After some 2 weeks being on the road, I longed to return back to Kuala Lumpur. The visits made to certain places in and around Teluk Intan on Thursday and Friday practically closed all that needs to be done in Perak. It's just a matter of when to return to KL and I thought I might as well make it 3 nights in Teluk Intan and start the journey back to KL on Sunday.
I can't remember where this picture was taken. But I know it is somewhere on the way to Tronoh through Kampung Gajah and Bota Kanan.
Relying on public transport can be a pain sometime, especially when it is very scarce and unreliable like the Teluk Intan-Kampung Gajah bus service. To get to Tronoh, there's 2 main routes by bus but none direct. One is to go to Ipoh some 60-80km away north-east of Teluk Intan through Kampar and then take the bus heading for Bota Kanan, retreating some 20km back to the south-west using a different route.
A more economical route at least in terms of milage is to go through Kampung Gajah and Bota Kanan. The problem is the bus to Kampung Gajah is unreliable and was not available when I arrived at the Teluk Intan bus station before noon.
The main mosque of the Petronas University in Tronoh, Perak. I've just made a posting featuring the mosque titled Masjid Universiti Petronas di (Petronas University mosque in) Tronoh, Perak... in the blogspot SENI LAMA MELAYU (MALAY OLDEN ART) .
The bus to Ipoh was available when I reached the Teluk Intan bus station. So what should I do? Take this bus or wait for the one to Kampung Gajah? That is if there's nothing happening to it... There's only one bus serving the Teluk Intan-Kampung Gajah route and should anything happen to it , then the service is practically suspended. And service tends to get delayed or even stopped for the day if the driver simply don't feel like driving! So there...
My main problem was I have a time limit. It was already noon and the function my friends attended should end by 3pm... I would like to be around while it is still on.
After deliberating for sometime, I decided to get a taxi to Kampung Gajah. Yep, taxi would definitely be much easier but I got to stick to a certain budget... At least I got to pay RM15 instead of the RM25 the driver initially demanded...
The gigantic main hall inside the Petronas University campus. You wouldn't believe how huge it is!
So I managed to get to Kampung Gajah some 30km from Teluk Intan. On the way just about 5km after leaving Teluk Intan, I saw the Kampung Gajah bus heading for Teluk Intan! Perhaps I could have saved money if I had waited. After all the bus fare is less than RM3... But there's no way I could have known earlier if the bus was available and at what time!
Whatever, soon enough I arrived in Kampung Gajah. Then I realised, the connecting bus to Bota Kanan, another 30km or so away has been terminated for sometime! Dang...
The taxi driver offered to get me there if I'm willing to pay another RM25. I said hold that thought as he was leaving for his house somewhere nearby for lunch. He said he would come back to the Kampung Gajah bus station and should I decide to take the offer, then he's game...
Yep... Another RM25 and this time non-negotiable as he said there's few taxis plying the route... And most probably no passengers to pick up on the way back to make the trip worthwhile. But what about my budget constraint? Being a constant traveller for some many years and one that has no fixed income, I would be in trouble if I broke my own cardinal rule of keeping a tight reign on money flow... That is if I want to be able to continue travelling whenever I wish to and live my current free-wheeling lifestyle...
There... Got the idea now how big is this main hall? And that's not even half of it... I was totally astounded at the sheer size... Further astounded when I had at least 5 minutes worth of deja vu as I walked towards it.
And so from Kampung Gajah, I walked heading for Bota Kanan in the hope of being able to hitchike someone... At Bota Kanan, there's many buses plying the route from Ipoh to Lumut. So once I'm there, it wouldn't be too hard to get one. The only problem is time...
About sometime pass 1pm, my dear friend at Tronoh called to ask where I was. I said I'm still stuck somewhere in Kampung Gajah some 40km away with no available transport in sight. She said the main part of the function is done... What's left was just people loitering around to get to know each other and the products offered at the many booths there...
I walked at least 3km and was on the verge of giving up on making it within enough time when finally someone stopped. And guess what, he is going to Tronoh!
Lucky some more, the guy actually sent me up to the main entrance of Universiti Petronas some 2-3km away from the small town. Although I had to walk almost another 2km to reach the gigantic hall where the function was held, I thanked my lucky stars for being able to join the people just moments before they all packed their stuff.
And so I had the time to meet my friends there including the one from Sungai Siput and another from Ipoh. Then I hitched a ride with my dear friend from KL driven by another friend back to the city. But I decided to drop at Kuala Kubu Baru some 60km before KL...
Above is the view from the cheap hotel where I lodged at in the morning after, Sunday 3rd January. I always like the air in Kuala Kubu Baru and might as well savour it to satisfaction before returning to KL.
Kuala Kubu Baru had such a quaint feel that it is always refreshing to spend time here...
I mean just look at the tidy row of pre-war shophouses. Combined with the unhurried life-style and the fresh mountain air blowing from the foothills of the main range Banjaran Titiwangsa flanking its east-side, life here is just idyllic, good enough to get me all dreamy and such...
From Kuala Kubu Baru, I got a bus to Rawang, nowadays a very busy suburban satellite town of Kuala Lumpur. Here I slept at a mosque nearby...
Finally the next day, a Monday, I returned to KL... After all the 2 weeks of sweat in Kedah and Perak, I'm so glad that this particular chapter of travelling is finished and all wrapped up. Cheers all! The end... :]
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