|
|
|
read between the lines
road trip finally, after years of imagining and even dreaming of driving, my dream (literally) came true. thanks to jesus christ, my colleague's credit card and equal appetite for wonderlust, we took a road trip to malacca on V(ictory) day and back with our rented waja.we stopped by a&w before visiting the a'formosa fort and checking out the stadhuys complex, which turned out to be a three-storey L-shaped museum that was more than worth the 2 ringgit we paid. sure i learned about the stadhuys in history books, but i never actually got to visit the place...and it was pretty cool. they even had a well outside and a bunch of benches and steps from some four centuries before us. they had sections on the malay and baba culture, and the top floors had even model house stages of malacca through each occupation period. strangely enough, only two rooms had air-conditioned in the whole area and they were located where the british occupation showcase was. i learned about stuff i had either forgotten about (but recalled once my memory was refreshed) or was new. probably one of my favourite standalone models was the one of parameswara and his dog being kicked by a mousedeer into the stream. it brought memories of me feeling sad as kid that the dog died. haha yet poor thing. after that we had our dinner at jonker walk and stopped for an impromptu drink at the antique bar (that's the name of the place), a popular ang moh hangout there, and listened to cool 'live' guitar singers while my colleague sipped her skol and i, my shirley temple (both our firsts). someone actually accidentally stepped on my still-healing toe near the area and i had sat down on one of the chairs there, and we ended up ordering drinks and chilling out. there were a few points where we just sat in silence and soaked in the moment -- it was that good. then we checked out a few shops selling curios to look for my colleague's lamp before the drive home. there were no stars out on that night so it wasn't quite like i anticipated but the road (lit up by our car lights) itself was cool. and music was our third companion -- i had brought my CDs along for the ride. thankfully my colleague and i shared similar tastes. then my colleague left for home. the next day was incredible because the car rental company allowed me to return it 6 hours later than i was supposed to, for free. it was freedom but i decided to take my family to that faraway new megamall that just opened this year, which kind of sucked (the ride i mean), because my mom kept trying to play driving instructor and dictating which lane i should be in or criticising me if i made mistakes i've seen her make so many times in her driving encounters. the ride back was pretty much the same, with my father thrown into the mix and me losing my temper (i never once lost the wheel the way my dad used to when i was young, but i did raise my voice). however, the trip there was...worth it i guess. and it gave me a chance to improve my driving skills. then i dropped them back home while my bro stayed for the ride and i took us on a spin to the bay near town before returning the car. the road to the bay was a straight one, which meant i could afford to rev up a bit. my most blissful moment was cruising along the scenic sea route while switchfoot's learning to breathe emanated through the speakers. (for my colleague it was placebo's sucker love and a bunch of other songs i forgot about.) we gave the car back and i returned to my ordinary life feeling exuberant for the day. |
|
|
.jpg){kind=link}