Distance is relative, Gertjan Tijms from Hooghalen discovered. De Drent has lived in Malaysia for fifteen years, found love there and has his family there. But Drenthe and Drenthe are always appealing and he switches with ease between Drenthe and English, just like between the always busy Kuala Lumpur and the silence of the Drenthe countryside.
As a business administration student, Tijms packed his bags in 2010 and left for an internship in the marketing world to the metropolis Kuala Lumpur. “At the end of the study project I was asked if I wanted to do another project. And so one year became two years,” he says.
De Hooghaler was now devoted to Malaysia and remains there. “It is a very nice country. It has a very dynamic lifestyle and you can travel very nicely in the area: within an hour you can be in Thailand or Indonesia. In addition, it has a very nice climate and it has modernized enormously in the last fifteen years.”
So one thing led to another. After living in Kuala Lumpur for a number of years, he meets the Malaysian Tricia. They get to know each other through the dating app Tinder. Her international attitude in particular means that the two find each other, Tijms explains. “The funny thing is: I lived in Malaysia longer in my adult years than she did. She went to school, studied and worked abroad. She is very enterprising and we both really enjoy traveling.”
Now six years later, the two parents of son Khy and daughter Zya, and run a number of companies together, including a bicycle café and restaurant. Every Saturday morning he also stands on the pedals and cycles straight from the metropolis into nature. “It is very nice to cycle around here. You first spend ten kilometers to get out of the city, but once outside the city you cycle in the beautiful rainforest.”
Not only does he appreciate the Malaysian nature, he has also become attached to the culture, which consists of three major cultures. “Those three cultures have become so intertwined. Of course there are also minor struggles here, but people appreciate and accept that there are three different cultures.”
And this is also reflected in how exuberantly Christmas is celebrated, Tijms explains. “Christmas is celebrated more in Malaysia than in the Netherlands. Four times a year there is a big celebration here: with Chinese New Year, Indian New Year, Islamic New Year and Christmas. And everyone celebrates everything with great pleasure.”
Tijms often celebrates Christmas in Malaysia, with lots of food and an open house where the neighborhood is welcome, but this year he is traveling to the Netherlands especially for the holidays to see his family. His wife and daughter remain in Kuala Lumpur. “Not ideal to be split, but a one-year-old is not very practical with the cold and traveling. And I haven’t been to the Netherlands for Christmas for too long. My parents are also turning a year older, so it’s nice to be with them.”
Text continues below photo: