You can never go home again

There is a saying. It goes something like this. "You can never go home again, but the truth is you can never leave home."

My one and true home is Malaysia. This is where I was born. This is the place that I grew up as a child. This is also the place where I went through my early teenage years. And this is also the place that I am earning a living and building a family. There is no substitute for Malaysia in my eyes.

Yet, there was a place that I spent nearly half a decade towards the end of my teenage years and my early youth. That place welcomed me to its chilly and cold weather, yet its people were pleasantly warm and friendly. I regarded that place as my second home. This was the place where I studied. This was also the place where I learnt to be independent. And perhaps, it is not wrong to say that this was the place that taught me the meaning of life.

That place was Glasgow in Scotland.

I was last in Glasgow in 1996. That was more than 13 years ago. Now, it seems that I will be setting foot to my second home again very soon. I will be leaving for the United Kingdom in less than 12 hours. Upon arrival in London, I will be going straight up north to Edinburgh where I will spend two nights. And from there I will be heading for Glasgow.

The feelings that I have now is somewhat difficult to explain. The best that I can think of is that the feelings are similar to the time I was leaving Glasgow for good. This time around, I am returning to Glasgow for a brief visit.

I have a fondness towards this city. It has a special place in my heart. Indeed while I may have left the city, the memories of the city never left me.

It will be good to be back "home".