter up on his offer—I needed to stay on foot to get the pictures I was after—we did talk for several minutes while waiting under an awning for a rain shower to pass. I learned that Peter was born in January 1928, that he’d been driving a rickshaw for 40 years, and that he had seven grown kids living in Malacca, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore.
Months later I would google Scott and Jennifer and see their 1987 wedding announcement in the New York Times. Other than what I read there—he was a doctor and she a nurse—I know nothing about them. Except, I suppose, that their tangible thoughtfulness is still remembered two decades later by a man in Malacca, and has probably helped that man grow his business.
When Peter Ong holds up his postcard, then, he is not just showing us New York; he is reminding us that in travel, even when we give in small ways in a town through which we are so briefly passing, it matters.
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:52 am
I’d say, Joel- this might be your deepest hitting post. (Not; to admit that every other one hasn’t sparked an emotional core)
However; when we travel- or litterly; when we take the moment to step out our door and make a connection-we affect some other course. Just how deeply that ice is broken we will at times; never know. Yet, the chance- the common ground may be the beauty of each individual existence on this planet.
Thank you for your articulate mind and attention to the lives of the world. May others walk with the awareness and kindness that you have embodied in your ventures.
November 25th, 2009 at 11:04 am
What a lovely article that honestly brings tears to my eyes.
It’s so true that even the smallest gesture of kindness can go such a long way – we never know whose lives we touch.
Thanks for the great post!
Kathryn @Travelfusion
January 28th, 2010 at 10:27 pm
Well, 22 years later, I am Scott Ingber, the man Joel refers to so beautifully and eloquently in his post. I must be honest, my wife is the one who always thinking how to brighten other people’s lives. She is now in Haiti on a humanitarian medical mission after the earthquake. I always knew there was something special about her. It is so wonderful to read this story 22 years later, and know that we made such a positive connection with Mr. Ong. He made our stay in Malacca so special and it is so gratifying to know that our little gesture touched him so. I am truly touched. We have traveled extensively trying to immerse ourselves in various cultures connecting to the people of the country and hope to have many more meaningful journeys.