After Hulu Selangor, Kuala Selangor and Tanjong Malim, I decided to take the train to Pulau Sebang/Tampin on Saturday, 6 November. I rode the MRT to Kajang then changed for the Komuter train. The train was late by only a few minutes. There are only two train services daily that go all the way to Pulau Sebang so there were a lot of people on the train although most of them went down at stations before Pulau Sebang. We arrived around 11:30 and I walked into town.
For some strange reason, I found myself humming
‘Apo Nak Dikato’ when I was there. Never mind that I could barely recall the
lyrics.
Sawah leba, kobau banyak (sawah leba, kobau banyak)
Air pigi sojuk sekali (air pigi)
Sunyi sapo takdo oghang
Apo nak dikato
Kalau boleh nak bising-bising
Macam pokan Tampin
I didn’t quite find much that caught my eye and
after barely half an hour, decided to find the first bus out. Yes, bus, because
the next train out was the last service of the day and would only depart at
17:25. I saw some buses and made my way to the bus terminal. It was deserted at
first but when I sighted another bus, I returned to the bus station and there
were two buses to Seremban there.
I found out that the first bus would leave at 12:30
and so I hopped on it. The fare was RM6 and the bus took us into the heart of
Negeri Sembilan to Kota, Rembau, Pedas, then Senawang. We reached Seremban
Terminal 1 at 13:55 and I quickly went to find if there were any 14:00 bus back
to KL. The first bus was bound for TBS (no thanks) and the next bus to Central
Market was departing at 14:30 with no sign of the bus. So I turned back and
walked like mad to the train station. I had to follow a circuitous route to
check my temperature, scan the QR code and of course the train would have to be
at another platform. The train arrived just as I was panting my way and I
hurried as fast as my legs could take me, taking the stairs two at a time. I
couldn’t run so I tried to walk faster and I was on the bridge, across it and
then down the stairs and dare I hope it? Yes, I made it somehow and almost
collapsed onto the first vacant seat I found. After catching my breath, I saw
another vacant seat in the next coach and changed seats. I rode the train all
the way to Mad Valley.
It was an all too brief visit to Pulau Sebang and Tampin but I didn’t regret making the trip. And no, Tampin wasn’t a noisy town at all. The usual traffic noise and hustle and bustle of a town but that was it.
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