The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a spanner
into our lives including travel plans. I had plans to travel within the region
and also to Central Asia but my plans have become casualties of COVID-19. I was
pondering where to go after the relaxation of the Restriction of Movement Order
and finally decided on a very short trip to Georgetown. This time though, I
decided to take a bus to Butterworth (or Penang Sentral as it’s now known)
instead of flying or taking the bus into the island itself. I’ve tried those means
of transportation and both would necessitate me taking another bus to the city
centre. I also checked on the ETS schedule but decided a bus would do the job
equally well and besides I could only leave in the evening as I didn’t want to
take leave. I then browsed my options and decided to take the bus from Hentian
Duta and bought a ticket for a Maraliner bus leaving at 23:59 on 3 July 2020.
I arrived at Hentian Duta at a quarter to 11 p.m. and sat down to wait. I then went to the platform and asked which bus to board as there were two Maraliner buses passing Butterworth and departing at the same time and both were double decker. I then boarded and found my seat quickly - I had chosen the single seat in the front tow at the lower deck when I purchased the ticket.
To my pleasant surprise, the bus left at midnight sharp. As usual I had problems sleeping on the bus. I took off my face mask and covered my face with a shawl instead.
We stopped at Taiping rest area for twenty minutes to use the facilities before we continued on our journey. It turned out there was a group of young Arab men at the upper deck and they were heading for Langkawi (I overheard one of them telling so to the driver and asking if he could lower the AC).
So that was my short
trip to Georgetown. I would take the midnight bus again from Hentian Duta to
Butterworth and then the ferry across next time, InsyaAllah.
I arrived at Hentian Duta at a quarter to 11 p.m. and sat down to wait. I then went to the platform and asked which bus to board as there were two Maraliner buses passing Butterworth and departing at the same time and both were double decker. I then boarded and found my seat quickly - I had chosen the single seat in the front tow at the lower deck when I purchased the ticket.
To my pleasant surprise, the bus left at midnight sharp. As usual I had problems sleeping on the bus. I took off my face mask and covered my face with a shawl instead.
We stopped at Taiping rest area for twenty minutes to use the facilities before we continued on our journey. It turned out there was a group of young Arab men at the upper deck and they were heading for Langkawi (I overheard one of them telling so to the driver and asking if he could lower the AC).
We arrived at Penang Sentral before 04:15
and I sat down to wait for Subuh prayers. After prayers, I headed for the ferry
but I missed the 06:30 one and so had to wait about 30 minutes for the next
one. A ferry would bring me to the jetty in Georgetown thus saving me time and
the ticket cost less too at RM1.20 for a return trip.
The ferry crossing took about 15 minutes.
I walked into Georgetown from the jetty. It was a pleasant early morning walk
as there was hardly any traffic or people about and it wasn’t yet too hot for a
walk.
I decided to have breakfast at a Chinese
vegetarian restaurant and it was a good thing I did because the vegetarian
wantan noodle stall at the market was nowhere to be seen when I got to the
market. I browsed the market before heading for chee chong fun but it was sold
as takeaway so I decided not to have it after all.
I walked on to KOMTAR and found a seat to
rest before heading to 1st Avenue where I freshened myself up first in the bathroom.
I had not seen any CAT buses up to then and after waiting for one for 40
minutes (I had a thick novel with me to occupy me while waiting), I got up and
walked. It was time for a mid morning meal so I went to have a small bowl of
Penang laksa and ABC.
I decided to check if I could check in at
the budget hotel I’d booked at and headed there after buying a couple of
non-disposable face masks. The owner let me in and I was soon resting from the
sun in my room. I had a brief kip to make up for the sleepless night.
I headed out just before 18:00 and walked
to the Esplanade but turned away when I saw the super long queue for Hameed
Pata fried noodles. I decided I would skip dinner and have dessert instead so I
walked to Urban Artisan Cafe at Jalan Burma. I had to wait a while before I
could get seated as the cafe allowed a maximum of ten customers inside at any
one time and I didn’t feel like buying my ice cream as take away.
I returned to my room and rested.
I woke up early on Sunday and had a quick
shower. I left after morning prayers and walked to the jetty. It took about
twenty minutes to get there on foot and I made my way to the ferry platform. We
were boarding within 5 minutes after I got there.
I walked out of the terminal to find
breakfast and had nasi lemak at a small restaurant nearby. It was adequate.
Then I returned to the terminal to wait for my 09:00 bus (different operator).
The bus left at 09:15 and promptly stopped
outside the terminal before continuing on. I chose this bus operator because I
could get down at KL Sentral. I then took the MRT and walked back to micasa.
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