Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Means: I wish you prosperity!

Life is good right now, have begun a career of freeloading and am enjoying every moment of it. I guess it reinforces the faith in humankind - that there are people who are genuinely kind, willing to share what they have with no hidden agenda.

Right now we have with us the backdoor key of a stranger that we met through hitchhiking - and we have stayed in their house for two nights now and will only leave tomorrow. It's a really amazing feeling to be welcomed like that. We cook and wash dishes for them as return, but I don't think I can ever repay them for their kindness, unless they come to Malaysia where I'll host them then.

By the way, "we" is me and Valentin, my German Greenpeace ex-colleague. We are currently travelling together. The alliance is symbiotic - Val cooks, I wash; he provides security when hitchhiking and I convince potential rides that we're not creeps - and it's comfortable travelling with someone that you've known for a while without having to get used to people's quirks. He also shares a similar level of impulsiveness and restraint with me, so we get along pretty well with planning a little and stumbling the rest of the way.

Well, happy Chinese New Year to all, have fun and get lots of angpau!