The station was alive. That's a common, for a bus station. The minute I stepped into the Terminal a few guys came at me. Not that they were interested to get to know me nor to do anything bad to me...but to sell me tickets. But I already had my ticket. So I just shrugged them off. It was still cold. Still wet. I had to endure the light rain to get to Platform 12. So I had to cross over a few platforms. The road was still wet and oily. I had to be careful not to step into the water puddles. Luckily I had my Hush Puppies on.
I didn't even look up when I was walking. I don't want the rain to get into my spectacles. For I don't have any wiper to wipe the water off. And that would make my vision blur. I don't like blurred vision. That's why I wear spectacles.
When I got to Platform 12, there were quite a number of people inside. It was a temporary station so the waiting area was just a tent with some plastic chairs to sit on. There were a few buses parked at the staging area...but none was bound for Johor Bahru. Not yet. It's still an hour to go. I didn't mind the wait. I had a book with me. But then I bought two newspapers. I wasn't being greedy or wasteful. I just love to read. Blame my father for it. My reading habit was influenced by him.
I took two seats. One for me to sit and the other for my bag. The ground was wet and I didn't want my bag to get dirty. I didn't read the book nor the newspapers. Not that I was being wasteful. People watching was more interesting. There were two white ladies with big backpacks. I didn't know where they were going. I didn't ask them. Nor would I care to. There was a family of six or so with some small children. Then they rushed off to their waiting bus. Then came another family. Not too far from where I was sitting, I saw the guy from the train who sat with his hands folded and a frown on his face. He still had his frown, though his hands were unfolded now.
I had an interesting watch that night. Many people from all walks of life came and went. Then the bus I was waiting for, arrived. It was a double decker. Cool. But it wasn't so cool afterall. The seats were too close and I had a hard time trying to get into the seat. Luckily I don't have long legs. But they're not short either. And luckily the seat next to me was vacant so I could put my backpack on it. Even though seats were meant for people to sit on, I put my backpack on it. Nobody seemed to mind. So that's okay.
The bus was freezing cold. I felt like I was sitting in the refrigerator. The freezer section. I began to cough. I couldn't stand cold. The guy in the front seat looked at me and handed me some lozenges. I took it and thanked him. He was being concerned. You could hardly find concerned strangers nowadays. Sincerely concerned. That's what I meant. It was good. The lozenge, I mean. I wasn't coughing anymore and I got to doze off to sleep.
3.00am. The bus passed through the Skudai Toll Plaza. And a few minutes later I disembarked from the bus in front of the McDonald's in adjacent to a Petronas service station. I bought some french fries and a cup of coffee. I've never eaten in McDonald's at 3.00am in the morning before. That was the first time. There's always a first time for everything.
4.30am. I was finally home. It was a great feeling. Being home. Like they say "There's no better place than home".
Photos taken from Google Images.
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