Saturday, May 03, 2008

Bus ride to Johor Bahru.

On 30th April 2008 morning we left Klang in a bus for Johor Bahru . Our mission was to drive back Farin's car to Shah Alam , where she would be attending her internship .I felt so relax travelling in a bus because I did not have to be alert like I was driving .I could read the newspaper and I could continue reading the recent book that I bought ' Growing Up In Trengganu ' by Awang Goneng @ Wan A.Hulaimi . Awang Goneng @ Wan A.Hulaimi ,is a London based Malaysian writer .It is the story of his childhood in Trengganu . The book has been selling like hot cakes in Malaysia ,Singapore and Brunei as well as in London .We reached Skudai at about 2.00 pm. and Farin picked us up from the bus station . She could not follow us to JB because she had yet to pack her things . So she drove us back to her campus. Probably she was too busy with her exams and her last paper was only completed at 1.00 pm that same day . We offered to help her pack her things but she suggested that we should go on our own to my mother in-law's place and she could pack by herself . She also told us that she had been shortlisted for an interview with Shell Company on 2nd May 2008 at Shell HQ at Damansara Heights ,KL and so we had no choice but to go back on the 1st.May. Apparently ,Shell is beginning recruiting final year students to fill up some positions in the company for next year. The post Farin is eyeing for is the Instrumentation Engineer .
I drove Farin's car to my mother in-law's place but on the way we stopped for about an hour at my sister in-law's place at Bandar Baru Uda . We reached my mother in-law's place at about 4.30 pm. The frail looking elderly lady was delighted and surprised to see us as we did not inform her of our coming . She was almost confined to her tiny room at the back of the house as she could not walk without the aid of a walking stool . Probably due to that too she never got out of her house even to her daughter's houses which are not very far away from hers . Like our previous visits we invited her to come to our house in Klang but she always gave all sorts of excuses not to leave her house .
The most striking observation that I made this time was not on my mother in-law but rather on my brother in-law , Ghani . He had lost weight tremendously . I asked him what made him lost so much weight and he told me that he did not know . But on further questioning finally he admitted that he was suffering from high blood pressure , excessive sugar in his blood ( diabetic ) and some kidney complications . I asked him whether he sought treatment and he admitted he did not . I then advised him to seek treatment early so that the doctor could diagnose him , but he simply brushed aside my advice as if he was not interested in living any more .
For the night we wanted to check in at the Crystal Crown Hotel , my favourite hotel each time I come to JB .Unfortunately there was a black out at the hotel and because of that we shifted into another hotel , the Sri Malaysia at Larkin, JB . The shift proved that we had made the right choice . Not only that it was cheaper , it was also in the vicinity of some food centres where there were varieties of food to choose from . We had dinner at one of the food centres and the food was simply marvellous . I told my wife that in the future I would always stay in Sri Malaysia Hotel every time I come to JB .
Every time time I come to JB , I would normally not miss eating ' mee rebus Johor ' . It is so difficult to get good 'mee rebus Johor ' in KL/Klang/Shah Alam . I told my wife that I would not leave JB without having my 'mee rebus Johor' first .So the next day we stopped by at the Angsana shopping complex in Bandar Baru Uda to have our mee rebus . At last I had my wish fulfilled .
After picking up Farin and her friend at her campus we left JB at about 1.00 pm . I drove the car through out the journey .No untoward incidents happened on the way and we reached home safely at about 5.30 pm.

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