Zaharan's world view!...

Saturday October 9, 2010. It was 10:30 AM. I am at  the Seremban R & R area waiting for Zaharan to arrive. I was to pick him up after the Sungei Besi Toll Plaza but he was not there. I call him and he told me that he is in front of the Sapura Building. That mean he is on the wrong road. I had told him specifically to wait for me after the Sungei Besi Toll Plaza between 9:00AM to 10:00AM. There is a KFC there and parking spaces. One does not stop anywhere one like on the Highway. Obviously he does not know there are other highways to the south leading to the North South Highway and did not follow my direction to the later.

I had invited him to go to Malacca with me on October 9, 2010 since I am going there for a meeting. Asmah my spouse is not coming. Just before I left home this morning he call and said that he had overshot the rendezvous place and would wait further up. I then drove the Honda and after the Sungei Besi Toll Plaza start looking for him but he was not in sight. I call him and he told me he is on the side of the road near the Sapura Building. I told him the Sapura Building is not on the North South Highway and there are many parallel roads to the south and that he is not on the proper North South Highway. I told him to take a taxi to the next Rest Area which is at Nilai but he told me that he was riding his bike[Kapcai Motorcycle]. Well obviously I could not turn around and pick him there and told him to meet at the next Rest Area at Nilai. And when I arrived at the Nilai Rest Area I found it was closed for redevelopment and there is no way to stop there and besides it is not a safe place for him to park his bike. I tried to call him but because he was riding his bike there was no way he could talk on the cell phone. At least I know the next time he looks at his cell phone he would see a missed call. I then continue to the next R & R  area which is the Seremban stop. I drove on and eventually got to the Seremban R & R area; found that it is packed to capacity with cars and folks having a break/tea/lunch. I found a car lot and parked my car. Then I got a call from him telling me to hold on. I told him that I am now at the Seremban R & R area and repeatably told him of the place and that I would wait for him here.

So here I am writing this as I wait for him. Well that is what happens when one had not adept to the culture of city living. Probably he thought that it is like Dungun or Kuantan where one could easily turn around but this is a city with millions of cars traveling everywhere at a given time. The North South Highway is always full of traffics and there is only one Sungei Besi Toll Plaza to the south. That is why I told him to wait for me after that toll plaza but it look like he has yet to come to grasp of the culture of living here. It could be my mistake but then I told him specifically to be there. I did that in writing and not through the cell phone. I post a message in his FB so that he got the correct message. Well, as the Malay saying ‘Nasi dah jadi bubor’ translate the ' the rice has become porridge'. Anyway since he insisted that he would catch up with me he rode his bike all the way here at the Seremban Rest Area. I would wait for him here as long as I could and hope that he would arrived at the right spot this time [time now is 10:50AM ] and I am having a Teh Tarik and waiting. Not to waste time I am writing this on my laptop. The Wifi here is not that good so I have to post this when I arrived in Malacca. Well that is what happens when one does not follow direction properly. We are lucky in these days and age in that we have the cell phone and could communicate. Without that there were no possibilities of getting in touch with him. I hope my friend Zaharan, a former lecturer and journalist would understand the culture of folks differs from place to place. That things changes with times and places do change too like that Nilai Rest and Recreation Area where we were planning to meet. It is now in a mess and closed from the public. So like I had related above the Seremban Rest Area is the next best place I could wait for him. And I am waiting here. Eventually he arrived. We had lunch there and then he join me on the trip to Malacca which he had not seen for the last twenty five years. He left his bike at the parking lot and I told him I do not want to know and that on the return trip I had to drop him on the other side of the Highway. I am wondering of how he is going to get to this side of the Highway to collect his Bike but thought that he is big enough to figure it out.

Well folks it is important that one do one's homework before going on any venture especially in a city like Kuala Lumpur. Even the local resident like me who have been living here for almost forty years still got lost if I do not planned my trip well ahead. BTW last September 15 Zaharan was to fly to Taiwan for his first leg of his Cycling Adventure in China. At the eleventh hours he was not allow to board the plane to Taiwan because he did not have a return ticket. So now he has almost aborted that cycling trip to China. I had told him to do all the visa things here in KL before leaving on his trip. Obviously he did not get that message well like this message to pick him up at the Toll Plaza at Sungei Besi. Because of that he had to ride all the way to the Seremban R & R area to catch up with me. Well it look like he had to learn the new culture of living in the city. Interesting eh! This story of Zaharah!!.

The first image shows me waiting for Zaharan at the Seremban R & R area  having Teh Tarik and writing this, whereas the second shows Col.Yap with Zaharan at my condo in Malacca.

Have a nice day.