Alright….let’s get trippin’. I have said that I would provide an account of the trip on a day by day basis and thus, here it is. The trip was scheduled for the 14th to the 18th of June and on the eve of the trip, I began packing the bags. Well, it took me less than 15 min to put together the stuff that I would be needing so packing was not a problem…actually it had never been a problem for me whenever I go overseas. Anyway, the bus was scheduled to leave Bedok at 0715hrs and so I left home at about 0645hrs and reached there about 0700hrs. It was actually a rather eventful time as I saw an accident in which this ice cream delivery truck rammed into the back of an SBS bus at the junction of the interchange. Fortunately no one was seriously hurt and the truck driver managed to get out of his vehicle on his own will. He was shaken but not seriously hurt. My only guess was that he had fallen asleep at the wheel.
Anywho, our journey proceeded as planned. Reached the Tuas checkpoint where we got stuck for about 40 min….incredible since this checkpoint was supposed to be the empty one. But I suppose it was the school holidays and being a Saturday certainly did not help the traffic congestion. Proceeded with our journey straight to Awana Kijal Terengganu with the usual pit stops in between. The entire day was mainly spent traveling from Singapore to Terengganu. I must admit that this was the longest bus ride that I have taken since my trip to Langkawi about 14 years ago. Something rather funny happened along the way. Throughout the journey, we passed by many kampong and the different livestock such as cows, chickens and ducks etc. Some of the smaller kids were so excited seeing these animals roaming freely on the road….something that is a big no-no in Singapore. But I was real surprised when some of them asked what they were. Boy was I shocked. They have been eating these animals all their lives and had no idea how it looked like. I think I mentioned that next time, we should organize a Kampung retreat to familiarize the younger children to the whole concept of living in a village and learning where their food comes from and the whole thing. Hmmm….you get my drift…..(anyone support me?)
To summarise my looooong bus trip, we reached the hotel at about 1900hrs that evening and I must say that I was very tired and feeling lazy. But a person’s gotta eat. After checking in and getting our complimentary drinks, we settled into our rooms and first thing’s first. I flipped through the television channels….ensuring that my needs are fulfilled. YES!! They have ESPN. Now I can watch soccer as well as the NBA finals.
We left the hotel about 2030hrs and walked out to this small restaurant about 10 mins walk from the hotel. Cannot remember exactly what I had but I knew I ordered ‘kailan in oyster sauce’. Once this was over, purchased some milk from the minimart beside the restaurant and headed back to the hotel. A nice warm dip in the bath and some stretches later, I was all ready to doze off to dreamland. A quick call to Singapore to tell my loved ones I reached safely was followed by a trip into dreamland. Man I was really tired on this first day. Looking forward to tomorrow. Well I know this trip is mainly catered to my aunts and their shopping but since I am here, might as well enjoy the atmosphere. It was me who wanted to get out of Singapore for a short while.
Until tomorrow, Good Night. =)
