A day like any other.
It started with too much beard. I knew I needed a haircut and one thing the shopping mall I was living in, didn’t have was a men’s barbershop. (Yes I really was living in a Shopping Mall – see pic. above and perhaps the subject of a future blog post!)
I checked with Google and it was recommending a place at another shopping centre a short bus ride away. Gurney Plaza was more up-market from Island Plaza where I was staying and there were three or four options. Strangely the two more traditional barbers said they didn’t do beard trims – but one of the more opulent male and female salons said yes – and I could be seen right away. The cut was nothing special and cost 97 Ringgit or about £18.00 which I thought was a bit expensive – but it was a posh place in a posh mall so … It wouldn’t be my first money loss that day.
I had a bit of a walk around afterwards – I could have done with a couple of things for my laptop – but couldn’t find them, so in the end I had a cup of coffee (you can buy me one here) and a bun and looked for the bus stop back.
Once there I had a bit of a wait. I took a couple of tree photos and then got out the correct money for the trip from my wallet – as I knew the driver would not give change. That was the last time I would see that old wallet I’d had for nearly 15 years.
,How it happened.
I got on the crowded bus, paid and thought I would have to stand, but immediately a man offered his seat to me. I thought it a kind gesture as he was only slightly younger than me. It was the centre (fold down) seat of three at the side of the bus with people standing around me. After another stop the young woman sat on my right, left the bus and I thought the chap who’d stood up would take his seat back – but no, another man of similar age quickly sat down and the journey continued. By now the first man was making quite a display of standing up, swaying on the overhead hand grips, at one point stooping down to pick up a non-existent ticket on the floor. I now know I was giving him too much attention. After a few more stops, both he and the chap on my right got off the bus together … I sat there for a couple of stops more.
It was only when I got up to get off that I instinctively reached into my pocket for my wallet and found it had gone. Instead of getting off I rushed over to the driver to tell him what had happened. He didn’t seem that surprised. He said he would report it at the depot and they would check the security camera and suggested that I took a photo of the registration number of the bus and waited whilst I did so.
I then walked back to my mall and by the time I got there I had already cancelled three of the four credit and debit cards which had been in my wallet and put a block on another.
Back in my apartment, I was pleased to find the emergency credit card I had kept safe so I knew I could at least pay for things – my only concern was that I didn’t have any cash – all the Malaysian money I had … gone.
Searching for the Police and the Kindness of a Stranger.
I called the host of my Airbnb and explained what had happened and she suggested that I went in person to the nearest police station and gave me what she thought was the address.
I put it into the Grab app and ordered one to take me there. It didn’t exist. After walking around fruitlessly for some minutes, I gave up and ordered another to take me to the next nearest station which appeared to be situated at yet another shopping mall.
I arrived at the mall but couldn’t find the station. I tried asking the security staff but couldn’t make myself understood – so getting rather frustrated by now, I noticed a tall man ordering coffee. I asked him if he knew and he responded in a North American (Canadian?) accent that it was around the corner and at the end of a row of outside shops. I walked out and found it … and it was closed. No notice as to why, not even in Malay, so I trudged back at a bit of a loss. My head full of thoughts of how I was going to cope going forward and all things I needed to do. As I sat with my distress, the ‘Canadian’ saw me, asked what had happened and I explained the station was closed. He then queried why I wanted to go there in the first place and I told him about the theft. He then asked if I needed anything, and I said (eyeing up his coffee) that some cash would be nice. He then opened his wallet and handed me 250 Ringgit (about £45). When I protested – he said ‘do you need more?’ I explained I thought it was too much and how could I pay him back, but he just waved me away and said to pass it on to someone else in need one day. He then left and I ordered coffee to drink and think more slowly.
The 'Investigation'.
I decided to phone the police emergency number – I knew it wasn’t an emergency but I was out of ideas. The responder didn’t speak good English so I passed my phone to the coffee vendor who said I needed to go to yet another police station. I got the address and another Grab ride later I was there. This time success – it was open and I was able to tell my story to someone.
An hour later and thought I was done, so I was a bit thrown when the officer said I needed to be seen by the investigating officer who was at yet another station. Tired, hungry and still distressed I put my foot down and said no. They got the officer on the phone and I told him no as well and to my surprise he said he could come to my accommodation in about an hour instead. That gave me time to get the Grab ride and something to eat first so I said yes.
It was two hours later when I got a message to say that the police officer was waiting for me in reception so went down and we conducted the interview there. It didn’t take long. He was late because he had been to the bus depot and had reviewed the bus video recording but because the bus was so crowded, nothing could be seen. As there was no corroborating evidence that it was pickpocketing and although they would be on the look out for the wallet (in case it was handed in) he was virtually closing down the case before it started. I have to say it would feel as if it was a complete waste of time if it hadn’t have introduced me to my tall rescue angel in the mall
Aftermath and lessons learnt.
No-one tried to use any of my credit cards. It took nearly two weeks for the replacements to come from the UK (the New Year holidays delayed things) and of course I was out when they tried to deliver so had to make a trip across town (by bus!) to pick them up. It cost around £40 to have them sent by tracked delivery and with the cost of one instance of a replacement card and all the Grab rides I took – the final total probably was nearer to £60, far more than the cash in my wallet. I guess I got off lightly from what might have been. I also decided to replace my driving licence – more to prevent ID fraud than thinking I may drive again. My bus pass will have to be replaced next time I am in the UK. I am not sure when the sense of shame that I allowed this to happen can be replaced.
Going forward, I have bought a purse rather than a wallet which clips via a lanyard to my belt. I am more careful to ensure that I have at least one debit and one credit card in a separate place than on my person and that I keep an emergency cash reserve. I was sad that it happened in Malaysia which has a good reputation for safety, but in truth it could have happened anywhere. What stayed with me longer was the moment in the coffee shop — a stranger who listened, believed me, and handed me what I needed without hesitation or conditions.
I’ve travelled for nearly seven years believing I was self-sufficient. That day reminded me how thin that idea was, and how generous people can be when it cracks.
So, I’m still travelling and still learning. I’m also carrying that small debt forward, waiting my turn to pass it on.
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