The Land Of White Gold: Part II

Sunday, 24 December 2017

I woke up early and went to the lobby to access WiFi. Nit and I then went down for breakfast and my, what a lovely spread it was that awaited us! I’m a firm believer of breakfasting like a king and ate accordingly. We then met up with Elzod and began our tour.

Breakfast spread. Note the ceramic plates by the wall. The teapot, tea and coffee cups and even plates bear cotton motifs (cotton is the white gold of Uzbekistan). They do love their meat and the humble nan bread (in the basket) accompanies all Uzbek meals

We crossed over to The Ark which is a massive fortress which was a mini-town way back when. It was the used as a fortress to protect the city until the Battle of Bukhara when the Red Army invaded the city. There is a mosque, a hall to receive guests, stable and some museums. We also had a good view over the city from the fortress.

After spending some at The Ark, we crossed over to Bolo Hauz Mosque (bolo means children) and had a look inside. We then made our way to Chasma Ayub Mausoleum. After that, we walked past Saminid Shrine before taking two taxies in our search for Plov rice, which is the national dish of Uzbekistan. Alas, it being a Sunday, we were not successful and finally we had an inadequate lunch at Moxi Chechri Xamon Restaurant. The restaurant was clearly expecting a large group of diners but was unable to cook up any substantial meal for us apart from some soup and salad.

We took a cab to the bazaar and spent about an hour there before returning back to the hotel. The day had started turning overcast by now. We ventured out again in the early evening and had dinner at a restaurant near Bolo Hauz Mosque. It was here when I heard the call to prayer for the first time (Isya’ prayers) in Uzbekistan. Elzod had told us that call to prayers are not made loudly over there due to government regulation. How sad when Muslims made up the majority of the population! We had a satisfying meal, including a plate of noodles cooked according to Uyghur style; however, I had a lot of wind in my tummy and had a tummy ache not unlike gastritis and did not particularly enjoy my dinner. As there were leftovers, we asked the restaurant to pack the chicken and noodles for us.

Monday, 25 December 2017

We were supposed to leave early this morning so we went down for breakfast at 7. Nit brought down the chicken and noodles from the previous dinner and asked the kitchen staff to help heat them up for us. We left just after 8 – Nit was running late as usual and I had to help wheel her suitcase to the stairs and asked Elzod to help lug it down (no lifts in the hotel). It was an overcast morning. We drove to Bakhautdin Naqshband (Bahouddin Nakshbandi) Mausoleum just outside Bukhara. He was an important sufi figure who established the Nakshbandi sufi order. We spent about 45 minutes here before driving on to Samarqand, stopping twice for restroom and then to refuel.

We arrived in sunny Samarqand at 12:30. Samarqand is the third largest city in Uzbekistan but is more crowded than Bukhara. We were caught in the lunchtime rush hour and it took a while before we reached Konstantin Hotel. Our travel agent back in KL had advised that our hotel in Samarqand was supposed to be Regal Palace Hotel but I didn’t say anything as I thought the plans had changed. We had checked in and enjoyed some hot tea and coffee when Elzod told us that we had checked into the wrong hotel. The hotel he had on his info sheet was Konstantin Hotel. Elzod then spent some time discussing with the reception and on the phone with his office to settle the issue. Finally it was decided that we would spend one night there and check out the next day.

We then took a cab to a very near Zafar Restaurant for lunch. There were a lot of people in the restaurant and a few of them even got up to dance to the music. After lunch, we went to a nearby supermarket before crossing over to the Museum of History and Culture. Elzod was keen to bring us to the bazaar but having experienced the bazaar in Bukhara just the day before, we were not too keen to visit another one. Besides, we would be visiting a bazaar in Tashkent and the museum is just around the corner from our hotel that it’d be a shame if we didn’t visit it. We could learn a lot from museum visits too. So we paid 17,000 Uzbekistani Som (UZS; USD1 ~ UZS8,050) for the ticket and an additional UZS5000 each for our cameras. We spent about an hour in there before returning to the hotel.

We ventured out in the evening in search of dinner. We went to Zafar Restaurant but left shortly after. Elzod then told us there would be some strippers coming to the restaurant and he didn’t want to be a part of it. We finally had dinner at Bogishamol Café. It looked like a fast food restaurant but still served us soup, salad, nan bread and lemon tea.

To be continued

The Land Of White Gold: Part I

I have always wanted to visit Central Asia and as my plan to visit another region failed to materialise as neither of the two travel agents that normally organise trips there had it on offer for the last week of December, I decided it was time to visit Uzbekistan. I contacted a travel agent and was informed that it could arrange a tour for at least two people and then persuaded Nit, a colleague, to come along for the trip. We had to pay a slightly higher price for the tour package as the usual airline allocation had sold out and had to go on the next higher economy fare. The first payment was made to secure the air ticket while the balance was made about a month before departure. We then had to fill up visa application form and provide two photos for this purpose and the travel agent then submitted our application to the embassy.

Friday, 22 December 2017

I had spent the evening before at Akak’s place and my nieces drove me to Putrajaya station just after 08:30 for the KLIA Transit train to KLIA. I used my card to buy the ticket at the kiosk to enjoy the 10% discount off ticket price and then sat to wait for the train. The check-in counter at KLIA for Uzbekistan Airways is at counter M and I was queuing with other fellow travellers before long and used the time to observe the exotic locals. I then went in immediately and browsed some boutiques before heading for my gate.

The flight took off an hour later than scheduled. I was not happy with my assigned seat and moved places twice (I had just sat at row 20 when two girls came up breathless having just boarded the plane *opps* and had to move again, to row 13 this time). There were a lot of families in that section and I wondered if that was why I was assigned to the back row.

I couldn’t sleep but of course and spent time reading my book and the inflight magazine, which turned out to be a good thing for it was full of information on the country. Prior to landing, we had to fill in two copies of landing form (one copy will be retained by the customs officer while the other copy is to be kept by passenger until he departs the country) where among others we have to declare all foreign currencies brought in (this is because the Uzbek Government doesn’t want precious foreign currencies leaving the country), the jewellery brought in and any electrical equipment brought into the country. I went to ask a cabin crew twice on how to fill up the form and left detailed instructions to Nit on how to fill it as she was sleeping every time I went to check on her.

We landed at 17:15 local time (Uzbekistan is three hours behind) and had to be ferried to the terminal building by buses. I tried looking out for Nit but didn’t see her even until after I had collected my suitcase and cleared the customs. It turned out that she had cleared immigration and customs ahead of me and was already waiting outside. I dithered if I should change some money at the airport before deciding not to.

Our young guide, Elzod, was already waiting for us and we were heading out of the airport before long to the city. There was a traffic jam heading out of the airport which we managed to shrug off after a while. We were taken to a local restaurant for dinner (tomato and cucumber salad and some meat on a skewer and lemon tea) before we were driven to Hotel Uzbekistan to check in. Our room was huge and overlooked Amir Timur Square. The hotel (and subsequent hotels) did not provide electrical kettle in the room – good thing Nit brought one in her huge suitcase – or tea/coffee for guests. I went to bed after performing prayers as I was too knackered and I didn’t manage to doze off during the flight. Plus we had an early morning start.

Saturday, 23 December 2017

I woke up at a quarter to 5 and took a shower. After packing up, we left and went to check out. The front desk returned our passports and gave a slip which we needed to keep. Elzod had told us to be ready by 6 and although we had informed the front desk that we wanted a packed breakfast, we ended up waiting for 20 minutes before it was ready. It was a good thing that the roads were clear and we reached the domestic airport in good time. After checking in, we went in and waited for our flight. I had gotten hungry and had the pear which was in the breakfast pack.

We had to take a bus to our plane which was an ATR aircraft. I was hoping for a sandwich and some warm drink during the flight but we were only served a cup of soda each. We landed at Bukhara Airport at 9 and waited a while for our bags before walking out and taking a taxi to Caravan Hotel. It felt somewhat colder in Bukhara that morning compared to Tashkent even though we arrived in Tashkent in the evening. Elzod had informed that we would begin our tour in Bukhara at noon but when I met him later at the lobby when I was utilising the WiFi (only available at the hotel lobby and not in the room. This and the faint unpleasant smell in the bathroom are my only complaints about this hotel), he said we could commence our tour an hour earlier so we left at 11 for the old town nearby. We first went to Kalyan Mosque, Kalyan Minaret aka Death Minaret because criminals were pushed off the minaret back then to their death, and Miri Arab Madrasah. The madrasah is still functioning to this day; unfortunately, women are not allowed inside. We also visited a few other nearby madrasahs which no longer function as madrasahs but instead housed shops. We also walked past the bazaar before having lunch at the restaurant of Lyab-I Hauz.

Hotel courtyard

After lunch, we continued walking to the older parts of the old town before returning to the hotel to rest. I saw some hostels and budget hotels but Elzod told me the hostels are for local travellers. We went out again at 18:30 and took a cab to Cho Xona Chinor Restaurant (cho = tea and xona = place so it literally translates to Tea House) for dinner. We had mastovo soup and nan bread (this and salad are a must for all Uzbek meals!).

To be continued

The Year That Was: 2017

2017 was another year that started slow enough but sped along somewhere along the way and before I knew it, the year was almost gone. It was another year full of challenges, trials and tribulations, sweat and tears, and at times testing, tiring and trying. As usual, the headlines focused on natural catastrophes and disasters, calamities, displacements, tragedies, the continuing senseless war in Syria, starvation in Yemen, war against IS and terrorism, and the debate over global warming (it’s real, accept it and deal with it already!). There were also the news of the mass exodus of the Rohingyas, the uncovering of the sexual harassment and rape by Harvey Weinstein and the never-ending hilarious statements by the President of the U Ass if you care to be bothered to follow his tweets. We also have our own comedy right here involving money (lost but of course), poor governance and financial mismanagement. After all, those are what made the headlines: sensational, disturbing, shocking, mind-numbing news.

I continued following some accounts/pages on Twitter, IG and Facebook to have an idea of the world and its happenings but that’s about it. I’m hardly on FB otherwise. Alhamdulillah, I managed to equal my previous year’s reading total of 150 books and spent almost every night reading the Quran, especially Yassin for Mummy and those who had departed and a couple of other surahs. I would admit to stumbling from the straight and narrow every now and then and am continuing to be a better Muslimah.

I had to take more emergency leave as my dad’s health started failing which meant I took more leave compared to the year before. Alhamdulillah, I still managed to squeeze in some trips:

January: Had office teambuilding in Cherating during the third weekend then flew to Dubai via Cochin, India, on the first day of Chinese New Year before travelling overland to Oman

February: Came back from Oman and a few days later, spent Thaipusam weekend at Tanjong Jara Resort

March: Didn’t manage any trips

April: Spent a short weekend in Penang then flew out to Warsaw at month-end

May: Came back from Europe after brief pitstops in Paris and London

June: Didn’t manage to make any trip ;’(

July: Flew to Sydney to meet Arsenal

August: Didn’t manage to make any trip ;’(

September: Trip to Kota Bharu and returned to Pangkor Laut Resort

October: Trip to Singers

November: Day trip to Kuala Pilah

December: Year-end trip to Uzbekistan

Arsenal won the FA Cup again and as mentioned above, I flew to Sydney to meet them. But I’ve not been pleased with them thus far this season and have stopped being emotionally invested in them. After all, there are a lot of other things more important in life in the larger scheme of things anyway: death, life, good health, wealth, a strong iman, love. I do catch the occasional match but I have stopped following them as fervently as I used to.

I have continued cutting down on chicken and meat consumption but can’t quite stop eating junk food. I continued my morning walks and have even taking to jogging 4 km on every other Sunday. Whenever I do that, I feel like collapsing and throwing up but boy, does it feel so good after that. I walk an average 5 km daily (even more on weekends) and take short cat naps during lunchtime after some reading. I continue carrying my water bottle and shopping bags almost everywhere. I aim to shop only for quality brands now and not waste money on lower quality goods which won’t last long anyway. I want to eat healthily (save for the occasional junk food craving) and purchase food items just enough that I don’t run the risk of wasting them. I think even Jamie Oliver said it’s better to buy in small quantities if you’re cooking for a small number. Sure, it would be economical to buy in larger quantities but what’s the point if you’re going to end up wasting them? I also want to continue trying to be a responsible and environmentally-aware citizen of the earth and traveller.

Anyway, Happy New Year 2018. May this year bring us all much joy, happiness, love, iman, good health, wealth, success and prosperity, peace and good fortune. May we be strong enough to face come what may, insyaAllah and amen.

Sometimes Words Just Ain’t Enough

Sometimes I want to share things here but can’t quite find the words to string my thoughts together. Sometimes I have disjointed thoughts. Sometimes I get overwhelmed that it is all I can do to stop myself from screaming out loud (well, actually, I do that sometimes too: scream out loud but with no sound coming out. I call it screaming out loud in silence).

Sometimes I have so many things to say but can’t express myself. Sometimes I hold myself back because I think I already have talked too much. Sometimes I think too much and I don’t want to do that. Overthinking and over-worrying, that’s not healthy because sometimes they rob me off sleep and I don’t and should not stress myself with things I can’t control (easier said than done!).

How easy it would be to have selective telepathy ability where I don’t have to say anything but the other person can just read my mind to a certain extent. Then no one would have arguments that go along, ‘Well, I can’t read your bloody mind!’ and ‘Oh, am I supposed to be a mind-reader now?!’

Sometimes words aren’t necessary but sometimes they just ain’t enough.

P.S. Excuse this post. I’m having those disjointed thoughts again and yes, sometimes it’s just better to just keep quiet and that’s why I’ve been quiet the past few weeks. Happy New Year 2018 and oh what a drag it is to face and endure another long whole year all over again.

Of Mice And Men

We’ve been having mice problems of late: it wouldn’t be long where we finally managed to catch one that we sighted yet another making its merry way around the kitchen. These disgusting rodents scare me, yes, albeit their comparatively much smaller size compared to moi. I hate and detest and feel disgusted with them. We’ve also been having black ant problems (they migrated from the rambutan tree (at one point there were fire ants at the rambutan tree) to the rose apple tree outside the porch). Sometimes these ants enter the house and build nests - a few months ago, I belatedly discovered a colony in the kitchen drawer where we store drinking glasses.

I had broached the idea of pest control to dad but he dismissed the idea saying that such activity uses dangerous poison that’s harmful to health. After setting a trap on Tuesday evening and successfully catching a mouse the following morning (and having to dispose of the body *euwww* *ugh* *disgusting*), I decided it was high time I called pest control. So I browsed and selected Ikari, a joint venture with a Japanese company and, equally important, located in Pandan Indah and called them. I must say I wasn’t impressed at first with the person who took the call and the lady she passed the call to who promised a sales consultant would call me shortly. I waited a couple of hours and rang the company again, this time asking to speak to a sales consultant. I was lucky to be put through to Darren who promised to come over the same evening, even though I told him I’d likely be free only after 19:30 after performing prayers.

Darren told me he was in Subang Jaya when I informed I was already home and that he would come the following evening. However, 40 minutes later, he rang and said he was back at the office and could come over if I still wanted him to. I agreed and he arrived at 20:35. We did a simple internal site inspection but as it was already dark, he would come and do a second inspection, external inspection this time. He also shared info about the disgusting rodents, the baits Ikari uses and that the company uses poison of class IV toxicity that even if domestic cats accidentally eat baits meant for rodents, there won’t be any side effect. I told him I agreed to engage his company’s services and we agreed he would come again on Saturday.

Darren arrived at 09:50 on Saturday and we did external site inspection. He then made another internal inspection before proceeding to spray the house. I helped move some furniture to make his access easier around the house perimeter. Then we set some mouse baits and I helped him fold the bait casings. After all that, he went out to spray the external perimeter before spraying the rose apple tree. I asked if I could try my hand at it and he said sure. The spray pumped from an eight-litre container and I could only offer to try it then when it was about a quarter full.

Before he left, Darren asked me about my circumstances. I told him I’m staying with dad and looking after him after Mummy passed. He said he’s also doing the same thing with his mum after his dad passed. He then said that no matter what religion we believe in and follow, he believes all religion teach the same thing and about caring and respecting our parents. He told me he’s also the youngest in the family with the oldest brother not giving a damn about the family. The sister also didn’t care about the mother but is now regretting her past actions. Then he said he was actually closer to his dad than his mother and he felt that it is God’s will that he lost the parent he was closer to and now has to care for the parent who used to beat him. I told him that I was also closer to my mum and it is hard for me to share things with my dad and maybe that’s God’s plan for us: for us to be close to the parent we still have remaining, to improve our relationship and to care for the remaining parent. It is our duty, I concurred, although I know my sister and sometimes I too feel aggrieved, angry and resentful that my older brothers have happily washed their hands off dad. One brother actually cared for his precious mother-in-law for years when she had stroke and now that old woman has not only recovered from the stroke but is able to carry out chores and cook again for customers. Seriously, WTF is that? You can care for your mother-in-law but you can hardly come and spend three days in total in a year with dad? That’s a seriously fucked up attitude, dude.

I told Darren I don’t want to concentrate on what my brothers haven’t been and aren’t doing although there are times when I feel the unfairness bearing on me. I feel overwhelmed and not strong enough to face the challenges of caring for an elderly parent. Darren said we should forget about other people, that he believes in karma, that he believes we will die an easy death knowing that we have tried our best and done our part and that these uncaring siblings will get their lot later on in life. I agreed and said we should continue doing what we can to the best of our ability.

Darren also said from his brief observation and acquaintance with me that he found me a helpful caring person (my little help to ease his work – actually I was just trying to help and speed up the process!) and that most clients wouldn’t care to do that. He said he believed I’m a caring warm person and I would try my best for my dad. Imagine such praises from someone you just met! Even those who know me better and longer find it hard to give me any compliments.

I thanked Darren again for his kind words and for his service, for helping me fight my rodent and ant nightmare even though it was his off day and for managing to fit me in so soon after my call to Ikari. We may have started as service provider and client and total strangers but I believed we parted as friends. We also gave each other encouragement and I reminded him to take good care of himself, for how we take care of anyone if we are ill ourselves? We have to take care of ourselves first before we can care for another and that’s not being selfish but logical and practical. In the aeroplanes, the emergency procedure always stresses that you must put on the oxygen mask on yourself first before attending to others for how can you be of help if you attend to others first and then suffocate as you try to attend to yourself?

~~~~~~~~

I told my sister late last night that none of my brothers had better be saying that I’ve not been taking care of dad. I’ve done so for the past 7 years and counting. It’s not that I want to be calculative but I want them to realise that I’ve done more than they ever will. Have they ever offered to take care of dad? NO. NOPE. NADA. Not for 7 months, not for 7 weeks and not even for 7 days. So don’t anyone try to bitch about me when all these years I try my best when they haven’t. You think it’s easy living with an octogenarian parent who’s a worrier warrior, always anxious and terribly paranoid? I miss my old life living by myself in micasa. It’s so much nearer for me to commute to/fro work staying at micasa (a 10-minute walk to the bus station compared to almost double that duration in Ampang) but it was expected that I would move back home when Mummy left so that I can look after dad because hey, I’m the only one still unmarried. But this does not absolve you of your own role and responsibility, this doesn’t mean you can happily and guiltlessly wash your hands off. Did anyone care about what I wanted or if I have any options? Did anyone ask to help apart from Akak? Did anyone ever ask how I’m doing? Did anyone ever enquire how I’m coping or if I am coping at all? Did anyone ever offer to hire a full-time nurse to look after dad? Did anyone realise I have my own life to live too? So don’t begrudge me when I go on my occasional trips. I have my own life to live too and I’m not going to put my life on hold. Don’t talk about sacrifices and consideration and responsibility when you haven’t even demonstrated a shred of any of that. He’s not just my father but yours too. So before anyone points a finger at me, think of the four fingers pointing back at you.

In the meantime, I would appreciate it if you, my two dear readers, could please pray for my dad’s recovery. Thank you.

Tired, Tried And Tested

The past few weeks have been testing, tiring and trying. First of, my sister had a major surgery. I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t help care for her in her recovery. I only managed to visit her with some black fish essence and then bought some body support for her. Still, I was worried and prayed hard for her speedy recovery.

Then last Tuesday, my dad had chest pains. He went to the clinic and was advised to go to the hospital. He went home, took some under-the-tongue medication and was sweating profusely later in the same afternoon. My neighbour decided to call an ambulance for him and I got home in time to accompany him to Hospital Ampang. He started displaying symptoms which I later learnt were normal of someone suffering from prostrate problems. They ran some tests on him and after a four-hour wait, he was cleared to go home. I did ask if it would be better for him to be admitted instead so that the doctor and nurses could have him under observation but was told there was no need for him to be admitted.

We got home at close to midnight and I spent the next hour cleaning up (he threw up and I had to wash the floor mat too), clearing away the half-peeled garlic on the dining table, clearing up and storing dishes in the fridge, bringing out the rubbish (the collectors come very early on the designated mornings) and last but not least, folding clothes and storing them. I had to take emergency leave to monitor him on Wednesday.

On Friday evening, he started having problems urinating. He would go to the bathroom every 20 minutes or so and he couldn’t sleep as he kept having to get up. On Saturday, I checked online resources and suspected he had prostrate problems so I checked the over-the-counter options before going to the pharmacy. His situation worsened on Sunday where he had the urge to urinate every 15 minutes. Finally in the evening, I told him we should go to the hospital but he was afraid if he would need to urinate when we were on the way and decided to go instead on Monday. He then said that he felt better but was feeling pain in another part. Seriously, I was at my wit’s end by then.

On Monday, my neighbour helped drive him to the clinic. The doctor gave some medication and we went back only for dad to remember that he forgot to tell the doctor about his enlarged tummy, on the right-hand side. So again we had to ask our neighbour to help rush him to the clinic (the clinic closes during lunchtime at 13:00. Yes, how inconvenient). The doctor did a simple ultrasound and said there was a lump. I felt like fainting then. He said he couldn’t do anything and urge us to go to the hospital. He suggested Hospital Ampang reasoning there was no need to go to expensive Ampang Puteri hospital. I then rang my sister to ask her opinion. I just felt so alone and helpless and incapable of deciding.

We left for Ampang Puteri after 15:00 and were at the emergency area by 15:15. I had to wheel him around with one shoulder toting the bag which I’d packed in case he had to be admitted. He was attended to shortly and the staff stuck a tube so that he could urinate into the tube. Before long, the tube had filled up.

A nurse helped wheeled him to the ultrasound area. I had to wait outside. Then we went up to the urologist clinic and had to wait about an hour before the doctor saw us. He was thorough in his explanation. He also said that dad could go home. When I asked if it would be better for dad to just be admitted for observation, he said there was no need to do so. He then set an appointment for next Tuesday.

I went to perform prayers before settling the bill, collecting the prescribed medicine and then waiting for the Grab driver to come collect us. We were home by 19:15.

Yesterday, dad complained that the bag seemed empty, the urine didn’t seem to flow into it. I really had no idea and was clueless. My sister came later in the morning and took him back to Ampang Puteri. It turned out there’s a switch at the tube and it was locked hence preventing the urine from flowing into the bag. Like duh. My sister then brought dad back to her house, yes, in her still recuperating condition. It’s a good thing my nieces are around to help.

As for my brothers, the less I said about them, the better.

Dear Allah, it’s been such a testing, trying and tiring time alright.

A Short Trip

I had been planning this trip since September following a tip from my colleague. I decided to make the trip last Saturday as I already had plans for my weekends up to then.

I had wanted to leave micasa at 07:15 (yes!) but I only managed to leave half an hour later. I just about managed to catch the bus as it was leaving the station to the city hall. From there, I walked to Puduraya. I knew there are direct buses going to where I was heading (fare at RM10) but as none was at the platform yet, I decided to ride the bus to Seremban first and changing buses there. And it was a good decision for the bus departed within five minutes. The fare to Seremban was RM6.

We reached Seremban an hour later at 09:30. I was directed to the Bahau-bound bus stand (when I looked closely, the bus at the next bus stand would also stop at Kuala Pilah). I had just missed the 09:20 bus (the bus was at 10:00). The advertised fare was RM6.xx to Bahau (so it could be less for Kuala Pilah)and as I only had RM4 in small change, I went to ask some counters if they could break my note but no one was willing to help. I turned back and a chap asked me where I was heading. I said, ‘Kuala Pilah,’ and he told me the bus he was selling tickets for (Gopi Bus) was heading there. And the fare was exactly RM4. The bus left within a couple of minutes so I was lucky again.

We pulled into Kuala Pilah bus station less than an hour later. It turned out that it was a good decision to depart when I did as the shops were only opening. I walked to the main road, Jalan Dato’, and walked along it to visit the gold shops there. Like I said before, it was still early morning but there were already quite a few customers at the shops. And guess what, the gold there is only RM169/gram! Lower than in KB!

There were perhaps half a dozen shops in total so I didn’t spend too long there. I ventured to the market and Masjid Jamek Yamtuan Raden before turning back. I noticed two shops selling pet food and bought some cat food at the second shop before returning to the bus station just before noon. I bought a ticket for a bus to KL and as the bus was only due at 12:30, I went to check out the farmers’ market down a flight of stairs from the bus station. The sellers were mainly packing up then.

A couple of local sleepyheads

Must say the town is pretty well-linked

Our bus came early and we left at 12:28. Despite lagging behind some lorries, we managed to reach Seremban by 13:30. Unfortunately, those of us bound for KL had to change buses. The bus to KL was due to depart at 13:40 but left a couple of minutes later no thanks to last-minute passengers. And where I was lucky before, I was not as lucky on the return leg. The traffic out of Seremban was a nightmare! It didn’t help that we had to pass some traffic lights and junctions. We only entered the highway at 14:10 and then we had to endure another slow-moving traffic trying to enter KL. While it was an hour-long trip to Seremban, it was a 90-minute trip back to KL and it made me wonder why everyone was heading for KL.

Despite this, I will be back. Not so soon though as I have to wait until I’m flush and it must be outside of school holidays and festive seasons. Not in January-March, maybe not April either. May and June are fasting and Eid months so it might be in July 2018. My birthday month, how apt! Oh well, I’m in no hurry (I just hope the gold price will hold on until then!). Although there is that stupid traffic nightmare out of Seremban to endure all over again, it still beats any bus trip to KB.