Day 1. Apr 30, 2014 - KL Sentral (2230) - JB Sentral (0618), Senandung Sutera, AFC Premier Class, S4 Seats 8B-C
Both of us arrived early at KL Sentral. Along accompanied Sam and the three of us walked around the new Nu Sentral shopping complex. Tenant wise still work in progress. This trio was planned primarily because I wanted to ride the Express Rakyat from the originating station until the last, which was Butterworth. So we were at the KL Sentral to board Sinaran Malam to JB and a night in JB visiting Sam’s best friend before taking the Express Rakyat the next day.
After dinner and prayers, we went to the KTMB’s VIP waiting lounge on the 3rd Floor. We walked into the lounge together with two ladies that were going down to Singapore. The lounge was quite spacious but nothing much in terms of facilities. Nevertheless comfortable and we took one whole corner to yourself.
We were about to go down to board at 10.25 pm when an announcement came on air to announce that the train was delayed. Those that wish to cancel their travel could go to counter 2 for their refund or change to another date. Hearing this I said to myself this must be a long delay. Upon enquiry the attendant at the VIP lounge told us the northbound train from Singapore, our train, had just had an accident at Tampin. How bad I asked. ‘ Well. the train had just hit a ‘kerbau’ (water buffalo)’. Ok, I said with a laugh, ‘Langgar kobau rupo eh’ (Negeri Sembilan dialect). The new departure time for us would be 12.30 am.
In the first class waiting lounge
The rest of the passengers down at the main waiting area decided to make themselves comfortable
Other first-class passengers started to appear to join us in the VIP lounge. At least we had few companies and as they joined us they remarked jokingly about KTMB and the train services.
When it was nearly 12.30 am another announcement was made and this time telling us the new departure time was at 12.50 am. Well, we were late already what another 20 minutes ha ha ha. There were, including both of us, five groups of travellers waiting there. 3 Malay families in which 2 were going home to Singapore and another to JB. Another group, which was not a group at all, was a gentleman, a businessman from the look of him, going home to Singapore. Overhearing their conversation the Malay family going down to JB said that was the first ride for them after so many years and KTMB welcomed them with a delay ha ha ha. The gentleman also replied that he just fancied taking the train instead ha ha ha. The last group was two middle-aged ladies going down to Singapore. I must say happy ladies that used to travel together. I just smiled.
When we were ready to board we just took the lift in the lounge straight down to Level G where the platform was and when we got there the train was still not there until a few minutes later. We boarded immediately as soon as the train arrived. We departed KL Sentral eventually at 1.04 am.
I have booked a first class coach with better and bigger seating. I knew I was in trouble when I was not able to sleep. I was wide awake when we reached Seremban for about an hour and a half later. I just knew I need to force myself to sleep but to no avail. I was only successful a while later.
Premier Class Coach
I was awake when we reached Gemas as I felt very cold. I pulled out my sweater from the rucksack and I forgot to take out my sock as well. A few minutes later I managed to sleep again but then the aircon proved to be too much for my feet to handle. I was awake again and could not go back to sleep. With that, I started to walk and did what I would normally do on the train - stand at the door staring outside and do ‘nothing’. As I always say doing nothing is an option in knowledge management. You started to reflect about life and the rhythmic movement and the sound of the train accompanied my reflection. Apt and perfect for me. I did not stay there too long as the day began to show itself slowly. The limitation of intercity trains on the southern route between the two major cities is that they do not have a proper buffet car. No place for people like me to lepak. Thus, I walked back to my seat and pulled out my laptop.
Since the ETA at JB now is at 8.30 am I started to think when we would be saying our suboh. When I walked back to my seat I saw a space in the first class coach that we could use. I told Sam so who was awake already
At 5.52 am we arrived at Kluang Station. Nothing much for me to look at as it was still dark.
The stations along the route emerged after one another as the day got brighter. The lack of sleep made me just wanted to sit and waited for my arrival at JB Sentral. Which we finally did at 8.46 am.
Sam had made an arrangement for her best friend, Ros, to pick us at the station. As we walked down the station Sam called Ros and they were already at the station and finding a place to park.
Ros and Munirah brought us to their house. Since they met at the station both Sam and Ros could not stop talking so I let them be as they continued talking in the kitchen. At the sofa, I took the nap I needed badly.
I must have been sleeping for quite some time as when I woke up Ros offered me a brunch of chapatis. I almost swallowed them immediately. It was almost lunchtime and I guessed I was double hungry ha ha ha. We have yet to check in after I gulped the chapatis they sent us to Citrus Hotel. Citrus Hotel was just in front of the JB Sentral and strategic for needs. The hotel became our hotel for our future train adventure staging place from JB. The hotel is not only strategic due to to its accessibility to JB Sentral but also because there is a mamak join with chapati opposite the road and a very good minang dishes outlet on the ground floor during the day. Also, at the backstreet is a medan selera like eating place with a verity of local and Indian food. More or less it is a perfect place for us.
That night after we have rested properly we went down to the back alley to have dinner. In fact, I had a sumptuous dinner of chapatis and lamb soup.
Day 3. May 2, 2014 - JB Sentral (0835) - Butterworth (2200), Express Rakyat, AFC Premier Class, Coach R1, Seats 4B-C
I woke up at 5.30 am and did my usual ritual. Our train, the Express Rakyat was supposed to depart JB Sentral at 8.35 am. so we have ample time for breakfast before we walked to the station.
We checked out of Citrus at 6. 35 am. We were greeted and processed out by a happy and good nature English speaking lady at the counter. In good spirit and anticipating for more good things we walked out of the hotel and crossed the small alleyway to have breakfast at the mamak restaurant.
JB Sentral was fairly new and if it was a southern hub for the train service then it has a few shortcomings. In general the lack of proper facilities to create a welcoming feeling for travellers like us. No charging stations for our mobile phone and most power plug points were switched off. Suck signages that whatever they put seems like an afterthought indicating the failure of design and implementation. The worst was the girls at the customer care centre were clueless. They cannot even answer one question properly. I blame the supervisors and managers for not educating them properly. In information management point of view instead of having information overload, they were actually deprived of information. In knowledge management point of view, there was no proper knowledge acquisition, transfer and sharing among them. The whole building was really old in terms of information and knowledge. Beautiful building but with a lack of brain.
The saving grace for me was that the morning was really brilliant with the morning sun shining through a clear sky.
There were not many passengers waiting with us as a normal case in JB. Most of those boarding from JB will normally choose Kempas Baru as their originating station. We were called to board and departed 9.01 am which was almost 30 minutes late as scheduled. we were at Premier Class coach R1 and seats 4B and 4C. Apart from a bigger seat and space, the Premier Class passengers were given a small bottle of mineral water and a piece of big doughnuts. We always joke about the doughnut.
The train moved out of JB slowly and both of us got into the groove of things. You are really a seasoned train traveller when once on board you will start to pull out your book or laptop and charging your handphone.
At Kempas Baru I saw the catering crew readied to board and one of them was the very familiar figure for those travelling on the Express Rakyat. With a body-hugging shirt, tight jeans and blond hair he/she was very flamboyant. The boarding crew indicated that soon the ABC (Air-conditioned Buffet Car) will open for business.
At 9.25 am we walked to the buffet car, thank God they have one on this train. Once we sat down we ordered coffee and nasi lemak for RM8. Just the two of us in the buffet car. We sat to eat slowly and enjoyed the view outside.
Our favourite coach on the train
After a while, a Chinese later walked in and sat next to the counter. Her demeanour was like someone who already a seasoned train traveller as well. She ordered something and looked as if she going to stay there for a while which was later proven to be true. The ticket conductor came in to have a drink and sat at the next table across her and they started to chat. She must have been a regular on the train.
An hour or so a few others started to join us, by this time I have already had my laptop opened.. My thought was flowing but my hand could not really keep up typing but I just let loose and deal with the typing errors later. It has always like that when I am on a train. We decided to go back to our seats before we reached Renggam.
Except for a few empty seats the Premier Coach was almost at full capacity. Although Premier Class but the coach was not really being taken care off properly. Almost everything in a state of disrepair. There was a small family from Singapore at the front of the coach and they trying to work the curtain and it felt. Being Malaysian and a train fan I was so embarrassed. The wife tried to tie the curtain back with whatever she had. At this point, I decided to take a nap.
We reached a place, a station, that before was like a joke to some of us when we grew up. If you had come from a place that has a name that sounds different or sounds funny you would definitely have a nickname after the place. For examples Tendung, Pintu Gang and Ketil. A lot of my school friends are from Johor and the place and station that I am writing about now is Mengkibol. The first time I saw the name I almost laugh aloud inside the train. Just imagine your nickname is Mengkibol when you joined but over the years eventually, the nickname became sophisticated and shorten to Kibol or just Bol with English like spelling Cibol or Bold.
Then we arrived at one of the best known and most disembarked stations in the south, Kluang. Not only it is one of the major stations but it also housed the famous Kluang Railcafe. Even if you were not a coffee drinker you had to at least stop there once.
After Kluang were Chamek, Paloh, Segamat and eventually Gemas, the mother hub of intercity train services in Malaysia. Up to late ’80s, Gemas was a major cut and dice hub that splits train from the north, south and east into three new sets that will continue to the three sectors.
After Gemas we just sat looking out until he felt it is another lepak session at the ABC. This time we stayed there until we almost reach KL Sentral. It was at around 4 pm that we reached KL Sentral and we witnessed the change not only the crew but passengers as well. This may not be significant or something to fascinate about but to me, it is a fascinating social phenomenon. The leaving and going, not only the different facial expressions of those arriving and boarding but they scurried from away also differently. Several new travellers boarded to join us to travel up north. Shortly, we were on the move again travelling through a bright evening of KL into the sunset of Perak.
Just before maghrib we arrived at the one of the best-built train stations in Malaysia. The Ipoh station was designed by Arthur Benison Hubback and was officially opened in 1917. The design of the exterior of the building inspired by the elements of late-Edwardian Baroque architecture (Wikipedia, 2019). However, in 2000s the internal design was, I feel personally, due to the double tracking and electrification project was raped. I was really disgusted about it whenever I arrive at the station. That day it was no different. If they could do that to Ipoh station what hope do I have that they preserved other old stations. Most are gone forever already. It is our role now to keep the knowledge and history alive among our younger generation through writing and knowledge sharing sessions.
The train did not stop long at the station, just enough time for passengers to disembark and board.
The night crept in as we moved at a constant speed towards Butterworth. We did not really do anything but sat looking at darkness as our minds moved somewhere else. By this time I was most of the time occupying on the empty the single seats next to ours. We were in no mood to do anything but to welcome our arrival at the final station. I was already thinking of the dreaded steps and inclination that Sam had to take to access the ferry terminal. The last time was really horrible for her.
At almost 10.00 pm we arrived at the unfinished new Butterworth station.
Well, it was not Hong Kong or Sydney Harbour, still, I loved the ferry ride across to the Georgetown. At night you would have a beautiful Georgetown skyline.
Once we crossed we straight away took a taxi to Cititel Penang to check in for a night.
Day 4. May 3, 2014 - Butterworth (2228) - KL Sentral (0630), Senandung Langkawi, ASC Superior Class, Coach L7, Seats 8C-D
We woke up to chill Penang morning. Looking out I saw Penang that I saw the first time. What I like most with historical cities like Penang and Melaka is the old historical buildings surrounding the new building like our hotel. Although some are rustic roofs, the different colours and tones are making it historically beautiful.
Since I booked the room without breakfast we went down across the street to have breakfast at one of the many mamak restaurants there. Breakfast, of course, was chapati for me. Well, not the best chapati in Penang but I was satisfied no less. When I looked around in the restaurant I was blessed to witness the true Malaysians of all races, with a mixture of tourists, having breakfast together. Politics has driven us in the wrong direction but food will always bring us back together.
After breakfast, we went back to our room as it was still too early to walk Georgetown. The plan was to check out, store our luggage at the counter and having a joy walk towards Komtar.
At around 10.00 am we checked out and left luggage at the hotel. Out at the lobby, we turned right and walked along Penang Street. We walked along Sam’s Batek House, we didi not stop as Penang is not a place to get batik. Chowrasta, as usual, was bustling self in the early morning. Cendol Pulut, the famous Cendol Teochew and Ais Tingkap, mostly we just passed them and once in a while, I captured the scene. I kept a slow pace so that Sam not only could enjoy the walk but to manage her back problem.
We did not have a special reason to be at Komtar but just to pass the time walking around in the new shopping complex next to it. We did the same at Komtar and while on the second floor or third serendipity materialised, we found a Perpustakaan Siber Ilmu, a branch of the state library. The other nice surprise was the poster of MyLIB on the wall of the entrance. MyLIB was a product we developed at MDC for Malaysian libraries that we gave to PNM to manage. We went in and because of-of the power of my handphone was running low I decided to stay in for a while to charge it.
Sam decided to buy something and left me at the Perpustakaan. I picked up a magazine and started reading. I glanced at the users around me, around 20 of them. There was a group of elderly of the city of Penang sitting together reading the newspaper and chatting. A few students doing their homework, studying or searching for something at the online station. Since I have my laptop with me I booted it up to do short writing.
We were back on the street walking after about 2 hours at Komtar. I was really surprised to discover the library and it was really a nice surprise for me. We took a slow walk on the sidewalk back towards Line Clear as that was a must have lunch place for both of us in Penang. By that time it was about lunchtime already and by then Line Clear was sure to be packed with people having lunch. We walked slowly passing the same shops and eateries we passed before. Only now we walked with one intention in mind - kari kepala ikan ha ha ha ha. I was right, when we reached Line Clear there was already a long line went out until the main pavement of the street. But, I just knew what to do, get seats for two and order nasi hidang. Always the right strategy, once we got our seats I ordered rice for two kari kepala ikan merah, vegetable, papadom, and a cut of beef. We did hot have to wait long and in ten minutes it was chow time. We took our time to enjoy our food.
As we walked out of the alley of the Line Clear it started to rain quite heavily. We have no choice to kill sometimes we walked into Chowrasta shopping area to just browse around. We had done with jeruk, t-shirts and other souvenirs, so we just walked in to really browse the many books at the used book outlets further inside the building. When I grew up used books stores like that was one of my libraries. Especially the one in State PJ.
I started to rain heavily
The rain persisted until late evening that forced us to brave it to walk back to the hotel to collect our luggage as well as say our Maghrib prayers. Due to the rain, the day got darker earlier. We did have time to really clean ourselves but just made do what whatever we could. When we were readied to leave the hotel for the ferry terminal we knew to take the shuttle was out of the question. We hailed a cab at the hotel and it was the right decision as to when we got in the cabby told us part of Georgetown was already flooded. Due to the out drainage and clogging due to the construction Georgetown was prone to flash flood during heavy rain. I was a bit worry that we were going to be able to get to the terminal on time to board our train which was at 10.20 pm. Lucky for us while the rain was still pouring we managed to get to the ferry terminal on time to cross to Butterworth.
Boarding the ferry
We were a bit relaxed when we were on board the ferry. No need to rush as we had ample time for our train. We were to board the Senandung Langkawi back to KL and when I made the booking there were not any more sleepers available for us. Only seats for us for the night trip back home. Both of us were the only persons from the ferry walking down towards the train station. A quiet walk down the ramp to cross to the station. Obviously, both the train station and the ferry terminal were unfinished products of the redevelopment of the area. Disjointed that supposed to be linked.
Our coach for the night
We did not have to wait that long for our train and boarded at 10.28 pm. Our coach was not at full capacity but it was already occupied by a group of holidaymakers that I assumed have been holidaying in Thailand. Once onboard we prepared ourselves for the night and after a whole day walking we were tired enough to sleep soundly at sitting position all the way to KL. That was what I thought. I woke up when we reached Ipoh. In fact, I was so awake that I walked out on the platform to take a few shots of the station.
Ipoh Station at around 2 am.
Arrived at KL Sentral
The next morning we woke up at KL Sentral and after our Suboh we took the Komuter train back to Bangi.
