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.
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