Day Trip To JB

I was mulling going on a trip and after some consideration, I decided to take the bus to Johor Bahru (or JB as we call it) on 10 March 2023 as I reckon I could go to other places in Ramadan but not to JB and back in Ramadan (unlike Penang, I don’t feel like overnighting there). I bought the ticket for the bus leaving TBS at 08:30 and while the bus arrived on time, we only departed at 08:45 as we had to wait for three Chinese nationals who were late. Like hello, I bought the ticket because I wanted to leave then; if I had wanted to leave later, I would’ve purchased the ticket for the 09:00 bus. Inconsiderate buggers!

We stopped en route at Machap rest area to use the facilities and arrived at Larkin Sentral at 12:20. I went to find the ticket counter and had to pay RM2 to get the physical ticket (not sure why we have to go through this process – aren’t online tickets good enough?) before asking the lady at the Information Counter which bus I should take to JB Sentral. Apparently there is a free bus to JB Sentral if I was lucky or I could take the bus from platform A. I hurried out and the bus was waiting. The fare was RM1.80 and you have to pay in cash, no change given back. Or you could use a card but I didn’t ask. It took 30 minutes to reach JB Sentral – I was timing the duration.

I walked to find the old Railway Station (now a museum). Unfortunately, there was some construction work in front of the building. This station building was built in 1931. Prior to that, all train services operated from a small wooden building nearby. Then I wandered along the recently rejuvenated Sungai Segget which is now a tourist attraction. I turned and walked to Public Bank tower and took the walkway next to it to cut across to Jalan Trus.

I walked past the old Chinese Temple, down to Gurdwara Sahib and then the Hindu temple before crossing over to get a bottle of mineral water from Big Pharmacy.

After that, I headed up the hill to Sultan Ibrahim Building which used to house the State Secretariat. I had a sudden hunger pang and quickly walked to the vegetarian eatery opposite the Chinese Temple for some lunch.

Not sure what this building near Sultan Ibrahim Building is

After lunch, I continued down Jalan Trus and turned back to Jalan Wong Ah Fook to Broadway Cinema. Then I turned into Jalan Segget and Jalan Pasar, walked past Pasar Karat which was quiet as it was daytime. Back at Jalan Trus, I turned into Jalan Dhoby before turning into Jalan Pahang and then turned into Jalan Tan Hiok Nee which is lined by charming shops. There was some roadwork which spoiled things somewhat.

I then walked to the High Court, stopping en route at the Zero Kilometre mark. There was a small park nearby but it wasn’t very accessible with a drain around the area like a moat. I turned back and walked back to Jalan Tan Hiok Nee then continued up to Jalan Wong Ah Fook.

I walked up to Amari Hotel and enquired where the prayer room was. After prayers, I walked back to JB Sentral for the bus back to Larkin Sentral. The bus left at 16:00 and we reached Larkin Sentral before 16:30. I walked to the adjoining Larkin wet market to browse before returning to the bus terminal.

The bus was late and we only boarded at 17:15. And despite the bus being late, again we had to wait for passengers who were late. I felt like screaming at them. I didn’t buy the 17:00 ticket so that I could leave at 17:30 and yet that was what happened.

The traffic heading north was heavier and we only reached TBS at 22:22, i.e., almost five hours after we departed. We stopped en route to use the facilities and I bought a chicken burger and a sausage roll as I was feeling hungry then. I reached micasa after 23:30. This is one reason why I didn’t want to go to JB during Ramadan: the traffic would be heavier and I’d have to break my fast along the way and then come back and perform tarawikh and witir prayers.

I wouldn’t mind another trip to JB but not anytime soon.

Short Trip To Tawau

I was browsing for air tickets in mid-November 2022 and ended up buying return ticket to Tawau. It usually costs a lot to fly all the way there so I was chuffed when I managed to bag the ticket for less than RM480. The only ‘drawback’ was the early departure out of KUL of 07:30. It took me a while but I managed to get my nephew and niece and dad’s caregiver to help out in the end. Alhamdulillah.

My niece kindly agreed to send me to KL Sentral in the early morning of Sunday, 5 February 2023. I went to bed early the night before but sleep eluded me. I was already up at 03:45 and after a quick shower, we left. I bought bus ticket to KLIA and we arrived at 05:55. I went in immediately and headed for the lounge (I upgraded myself in mid-January) to perform prayers and then have some food.

I rushed to the gate and was the last to board (there were people ahead of me still boarding). I had my book with me and read it during the flight. We were given earphones to tune in to inflight entertainment (different earphones for iOS and Android) and we needed to use our own devices to access the inflight entertainment.

We landed at around 10:20 and after the immigration process, I browsed my options. I decided to take Grab to my hotel and the driver was already at the airport so I didn’t have long to wait. There were fruit sellers along the road and the fruits sold included durians! Not long after leaving the airport, we came upon a roadblock. I guess it was set up to weed out illegal immigrants.

We continued on and reached town centre after about 25 minutes. There was a Sunday market so there was heavy traffic leading to City Garden Hotel. We finally reached the hotel just after 11:00 and I was relieved and thankful that I managed to check in immediately. A RM50 refundable cash deposit was required at check-in. After a brief rest, I ventured out to check out the Sunday market (it would last until around 14:00). It was getting very hot, so hot that my bucket hat wasn’t sufficient. Alhamdulillah, I had the presence of mind to pack my small brolly and it helped somewhat to ward off the fierce Tawau sun. I noticed some van buses in front of Grace Plaza and found that one could ride in it to the airport and Semporna (fare cost RM25 and RM20 respectively even though Sempurna is much further). I returned to my room just after 14:00 to perform prayers and rest.

Van bus from Sabindo to the airport and Semporna

I went out again after 17:00 and seeing some smoke, headed there. There was an evening ‘open air food court’ near Jalan Persisiran and trust me, you won’t starve in Tawau! I continued on to the Tawau signboard (the name of town spelt wrongly in Jawi as Ta Wau instead of Ta Alif Wau Alif Wau or ﺗﺎواو). There were two people dressed up as Mickey Mouse and Pokemon and you can take photos with them and donate too. Ingenious way of earning money.

I walked from one end of Sabindo beach to the other end. There were anglers, people on rented bikes, there were people selling fruits and water, there were the visitors all out to enjoy the evening walk, and there were also some homeless people there (I suspect they were foreigners). The traffic on the road by the waterfront was also heavy. I then walked across the road to Masjid Al Khauthar before walking to the State Library, Tawau. The latter was a somewhat odd-looking building.

I had dinner at a restaurant diagonally across the street from my hotel. The moon was beautiful that night.

On Monday morning, I left the hotel and walked to Tanjung Market. The market sells everything from pots and pans to spices to Sabahan snacks, with sections for vegetables, fruits, poultry, fresh seafood, eggs and coffee on the ground floor. Dried seafood can be found on the first floor, and clothes and souvenirs can be found on the second floor. I spent an hour there.

I then walked to a pearl shop and spent about twenty minutes browsing but left empty-handed. I had spotted a beauty centre across the street and headed there. I told the girl at the counter that I wanted to do blood cupping and opted for ten cups (with two complimentary cups). Despite doing it when I went to Bintulu in June 2022, I still had a lot of ‘bad blood’ ;’(

After that, I went to find Mee Tauhu. I had seen a few restaurants advertising this on the way to the hotel the day before. I didn’t do any research and was expecting a bowl of noodles in clear soup with tofu in it. Well, I couldn’t be more wrong! After lunch, I headed back to Tanjung Market to buy some anchovies and coffee before returning to my room to perform prayers and rest.

I ventured out after 16:00 and braved the intense Tawau afternoon sun. It was insanely hot and bright. I wanted to find Pasar Gantung but it must’ve relocated and even after asking a couple of local women, I wasn’t satisfied. I returned to the open air food court, walked a bit along the waterfront but decided not to walk all the way along the waterfront. I must’ve been bitten by sandflies the evening before and was starting to get itches. I stopped at a small market and had some pandan coconut drink and beef balls. Dinner was had at another restaurant diagonally across the street from my hotel. It was better than the previous night’s dinner but my dining pleasure was interrupted by an annoying hovering fly. I didn’t sight the moon this evening – it was probably hiding behind the buildings.

On Tuesday morning, I left early and headed for the market again to buy some amplang. I then went to find breakfast and finally had a bowl of Makassar chicken soto. I then returned to my room, finished packing and checked out. After getting back my deposit, I walked to Grace Plaza for the van to the airport. We left after 15 minutes (after there were seven passengers). The driver stopped for petrol and we were stopped at a roadblock and one passenger was told to get down when he confessed he left his MyKad behind.

I didn’t remember there being a junction to the airport. Well, there is and it’s another three km from the junction to the airport. We reached the airport at 10:20 and after getting my boarding pass, I immediately went through security check and immigration.

The plane took off on time and we landed at 14:00, just enough time for me to catch the 14:22 KLIA Transit. Alhamdulillah for the rezeki and opportunity to visit a new place.

24 Hours In Penang

 A short trip to Penang in December was in order and I was considering taking the ETS as I didn’t think I could face being stuck on the highway. Then I thought of trying out MYAirline and was happy to find I could fly to Penang for RM49 one way (lower than taking the ETS!) so I quickly purchased return ticket. MYAirline only flew once daily to Penang at the time.

I took the 09:00 JetBus from TBS to KLIA2. Gosh, the last time I was there was in early March 2020 before the world closed down. The bus journey took about 50 minutes and I had ample time to walk around before going through security and walking to my gate. I even had time to perform dhuha prayers.

We took off just after noon – a slight delay from the ETD of 11:45 and we landed an hour later. I made my way to the bus stop and waited about 20 minutes for the bus to the city. It was a hot, bright and clear day and I even dozed off during the hour-long journey into the city. I went down at Lebuh Downing and walked to the Espalande Park food court. I was surprised to find a relatively short queue for Hamid Pata squid noodles. At last! I had tried getting the noodles the past two times I was in Penang (in July 2020 and December 2021) but the queue was just too dauntingly long. Alhamdulillah for the rezeki although at the end of my meal, I told myself that was the last time I had the noodles but they were too spicy for me.

I then walked on to McLane hotel (I actually walked past the road it was at and had to turn back). I checked in and rested after performing prayers. It was just too hot to venture out!

During my visit in July 2020...

I went out at 17:30 and walked around. Some shops were already closing and I remembered to look out for hairdressers as I was due for a haircut. Well, those I stopped to ask charged between RM20 to RM35.

I was trying to find a halal hokkien noodle stall (Rafi Hokkien Mee at Jalan Burma was no longer there) when I was approached by an immigrant. He said he needed money to buy milk for his kids so I gave him a red note. He said it wasn’t enough but I said that was all I could spare. I watched him go before I continued my walk. My dinner was a mixed berry bubble waffle at Urban Artisan.

On New Year’s Eve, I woke up early and after morning prayers, headed out. I first had vegetarian wan tan noodle soup before walking over to Aimi Lim Halal Hokkien Noodles at Toon Leong Coffee Shop. Alhamdulillah.

Love these stairs at Attic Hotel

I headed back to my room and finished packing. After my shower and prayers, I checked out and walked to KOMTAR bus terminal. I had to wait for half an hour before the bus arrived. It took a shorter time to get to the airport and I only found out after clearing security that the plane was delayed by 30 minutes.

I wasn’t impressed with the queue to enter the boarding room – perhaps it was because the boarding room was glassed over. We finally boarded and took off shortly after.

So that was a quick trip to Penang and I got to try out a new airline too. Alhamdulillah for the rezeki and opportunity. 

The Year That Was: 2022

Well, 2022 was another challenging year. Restrictions started being lifted but the Covid threat still lingered. We took the third dose in January and my dad and I had a switch – after two doses of Pfizer, he received AZ for his third dose while I received Pfizer after two AZ doses.

Russia attacked Ukraine and the rest of the world sat back and didn’t do much. Refugees from Ukraine got better treatment though than Syrians, Palestinians and the Rohingyas fleeing their homeland, and definitely more coverage than the Uyghurs.

Dad’s health started deteriorating in end-March after a trip to the clinic to change his catheter. He became unresponsive and forgetful and was content to just lie down. He refused to eat. My sister and I thought he was at death’s door and finally after I shared his update with my Pinoy friend, I searched for doctor on call and was surprised to find such a service existed here. He received treatment and started getting slightly better but we cannot leave him alone any more on his own and so we had to find a caregiver. I was tasked to contact, ‘interview’ and appoint one. A brief trial was conducted followed by an agreement which we renewed every quarter. Alhamdulillah, dad’s caregiver is quite reasonable and he is willing to stay in (at additional cost) every time I was away or went back to micasa.

For weeks after dad fell ill, I was unable to sleep soundly. He would call out to me during the night – to go to the bathroom, to ask me to make him coffee (we don’t drink coffee, I don’t have coffee at home), etc. It got so bad that I went to the clinic and ask for sleeping pills because I didn’t know how much longer I could function with so little sleep and rest. I also have to do so much more at home from bathing dad when the caregiver is not around, clothing him and putting on diaper, helping him perform ablutions, helping him go to the bathroom and all the shit work it entails. And of course I have to wash up twice the amount what I used to do before. My workload at home has increased by 50% and I still have to look after two houses.

Then dad had a fall in end-July and fractured his left arm. Like I told him, be thankful that it was his left arm and not right arm, be thankful that he fractured his arm and not his hips, and be thankful that he didn’t hit his head when he fell or suffer a stroke. The old me would be surprised at the current me. The current me tries to look at the bright side and count my blessings.

Arsenal missed the Champions League spot by two points. In summer, we signed Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Fabio Vieira, Matt Turner and Marquinhos. The new season kicked off and suddenly we were flying – oh we did stumble at Old Toilet to ManUre – but we picked ourselves up and shook it off. We were Christmas Number 1 and New Year Number 1. Alhamdulillah! Still, as many other Gunners, I’ve been disappointed far too many times and I’m not going to let this get to my head yet. We’ll take it one game at a time, thank you.

Another year came between me and Mummy and before I knew it, it had been a dozen years since she left.

There was the general election and this time, the lies and slander were worse than ever. So-called influencers resorting to TikTok to spread libel on certain parties. Pathetic scums!

I had two horrible gastritis attacks in early November and early December. As selfish as it may sound to some people, I’m definitely putting myself first from now on. I must take care of myself, my mental health, my spiritual health first. Of course it’s easier said than done when it comes to dealing with dad. But who will take care of me when I’m ill? And how can I take care of him if I’m ill?

2022 had many ups and downs (more downs than ups) but I choose to be thankful and grateful. I am grateful and thankful to be alive, for the good people in my life and angels sent my way, the lessons learnt from painful situations, for my awareness, for empathy received, for good and close friends and conversations shared, for making it this far and surviving, for my resilience, for laughter, for the ability to transform and change, for the beauty of nature, for new experiences, for quiet moments, for understanding, for rezeki, for good health and wealth, for the ability to still travel no matter how limited.

Yes, I was still able to travel and explore and although I’m still grounded from travelling abroad. My 2022 trips and explorations are as follows:

January: planned to go to a border town but got stuck in a traffic standstill along Karak Highway. It was already when I got there and I immediately took another bus to Genting from where I returned to KL

February: flew out to Langkawi after a delay of almost two years

March: visited the National Museum and National Textiles Museum with niece. Had to cancel a trip when dad became unwell.

April: flew to Kuala Terengganu. Visited Terengganu State Museum while I was there

May: train trips to Klang and Seremban

June: spent a weekend in Bintulu

July: explored my city, Kuala Lumpur. Visited Muzium Telekom

August: short weekend in Kuching and visited the newly opened Borneo Cultures Museum. Went on a day trip to Muar the following Caturday

September: took a train trip to Rasa then went on a trip to PLR with my nieces and nephew

October: department team building in Kuching

November: short trip to Alor Star where I visited the State Museum among others. On the last weekend, I flew to the East Coast for a brief weekend with my sister and family to attend my niece’s graduation ceremony

December: flew to Penang on MYAirline for an overnight visit right at the end of the year

I fell short of my annual reading target and only managed 147 books instead of 150. I guess my 2021 reading made up for it.

I had to cut down my morning walk but I walk further now – as I decided to take the train to work because the traffic jams were just too bad. So I guess that made up for it (hopefully). I have cut down somewhat on junk food.

Happy New Year 2023. There are people who are only properly awake after they’ve had their first cup of coffee for the day. I’m like that with New Years, it takes me a few days before I can properly acknowledge a new year and the whole stretch of days waiting ahead. Ugh.

May this year be a better kinder manageable year for us all. May we be strong to face come what may and may we choose to be positive and optimistic instead of negative and pessimistic. May Allah keep us safe in His care and bless us and keep us healthy and strong. May we be kind to everyone and every being. May we have a blessed year ahead. Ameen.

I don’t have specific New Year’s resolutions but the following sound good