Cover image via @injaee (Instagram)
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Singaporean cyclist Joel Liu In Jae, better known online as @injaee, thought a cycle ride from Singapore to Malaysia would be a chill, leisurely trip
Instead, it nearly turned into a disaster when his bike suffered multiple punctures near Kota Tinggi. With no campsite booked and the sun sinking below the horizon, Joel found himself stranded and unsure what to do next.
"I walked the last 3km to the nearest human civilisation, a small kampung," he narrates in his Instagram reel, posted five days ago.
There, he met Faz, a local man who seemed to know everyone in the village. Faz offered Joel a seat and immediately began making calls, reaching out to friends and family to find a vacant campsite for the night.
The kindness didn't stop there
Isa, another villager, arrived on a motorbike and spent nearly two hours trying to repair Joel's bike. Using improvised tools and makeshift solutions, they worked together, but the tyres ultimately could not be fixed.
Undeterred, Isa went home, returned with a van, loaded Joel and his bike, and drove him to the campsite, stopping along the way to treat him to a hamburger from a roadside stall.
When Joel asked if he had eaten dinner and whether his family was waiting, Isa replied, "It's okay, I'll just eat the leftovers later."
Joel reflected on the experience in his reel
"I'm a complete stranger who he's probably never gonna see again, but he did all this for me and left without a trace. We often think of people living in developing areas as having less… but that day I honestly felt like I was the one missing out on something."
His reel has since amassed over 800,000 views, 75,000 likes, and nearly 1,000 comments from viewers across Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia
Many praised the villagers' generosity.
"Such a good video. We often don't get to hear young people reflect on the things around them much. Hope this helps to create more awareness among the youth," wrote @D0uble__h.
"So glad to know this world is not just about scams and there are good souls out there," @Riaseema88 added.
Comments highlighted the broader lesson about kampung life.
"Why am I crying? So so wholesome and yes, I do think the ones we think have 'less' are really the ones with so much to give. So much to learn from as well," @aisyah_jamaludeen said.
Meanwhile, @Roo.prt, an Indonesian living in Malaysia, wrote, "Humanity is awesome when you remove the hateful beings. As an Indonesian living in Malaysia, the hospitality is always great."
