left our jobs, went to Asia

Small but colorful fishing ship in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

There are at least 3 things "pirate" in Malaysia. The first two are pirated DVDs of "Pirates of the Caribbean". Rather unharmful, even aesthetically and mentally pleasing.

The third is quite different. Did you know that up to now, very real ships of very real pirates are still active around Malaysian (also Indonesian and Philippinean) islands and straits?
While the vessel above is just a simple and old fishing boat which looks more like a pirate ship, the actual, contemporary pirates are using speedboats, machineguns and other rather modern "tools" to do their job.
Which is raiding ships and coastal villages, taking hostages and looting what they can.
Reading the last news that USA are planning to decrease or even withdraw their security forces from hotspots like Strait of Malacca, it might very well happen that the number of "Captain Jack Sparrows" will increase.