CNY trip - the errand...

 

IC run was one of the major events for our returning. Yun and Xian had signed a declaration during the passport renewal that they would have their IC change on their next return as they had attended the age of 18. Well, the worrying part was Yun had dyed her hair into pink color. I had advised her that the IC change is nothing to fool around with and we would be at the mercy of the official. Yun had however told me that she would let the hair fade naturally. After two months, the hair was not completely faded off and Yun told me that she would tie up the hair into pony tail and the pink color would not be visible from the front….

The day had come and the throbbing sensation over the chest when I laid my eyes on Yun’s hair. It was no retreat for us and I would have to gamble with her and placed my faith upon the great one.

We had our breakfast at a Hainan restaurant near Jalan Wong Ah Fook. It was nearby the old shop that my father had worked in.

We had later proceeded to the UTC JB and hit the office by 9am. A short queue was noted and all of us were accepted at the counter and given a number. Yun had finally started to tie her pony tail when we sat down waiting for our turn. She was apparently right and hidden the pink color successfully. I was however sitting on hot plate as I found out that no cash payment accepted in government department; only through card. The worst was there was only RM20 in my newly received Bigpay card(from the initial deposit), that would be enough for 2 persons and there were 3 of us. When both of them was called I had tried to pay up the fee with my credit card issued by Taiwan bank and none of them was accepted. I had to bailed out the RM20 for both Yun and Xian payment. And it was not long when I was called; while walking toward the counter, I recalled that my father had owned a Bigpay card as I had applied one for him during my last visit. And I was lucky as he had brought the card with him….

Both three of us had received our card hours later….

That afternoon after our lunch, Xian and I had proceeded to local PB bank and applied for a bank account. It was a long wait and we had managed to get it done after three hours wait…..

With a local bank account plus ATM card, big pay card; I was almost capable of doing any transaction without help from anyone back in the Bolehland.

CNY trip...the initial run

 

Two trips were actually planned when I started to plan for the home going trip in October. I had booked both trip tickets within a few days gap. The first trip was a success however dragoncat had deteriorated markedly after we sent her to the vet hospital for lodging. Her posterior limbs had become weaker and could only drag around with her forelimbs. After months of effort, Ving had decided to stayed back during Chinese new year to take care of dragoncat.

The CNY trip was a long one as we had to visit both side of our parents. However after Ving’s decision to stay back, we had the luxury to stay for a longer period at Kulai.

The trip was not an easy one for us though despite of Ving’s staying back.

Yun had met her biggest challenge when her business partner cum BF had gone into a dispute. She was disturbed and not focusing on the home returning event.

The day had finally come and Xian and I had packed our staff and left home late in the afternoon. The feeling was not good as we had to leave Ving and dragoncat behind. With Yun in such a chaotic state, the condition had become worst than ever.

Yun had chosen to visit her friend up north to seek some comfort/advice prior to the trip and would meet us at the motel around the airport that night.

The drive was smooth however the temperature was intolerable as the north had gone down to a chilling 12C and our area was about 26C in the daylight when I started our drive. We met up with Yun and her friend at the airport and we proceeded to the motel. We enjoyed our supper at a night market around the motel and retreated to our room around midnight. I had a shallow sleep as I need to wake up at 4am and perform the final check. We left the motel at 5am and parked our car at the pre-booked parking at T2. We had our baggage checked in and waited for our boarding without any difficulty.

I hit dreamland as usual prior to the taking off.

 

 I woke up when the meal was served and played the plant vs zombie again. I had chosen Singapore as our entry point as the connecting flight from KUL to Senai was limited after Covid. The transit time would be 3-4 hours and we would only reached Senai by 9pm if the flight route was chosen. However driving down south would also take same amount of time. The flight ticket from KUL to Senai and taxi fare from Changi to Kulai is however the same.

Passing the immigration was smooth however the luggage waiting part was an agony; the luggage came out one by one and there was no sign of our baggage. The shadow of losing baggage had still haunted us; luckily our final baggage came on the final batch.

We came out from the arrival hall and met up with my brother who came to picked us up.

The drive from Changi to the Woodland was smooth; passports were stamped and we passed the kastam without hazard. Another 30minutes drive before we reached Kulai where we enjoyed a late tea time meal of wantan mee and chicken rice.

The Bangla who prepared the rice had garnished the food with style before serving. Well, even the foreigner knew that to hug his job as tight as possible….

No peace of mind for me that night after the gathering meal… I was disturbed by everything….Yun, Xian, dragoncat and Ving…..

I spent the rest of the seven days thinking of our future.

Few things to accomplish during our stay; the IC changes, bank account and much more.

New Fe....

 

The new Fe had under my command for more than 6 months at the moment. It was truly a great experience with all those new gadgets.

The L2 driving assist had eased home driving stress especially on my post call journey. Unlike the FSD with traffic light sensing and overtaking ability, the L2 of new Fe was more basic; but with steering left and right and keeping an eye on the traffic light left for me to manage; driving had become more relaxing than ever.

A few trips up north had proven its value; I had enjoyed half a dozen of trips up north which were very relaxing.  

The 360 degree camera and collision warning system was a plus and had saved me a few time on some very close impact incidents.

The fuel consumption is a way improvement from 9-16km/l to 14-19km/l; nothing to complaint for a beast of nearly 2 tons.

I had escaped two embarrassing events of stopping at the roadside waiting for help situation; the built in independent tyre pressure monitor had proven it worthiness.

20000+km had passed and I thought the money was well spent; even though it caused a big hole in my pocket

The only cons will hit me years later when all the electronic gadget starting to fail; hopefully it would last as long as it could.

Justice served

 

This was one of the most joyful news that I had read recent few months….

The bicycle lajak case had finally closed when the Court of Appeal acquitted Sam. I had downloaded a review article from the net that had described and analyzed the facts of the case in detail. The act of prosecution and trial were truly bias and injustice according to the article. Poor Sam had to remain in the jail for 1 week before she was put on bail. Condolence to the families that suffered losses however the culprits and other accomplices where still out there being untouched.

There were so many efforts that could be done to prevent such tragedy; the imam, school teacher, parents, local police. How big could a village be ? No night patrol ? Magic was cast upon those bikes so that no one could see it in daylight? who was the source of finance for the bicycle? answer was obvious, may the relevant persons sleep well....

I remembered the day I encountered a traffic accident when I drove from Slim river hospital back to Tanjong Malim during my service. A car had collided with a truck and 6 passengers were trapped in the car with no sign of life. I stopped and help the police to confirm their death on site….I remembered my hand shake during my drive back home even after more than 100 autopsy done; seeing such a massacre grade scene was still a shocking event for me. For Sam, I couldn’t imagine the psychological stress that she had undergone.

However justice had prevailed  and life goes on…..