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read between the lines
trippin' in kl week one plus of this new effort.i knew this was coming, so i saved up my nuggets of...happy thoughts, one of which i will now dispense readily. i took a trip up to kl a few weeks back for a day. i would've had it longer, had my parents approved. okay, so i'm not proud of the fact that they weren't aware, but still, i am the legal age of an adult and i have my own small (but withering) form of finances, so i should be able to make decisions independent of them...right? anyway i just felt i had to get away from things for awhile. ever the escapist. but it kinda helped...i left with happy memories, though after returning, it was as if i had never left, and i immediately came down with a terrible bout of flu, courtesy of my brother and his constant sneezing sessions all around the house. perhaps that was divine punishment. or perhaps i myself made it worse by watering up. who knows. but what matters is i'm well now. my trip to kl, since it was constrained by time, had one main purpose in mind: to see friends i hadn't seen in years. the other sub-purpose was to sit on the seven-storey, much-hyped indoor roller coaster in berjaya times square. thankfully, i managed to do both. everything was so last minute, right down to purchasing bus tickets and who to stay overnight with, but i kinda enjoy that sort of thing in certain situations, and this was one of them. (having coursemates put together slipshot work at the eleventh hour however, is not one of them). and a huge big thank you to my very accomodating cousin for driving me around. it was also a chance to hang out with her before she adds to the statistic of friends leaving for further studies at places too far to call or meet up at.(i'll miss you so much if you're reading this.) so i took the bus, but it arrived late due to the usual exorbitantly long jam that is so common here. which meant instead of my cousin fetching me, i would have to take the lrt to see her. which was pretty cool...it was the first time i'd taken the lrt in kl alone, the second in my life. found out it is way more troublesome than the mrt in s'pore, cos the interchange stations are not within the same compound, so i had to tap my card out, walk a short distance to the next interchange, purchase a new card and tap it again. she picked me up and drove me to my next destination. i was supposed to next meet friends at a famous mamak place called Murni but since we were a little early we stopped at a nearby shop and chatted awhile. after which, she left me with at Murni with the two friends i were to meet: one of whom i had not seen for seven years and the other, i had only recently got to see again last year. the three of us attended a workshop-cum-camp we will never forget, simply because we forged an informidable friendship (of course our circle did not just consist of the three of us), the memories of which will never leave my mind for as long as i live. haha. it was nice to see them again...really really lovely to catch up on old times (so thank you for meeting up!). i also got to try out roti hawaii, which apparently cannot be found anywhere else. it was prata with a combination of pineapples, ground chicken meat (i think), salad and mayonnaise...only in my country can we get this kind of rojak yet delicious food, which i gobbled up with much glee. i also tried bandung special...which came in a bottleneck jug and contained longans and was ice-blended. shiok. after that we adjourned to Secret Recipe for an oreo-flavoured cheesecake. sad to say, i am not very keen on cheesecakes. and we chatted on different levels...some discussions trivial, some serious. which is kind of the way i like chats to go. to be able to joke and laugh about little things yet discuss the very deep issues of the heart is what engages me. after that we parted...there was no need to say we'd keep in touch because i have a feeling we always will. heh. my cousin came and got me, because of her concern that taking a cab would be too dangerous in kl (and as i saw more of the city on my own the next day, i realised it was so true as kl was definitely more different than taking a cab in jb). she brought along a map, her significant other and high-school mate to guide her in terms of driving directions, and all of us had drinks at starbucks at a small plaza near my next drop-off destination. it was easy to get along with them, and always nice to hang out with my cousin, so i had a good time. but all too soon, it came time to say goodbye. she sent me off to my next friend's place to stay over for the night...my high-school junior of four years who, very recently, moved to kl and is now studying there. i used to walk over to her house (since we were in the same neighbourhood) and her place was such a welcome refuge during family fights and subsequent runaways (always a last resort, but still an available option for a person who handles pressure poorly like me). we spent most of the night talking. she's still the same old gal i knew and loved, haha. and the next day she drove me (many thanks!) to the lrt. the way she drove feels similar to the way i used to drive...faster than usual, yet safe enough not get into an accident. and then my second lrt adventure began. it also involved having to get out and change at an interchange, different from the previous night's. it was then i had another grouse about our country's transportation system as compared to our neighbour's: some compartments had no air-cond at all. so it was hot, stuffy and stinky for part of the journey. my bus back didn't come till mid-afternoon, so i took the lrt to, guess where, berjaya times square. i arrived pretty early, so i had a kopitiam-style breakfast of double-boiled eggs and teh while waiting for the mall to open. i also made use of the hotel's public toilet, which is on the 18th floor (second place i've been to in my life that places its reception area on a floor other than the 1st) and had this cozy seating area, as if it was straight out of someone's fireplace hearth. so i finally entered the theme park and here's my take on it. i found that having a grand theme park (supposed to be the largest indoor theme park in this country) with almost no patrons and staff that want to save on costs by only operating rides if more than one person gets on per ride sucks. i think there were less than 10 people around, right until lunch time, so it was pretty frustrating having to wait for other people to congregate in order to utilise a ride. not only that, the locker inside which people carrying bags like me were all required to use, incurred an extra RM1 expense on top of the flat rate charged for entering the park. and me, thinking the RM1 was refundable, closed and opened it...only to find out it was not. i kicked up such a big fuss at customer service because i refused to pay an extra RM1 for another locker because it was simply not worth the few amount of hours spent sitting on the few rides that fell short of the word 'exhilaration'. thankfully, i didn't have to eventually, thanks to the kind manager in charge. and that big roller coaster with one upside-down twirl and two sharp falls? my verdict was i came away disappointed. it looked imposing, especially during the trial run, but in the end it felt even less exciting than genting highland's indoor roller coaster, which, though is nothing compared to the coasters at the outdoor area, still packs in quite a bit of a punch right near the end when there is a sharp swing to the left (you practically swing from the right of your seat to the left; the bruises from repeated seatings were all worth it in my opinion). the first sharp fall was mildly scary and almost promising, but the second fall was a real letdown, because it was met with further bumps and twirls too soon that went against the zero gravity the fall was supposed to bring, which kind of defeats the whole purpose. theme park aside, i loved Borders because it was so big! three storeys of heaven...i would've been there till night if given the chance. signs announced it as the biggest borders bookstore in the region...and i agree. my favourite sport of bowling was also there (at the mall) to tempt me, but i couldn't give in, knowing the limited time i had left. conveniently but unbeknownst earlier to me, the mall was located within walking distance (or even lrt distance) to the bus stop, so it was all very easy for me. i spent most of the bus trip sleeping and feeling significantly more flu-sick. and that was my memorable trip. heeh. |
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