I decided I should travel somewhere during the Malaysia Day weekend and bought ETS train ticket to Ipoh. I was dithering if I should revisit Georgetown or go elsewhere and finally decided to visit Kuala Perlis; after all, I was a small kid the last time I was in Perlis. So I cancelled the Georgetown accommodation (I actually booked rooms at two places!) and confirmed the Kuala Perlis room.
After my
physiotherapy session on the morning of Friday the 13th of September, I made my
way to KL Sentral for my 12:00 noon train to Ipoh. Because it was the last day
of school before school holidays, there were many people all waiting to board
the 14:55 Komuter Utara train for Georgetown. I decided to perform prayers then
instead of waiting until I arrived at Butterworth.
Well, the
train was packed to the rafters. At first, I stood by the door and I could
enjoy the breeze whenever the train stopped at the stations along the route.
After a while, I decided to move in and it turned out to be a wise move as I
managed to get a seat when passengers got down at some station. But my, the
train ride was like being in a sauna. It was hot and humid and the opened
windows didn’t help much. Things improved when we reached Bukit Mertajam where
the bulk of passengers disembarked. I only realised I could’ve and should’ve
just bought ticket to Bukit Mertajam instead of Butterworth then. Oh well.
We finally
reached Arau station at close to Maghrib. For some reason, there was no Maxim
car e-hailing service available in Perlis so I had to arrange for Grab. It took
about 20 minutes to reach CSH Motel and the ride cost RM21. I had to wait for
the motel owner to return from a shopping trip before I could check in. My room
was at the second floor and near the stairs. After depositing my bag, I went
out to get a bottle of mineral water and then had dinner at the restaurant next
door. The motel does provide a water dispenser on the first floor. After
dinner, I returned to my room and rested. It had been a long day of travelling.
I had earlier messaged the motel owner asking if he could help find me a driver
but he said it was difficult to find anyone among the locals. I then checked
Grab but it would cost me over RM100 to go to Wang Keliang for one way trip
(!).
I was woken
up by heavy rains during the night which lasted into the morning. Just as I was
able to leave and explore the town, it started raining again. I waited it out
and finally left after 10:00. I walked to the waterfront and as I was nearing
it, a group of men on big motorbikes came whizzing by and also stopped at the
waterfront. I walked on until I rounded the corner where the jetty was and
walked on to Tuanku Syed Putra Bridge. There were puddles from the rain so I
took a detour and walked through a compound to get to the bridge. I was
surprised at the crowd lining up the bridge and thought it must be because of
school holidays. Well, it turned out there was a regatta which was part of
Kuala Perlis Water Festival 2024. Last held in 2019, the water festival was to
take place from 12 to 15 September. I wonder if the rains dampened the festival.
In a way, it was a good thing I couldn’t find anyone to drive me to Wang Kelian
as the dark clouds and rain meant there wasn’t much of a view to be enjoyed.
I walked
back to my motel, it was only five minutes away and a good thing it was nearby
because it started raining which quickly escalated into a torrential downpour.
I rested and had a long nap. Dinner was had at the restaurant at the end of the
building block.
I slept
poorly on Saturday evening. It could be because of the long afternoon nap or it
could be because the heavy rain during the night woke me up. I finally gave up
trying to sleep and got up. Had a quick shower and performed prayers. I then
tried to arrange for a Grab driver at 05:40 but there was no response. I tried
again at 05:50. Still no response. I decided to perform morning prayers in my
room after all (the plan was to perform Subuh prayers at Arau KTM station).
Tried Grab again and one driver accepted but he was eleven minutes away and had
to drop off a passenger. I checked Google Maps. It told me it’d take 18 minutes
to get to Arau KTM station. And my train was at 06:39.
I went down
and waited for the car. It arrived at 06:25 and as if the driver understood
what was on my mind without me having to spell it out, drove like an F1 driver
all the way. He clocked 120 km/hour and I was praying hard in the backseat and
thankful that the tyres worked and had a good grip on the wet roads. We arrived
at Arau KTM station at 06:37 - after only 12 minutes! – and I jumped out with
my bag. Of course my carrier bag would chose to tear then so my water bottles
fell out. I hurriedly picked them up and rushed up the two flight of stairs (I
just couldn’t locate where the lift was anymore) and arrived at the concourse
level huffing and panting, just in time to hear the announcement about the approaching
train. I quickly scanned my electronic ticket and rushed into the opened lift
(thank you, kind sir, for holding it for me!) and the train arrived just as we
emerged from the lift. Talk about cutting it close! I thankfully boarded the
train, it was a newer train and just like the ones in KL.
I got down
and Bukit Mertajam this time and waited for my next train to Ipoh. It arrived
about five minutes later than scheduled, an older train with seats facing each
other, and we reached Ipoh at 11:15. I made my way out and walked to Dato’
Sagor Food Court and had mee kicap. I’d never had it before so was pleasantly surprised
that it came with a bowl of yong tau foo-like curry. I returned to Ipoh station
for my 12:05 train back to KL.
We reached KL Sentral at 14:39. Alhamdulillah.
