Port Dickson

Do lower expectations make people happier? Perhaps.

I had written off Port Dickson as a place I probably wouldn't go to. If you wanted the beach, you'd go to Langkawi. But it was an impulse trip: don't expect anything, just be game.

PD is one of the closest beaches to Kuala Lumpur, just an hour and a half away from the capital. You can see offshore oil rigs from the shore. Many abandoned or dilapidated buildings line the road, left over from the Asian financial crisis. But tourists still come, including some foreigners. And there are some fine places to stay.

I didn't swim. (Then again I've only gone swimming once or twice in the past two years and I've been to more than a handful of beaches over that period.) I did have a bathing suit, but hardly anyone showed any skin (including the men). Think a full banana boat of veiled women. Suddenly I felt like I had nothing decent to wear. I did think about getting a maillot. But when did I last have a one-piece? High school?

 

I purposely shot these to make you think there was nobody at the beach. There really were people. 

The sand was fine. The smell of the sea was faint. There was a little wind. All I wanted to do was sit still, offer commentary on passersby and let time fly.

Do lower expectations make people happier? I guess so. Not that I'd lower my standards for everything, but if I want to remember the weekend fondly, I think I should just go with the flow.