The Bus Ride....
15.2.2005
It was my second trip to Singapore. The first was way back when I was 11 years old. We had a family vacation. We couldn’t afford to have regular family vacation then. But abah had promised to take us there if I get 5As for my Penilaian Darjah Lima. And he stuck to his words. I still have some memories of that trip. The long bus ride, the tall buildings, the clean street, the train ride around Sentosa island… the fun we had as a family.
But this time, more than 20 years later, I came for a different reason. I had to attend a convention. Yup, work related. So, boring stuff. Since it was all sponsored, I braved myself to leave my 3 cats on the hands of my colleague, of course after orientating her and explaining in full details about my cats’ needs, habits, preferences and in short, their whole life stories.
We took the Nice2 bus from the old Railway Station. As one of the historic buildings in KL, I was surprised at how unkempt the place was. The surau was closed, the alleys were dinghy, the toilets were… yucckksss. People could get mugged in there, even raped and I’m not talking about the women.
It was the first time I had been in a double decked bus. The lower level was supposed to be the lounge area. But I think it had become a place for the second driver to sleep. No one seemed to be bothered to even enter there as the seats at the upper level were quite comfortable.
My riding bus days had actually ended a long time ago. Back when I was in boarding school, then undergraduate days, taking the bus was almost a ritual. Weekends, holidays, semester breaks…. After gaining confidence to brave the traffic and long distance drives (and of course the confidence from my parents in that matter), I have almost always driven the car. I don’t travel much. But I enjoy driving in the highways. It sort of gives me that feelings of freedom and control.
Back then, Pudu Raya was a familiar territory. The smell of the crowd, intermingled with the exhaust fumes, the black sods that blackened your face, the drumming of engines, the bored faces waiting on benches….
I’m not the type who fall asleep as soon as the engines starts, or munch away as if there is going to be famine tomorrow. I preferred to read. Some people would probably get motion sickness. But it kept me occupied and the distance felt shorter.
And when I don’t read, I’ll be looking out the window, enjoying the sceneries. How similar life passed us by. Like watching silent movie in black and white. Like looking out the window during bus rides….
**********
It was also the first time i knew my cellphone has roaming..... wuuhuuuuu!!!!!
It was my second trip to Singapore. The first was way back when I was 11 years old. We had a family vacation. We couldn’t afford to have regular family vacation then. But abah had promised to take us there if I get 5As for my Penilaian Darjah Lima. And he stuck to his words. I still have some memories of that trip. The long bus ride, the tall buildings, the clean street, the train ride around Sentosa island… the fun we had as a family.
But this time, more than 20 years later, I came for a different reason. I had to attend a convention. Yup, work related. So, boring stuff. Since it was all sponsored, I braved myself to leave my 3 cats on the hands of my colleague, of course after orientating her and explaining in full details about my cats’ needs, habits, preferences and in short, their whole life stories.
We took the Nice2 bus from the old Railway Station. As one of the historic buildings in KL, I was surprised at how unkempt the place was. The surau was closed, the alleys were dinghy, the toilets were… yucckksss. People could get mugged in there, even raped and I’m not talking about the women.
It was the first time I had been in a double decked bus. The lower level was supposed to be the lounge area. But I think it had become a place for the second driver to sleep. No one seemed to be bothered to even enter there as the seats at the upper level were quite comfortable.
My riding bus days had actually ended a long time ago. Back when I was in boarding school, then undergraduate days, taking the bus was almost a ritual. Weekends, holidays, semester breaks…. After gaining confidence to brave the traffic and long distance drives (and of course the confidence from my parents in that matter), I have almost always driven the car. I don’t travel much. But I enjoy driving in the highways. It sort of gives me that feelings of freedom and control.
Back then, Pudu Raya was a familiar territory. The smell of the crowd, intermingled with the exhaust fumes, the black sods that blackened your face, the drumming of engines, the bored faces waiting on benches….
I’m not the type who fall asleep as soon as the engines starts, or munch away as if there is going to be famine tomorrow. I preferred to read. Some people would probably get motion sickness. But it kept me occupied and the distance felt shorter.
And when I don’t read, I’ll be looking out the window, enjoying the sceneries. How similar life passed us by. Like watching silent movie in black and white. Like looking out the window during bus rides….
**********
It was also the first time i knew my cellphone has roaming..... wuuhuuuuu!!!!!
posted by marina at 2:21 AM
I remember the days when I rode the BMWs every single day to school...
* BMW = Bas Mini Wilayah
yeah... i remembered that when i frequent Chow kit road which was just opposite my faculty. The formula 1 wannabes indon driver .... the flirtatious indon ticket collector.... with background music of dangdut. It was mini Jakarta back then...