Breaking the Habit Part 2

(This is a continuation of yesterday's post)

So there we were driving down a dark stretch of road, not knowing where it led to. A little while back I thought I saw the signboard reading "Dengkil", but I don't know where that is, so it wasn't much help. After 2 minutes along the dark and narrow road, I drove by a few rows of shophouses so we must be near a town.

By that time, the other passengers were asking me to turn around and head back to Putrajaya and I began to feel the same way. But I had a choice - to turn around and head all the way back to Putrajaya, or to keep going and hopefully see some signboards. Normally I would freak out and make a U-turn, but I decided to break the habit this time. I announced to the others that we will keep going and do something that no man has ever done before - stop and ask directions.

There seems to be a common stereotype among women that men can't stop and ask for help, and I have to say that it is an absolute truth. I can't explain it, but I find the idea of seeking guidance an absolute blow to my ego, as if that would reduce my manliness (ahem). But I said to myself that I can't keep on like this without knowing where the road led, so I acted humble for a second and stopped in front of a shop. Then I sent David to do the dirty work of asking, with the excuse that my Mandarin is terrible. So I guess it was a win-win situation without having my conceited ego trampled on too much.

As it turns out, the road we were on does lead back to Nilai. It is basically an old trunk road running parellel to the highway. The kind shopkeeper drew us a rough map and we followed it successfully back to our hostel. It took much longer, but the distance was roughly the same. I think it was a great mini-adventure, and I'm glad I kept to my resolve.