#SSNC ~ Azali Yusoh

I remember having this young man on my flight once, a long time ago. A group of them boarded ex KLIA to LGK and I was the supervisor incharge. He approached me and said hi at the entrance, all chirpy and full of confidence. He asked me whether I knew his dad and before I could even reply, he went on animatedly telling me that he, Azali is now on his way to training school to become a pilot. I smiled and said yes, I knew his dad, have flown many times with him and that I am truly excited for both of them. What Azali didn't know then and is going to know now is that his father is very proud of him and his achievements. I remember working alongside his dad once when the SPM results were just announced and he was extremely pleased of his son's efforts. You can see the joy radiating throughout his father's face and at that moment in time, I could sense a father's pride. Not only that, I can recall him singing praises about all his children when we flew together. It is a small world indeed that one of his son's has now become a pilot and a good friend of mine :)

I contacted Azali in Istanbul recently as he is based there at the moment and invited him to say something nice. I knew that he can write well and have always admired his uniqueness and love of travelling. He, Seth and Munzir are some of my closest travel and diving buddies in the airlines and today, I'd like to share with you what Azali has so graciously agreed to write about. Included are some of his wonderful pictures from his collection, taken during his travels.

Azali Yusoh. Born in 1987 to a Malay father from Melaka, and an Austrian mother from Vienna. Somehow flying has always been in my life story. My father has been flying as a cabin crew for Malaysia Airlines since 1981, and he still dons his uniform proudly today. No doubt my keen interest in flying developed through my father. My mother was at one point of her life living in Perth for 10 years. And of course it had to be on a Malaysia Airlines flight that my parents first met. My father was working the cabin zone that my mom was seated in, and he took Malaysian hospitality to a new level I guess. But it was my mom who made the first move, saw him, and got him! Before you know it she moved up to KL on a whim. Mind you this was 1985 KL, a very different and alien land for a caucasian girl.

I was born in 1987, then came my sister Nadia in 1991, and my brother Adam in 1994. We’re a very tight-knit family, very close to each other. Growing up we never had much but we always had more than enough. My dad brought the Malaysian element of parenting into the household – lots of disciplining, sometimes the hard way, no negotiations, hands on, lots of love and had huge dreams for his kids. My mom was always the concerned parent, worried about all the dangers in this world. She was liberal, loving, supportive and very caring. Both my parents worked full time almost our entire lives, but never has there been a lack of love or parenting in the family. One of the unique things about my parents that I’ve always appreciated is how they always let me make my own decisions. They advise, they nudge, but when it came to decisions that should ultimately be mine, they always gave me a free hand.

                                                    Angkor Wat, Cambodia

I spent my school years in the Malaysian education system, attending public school all the way through. In the last 2 years, my buddy and I decided to take up the post of Assistant and Head Prefect respectively just to sparkle our CV for the impending after school applications. The big exams came and went. I was lucky to get a perfect score for the SPM and went on applying for everything that had a form attached. A lot of scholarships were offered, the most coveted would probably be one to study Engineering in France at the expense of our beloved government. It was a great offer, everybody wanted it, but I didn’t. For as long as I could remember all I ever wanted to do was fly. Along with all those scholarship offers was a letter to attend Cadet trials from Malaysia Airlines, the one I wanted the most. A series of tests and interviews later, and I shipped off to Langkawi in the North West of Malaysia for 2 years of cadetship, learning how to fly aeroplanes and whatever else.

I had a great time there, super time! Money was always tight, rules were at times nonsensically strict, but every one of us had the time of our lives on that island! I spent exactly 2 years living, learning and growing up with some amazing people around me, some of whom are still my closest and dearest friends today.

                                             Bachelor party Jakarta, Indonesia

We came back to Malaysia Airlines in 2007, did our training for the Boeing 737-400, and before my 21st birthday I was flying jet planes around Malaysia and South East Asia with a whole lot of people on board, to the horror of all older and wiser people I knew. A new chapter of life had begun, the good life had begun!

I went on to fly the Boeing 737-800 and now the Airbus 330, still enjoying every minute of it 5 years later. You’d be interested to know that the buddy I mentioned, who was my Assistant Head Prefect in high school – applied for the same cadetship, attended the exams and interviews together, spent 2 years in Langkawi as batchmates flying together (dangerously sometimes), were simulator partners for both the 737 and A330 conversions, and today remains one of my best friends and partners in crime. His name is Syakeer.

                                                          Syakeer's wedding

I am lucky enough to be living my dream. Everytime I meet somebody who has an unfulfilled dream, I tell them to go for it. I wish them the best, with all sincerity, because there is nothing better in life than living your dream. People used to call it the American Dream. Well the future has been in Asia for a few years now, it could well be the time to make it the Malaysian Dream.

As I grew and matured through life and career, naturally I picked up a few hobbies along the way, new interests, new things to do (most of them legal). But one developed into an actual passion. TRAVELLING.

                                                          Berlin, Germany

My batchmate and best friend, Munzir, together with another friend, and I took our first trip outside Malaysia minus the family just after graduating from flying school. It was only a short hop to Bali for 4 days. But you can only imagine how we 19 year olds felt, the sense of adventure and new experiences, the massive parties, the beach lifestyle. It was no where near the best trip we’d go on to take, but it was memorable, it was our first! Kinda like sex then.

                                              Pyramids of Giza, Egypt with Munzir

I believe life is about experiences, not property, not statistics, not pictures, not money. It’s about experiences. When I’m 105 years old I’m not going to look back and think about that kinda flashy car I used to drive (still haven’t driven one of those). I’m going to look back at that time I moutain biked with my best friend through snow and mud in Patagonia. That time I partied with my brother in Cambodia so hard he couldn’t wake up the next day. That time I got conned and magically pickpocketed by a Gypsy in Prague. That time we graffitied our poor dormmates beautiful face with a permanent marker in Athens.

                                                  Streets of Hanoi, Vietnam

And I intend to keep the experiences coming! I want to scale Kilimanjaro with the guys. I want to hike the Inca Trail, party on the beaches of Rio till the sun rises, skydive with my mom in New Zealand, fall in love with my significant other all over again on the beaches of French Polynesia, brew my own beer in a microbrewery in Portland, run with the bulls in Spain, do the Silk Road by any and all means from the borders of China all the way through to Istanbul. I want to eat a zebra steak in Kenya, gamble like a high roller in Vegas, surf on the Carribean coast of Colombia, learn to salsa in Cuba...,you catch the drift! I want to live! I want to love! I want to continue loving to live!

                                                  Great Wall of China, China

As we’ve travelled and through daily life, at some point, we came up with ‘the pose’. I can’t remember if it was me or another buddy, I can’t remember when it was, I can’t remember if it had anything to do with Usain’s famous pose. All I know is I do it because I don’t want to take myself too seriously, because being an idiot is okay, and because it is the coolest thing in the world after Justin Bieber. 

                                                     Melbourne, Australia

Sometimes we need to remind ourselves we’re still young. We’ve perfected the pose, and have demonstrated its use throughout countless cities, mountains, beaches, rivers, vehicles and events these past years. We’ve also managed to somehow convince other people that it was cool and they do it too! The best was probably getting a few Argentinian Police officers to do the pose with us in Mendoza. My reasoning is, if there is any at all – one day I will grow old, and I will show my grandkids the pictures of me doing the pose around the world, and they will think that their old senile grandfather was once young and cool. I hope so la. Hence our saying “one for the grandkids” everytime we do the pose.

                                                               Cairo, Egypt

                                                          Mendoza, Argentina


Fast forward 7 years and we’ve managed countless trips to multiple countries for both work and play. 
We’ve graduated from being backpackers to flashpackers, but are still as keen as ever to rough it out and explore the exotic. I never kept count until actually writing this, but I think I’ve managed somewhere around 90 destinations in 37 countries.

                                                       Perhentian, Malaysia

Recently I’ve had the opportunity to live outside Malaysia, being based in Istanbul for almost 5 months for work, which is enough time to really immerse yourself in all things Turkish, becoming a bit of a local expat if you will. Growing up was also a case of many summers spent in my grandparents’ house on the outskirts of Vienna, getting in touch with my Austrian roots.

I guess what I’m trying to say is, I’ve seen a fair bit of the world, lived through the culture of other people and races, met hundreds if not thousands of people, some never to be seen again, but some who remain good friends today. Yet to me, there is absolutely no place like Malaysia. There is no place like home. The people, the food, the great outdoors, the diversity, the liveliness. The traffic jams, the haze, the heat, the politics, the lack of secularism. The good and the bad, it’s what makes Malaysia what it is, it’s what makes Malaysians who we are. No doubt we need to make ourselves better, no doubt there are a million things that we need to improve. But there are also a million things about Malaysia and its people that are perfect the way they are. 

                                                    

                                                      Patagonia, Argentina

When I travel with my backpack, especially with my buddies Munzir and Seth, we always carry a small Jalur Gemilang with us, and lots of Ringgit in small denominatios. We pin the Ringgit in all the hostels we stay at. We take pictures with our flag whenever we’re in a land that doesn’t see too many Malaysians. We cook Malaysian food in the hostel kitchens and share with the whole hostel, from the elaborate Ayam Masak Merah and Sambal Ikan Bilis to the humble Maggie Mee. 

                                            Seth, Mun, Nic & Jas ~ Matahari Divers

We tell people how beautiful our country is, sometimes conveniently leaving out the less favourable details. In fact, I can proudly say I’ve convinced strangers I’ve met to visit Malaysia eventhough they’d never heard of it before that. Back in KL I host foreign travellers in my home for free, show them around KL and feed them silly through a website called Couchsurfing. When we travel, we carry ourselves in a way so awesome that anybody who crosses our path will instantly love where we come from! I am Malaysian, I am proud, I always will be. Happy Birthday Malaysia.

Azali