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The story of my Kuala Lumpur trip is going to take a few entries. I'll just try to hit the basics now, but there were some adventures, some observations, and some reflections. And of course, there were friends. And that was the whole reason for the trip.

People have asked me before why I read blogs, why I bother with social sites like Fridae where I talk to new people rather than just staying connected with existing friends. A lot of my friends just aren't into that and don't get it, and that's ok, but the reality for me has been that my online experiences have often turned into real friendships. Ethan, one of the nicest guys I know in DC, is someone I met onlne before moving there, and of course Raberd in Bangkok and Allan in Singapore have turned into big parts of my lives.

And now, there's the KL crew.

I'll be careful about linking faces and names to their blogs (some of which are linked over on the side, and more will follow once I'm home and can do a thorough housecleaning on the blog). Malaysia is not the most tolerant place for people like us, so they're careful, but as I observed right from the start, they're also pretty damned fun.

William hooked me up with a big discount on my hotel, so right away I naturally love him, because we all know I am a cheap bastard. He met me as I arrived Saturday and it was nonstop from then until about 2am (I went to bed 22 hours after getting up for my flight...and I'd only had a few hours sleep to start with). The bloggers had been out for lunchtime karaoke, which I unfortunately missed, and their day had continued on from there We caught up with a bunch of boys in one of the nearby shopping centers called Times Square (where there was both a photo exhibit and an underwear sale) and headed out to Cafe 69, a fairly new, fairly "family oriented" establishment that we fit well into. My requirement, of course, was to match up the real people with the online pseudonyms and figure out who was who (imagine my chagrin at asking one friend if his boyfriend would be joining us, only to have him point to the cute guy next to him whom I'd just met. Duh.)

At this point, I'd like to mention that I'd love to see David model the underwear he bought. Sorry Frankie, but I would.

Dinner was much fun. Let's see, we had Alex and Jason and William and Cheryl and Adrien (and his housemates, whom I never technically met, but who seemed very cool) and Jason Junior and Alvin (who is cuter than most chipmunks) and me (and I have already discovered my new nickname on at least one blog) and Harvey (whom I got to know a little better than he intended, but that came later) and David and Frankie and Sam and Daniel and they are all, ALL, very fun, and if any of them are concerned that I'm not using nicknames then e-mail me and I'll edit this later. I think, when you get a group that big, it's natural to have some drama, have some people more engaged than others, what have you, but that was not the case with these guys (or if it is, they hide it well). They love being together and really care about each other and have a great time together, and I think that when they are out in public together -- and they are not always subtle, trust me -- they are doing more to advance the cause for PLU in Malaysia, simply by being who they are. I love that.

Noticeably absent was Dr Paul, who had written months before that he was shy about meeting strangers, but from whom I'd elicited a promise to meet if I ever got over there. But he gave me a wonderful tour of the city during an afternoon together Monday, so that proves he's not so shy after all.

(On a random side note, I picked up the international edition of Newsweek in the KL airport today because the cover story was about the advance of gay rights around the world. Inside the magazine, someone had found the two places that showed gays or lesbians kissing and had marked through the kiss with a magic marker. I can only imagine every copy of the magazine in the country has that. A tad ironic, no?)

I got to see some of the boys a few times again this week, and Jason even picked me up today at 6:30am to take me to the train station. How incredibly sweet is that? (and don't brush it off Jason, it was very cool) William and Alex are the guys I'd known best before coming over and we got to spend some quality time together, allowing me to get to know some important truths about these guys. Everyone was great, and I hope to see all of them again, and at the same time I got to bond quite a bit with a few of the boys and I feel some good friendships solidifying.

I felt sad flying out today (I'm in Hong Kong at the moment) but that will be discussed in a leter post.

Beyond the bloggers I also had some Fridae friends to meet. I've known Thaddes online for 3 years and we've always talked of meeting but only now did we make it happen. He is an amazing fellow in person, and also taller than me, for which I forgive him. I learned many of the key details about him that can't be discovered in the 2000-character-limited e-mails on Fridae. We got to spend a couple evenngs together and, as with all the boys, I probably made him very tired at work the next day whereas I got to sleep in. But it was very important to me to spend some time with him, and I'm glad he put up with me. Thanks, honey.

And then there's Eddie. We've only known each other a couple months but his sweetness has stuck on me like honey. He had sent me a little note while I was in Afghanistan, which I didn't see until returning. I sent replies to people who'd contacted me on Fridae, explaing why I hadn't answered yet, and he was the only one of the folks I hadn't known before who wrote back. We got to the point where we were writing every day, and then this trip came up, and he made the effort to come into KL from a nearby town to meet up twice. I also had the joy of taking him out for his 21st birthday, which was SO much fun. Through our discussions he has turned into an important part of my life, one of those younger folks whose life to date has given him some great wisdom. And I need that now. Kisses and hugs, babe.

Folks at home had asked me what I planned to see in Malaysia and the answer was "not what, but who." This trip was about nothing but meeting online friends (and shopping...hey, it IS Malaysia). For a variety of reasons, unique to each individual, these guys all touched my heart in a very cool way. I learned a lot from them in a few short days, something I'll write more about later. For now, someone's looking at me like they want to get on this computer, and he's bigger than me. So, more to follow.

Labels: Friends, Travel