Commuter... can eat?

The answer is... CAN! Damnit no digi cam! Must remember to bug Audrey to lend me hers...

Well the fact is... if you go to the subang parade stop in the morning, you will see hawker shops outside and inside the place. There are even places for you to sit and enjoy your meal. Most of them are take away shops tho.

Is the food good? Do I look like I want yet ANOTHER bout of food poisoning? Call me snobbish, but I don't trust these guys! God knows how old they food is, and how clean they are about preparing their food!

Any ways thats besides the point. My meaning of commuter can eat... is slightly different. I mean that commuter can pakai? As in, is it of any good?

I've not been to the commuter station in 11 years no less. 11 years is a LONG time. Surely there has been SOME progress in the past eleven years. First impression of the station. It has progressed! Progressed into disrepair! The place looked even shadier than I recall it when I was 16... there were still the usual malay dudes at the side hanging out doing what they do best, NOTHING! No security in sight. No staff in sight. Brilliant.

Maybe they upgraded the machinery. Nope. I think it is the EXACT same bloody machines they had 11 years ago. Heres a sidetrack story about me and the machines.

I spent like a coupla seconds trying to figure out how to work the machine. Ok. Click Central. Thats my destination. Done. Wait. How come the fare did not come out. No instructions. Nothing. Odd. Is the machine spoilt? *looks around for help but no one is there*

A few minutes later... it struck me... at the corner of the damn machine, it said 'sehala' (one way) 'balik' (return) 'mingguan' (weekly). The MYSTERY WAS SOLVED! And I felt like a complete idiot. But then. No freaking instructions! How hard can it be to add in a simple instruction like that at the top.

My biggest bitch is that EVERYTHING is in bloody MALAY. I know its the national language and all, but its visit Malaysia year right? What about the tourists? What about poor sods like me who don't know how to read bloody Malay to save their lives? Developing country? One that doesn't even have basic instructions in the international language. What a JOKE.

So armed with my hard fought ticket, I go to the platforms to wait for my train. NO SIGNS of which direction was for which station. NONE whatsoever. You're expected to be pyshic and feel the force. Hmmm the force in this train is headed towards lots of angry people stuck in a jam. Ah! KL!

If I didn't call my friend earlier for instructions I would have probably got on the wrong side of the track. Malaysian authorities are so thoughtful.

Any way I was disgusted at the state of the place. There were morons smoking near children. Ciggerette buds all over the floor. Garbage. And this was in the MORNING. Imagine what it is like in the evenings or at night.

After waiting for what seemed like forever (a normal occurence for Malaysian public transport... this too has not changed) the train arrived. As usual the people make me sick. They don't wait for people to get OUT of the train. They RUSH into the train pushing and shoving, rushing for the ample seats. Come on la. There were like 10 people getting on to the train and millions of empty seats. But no... the POLITENESS in Malaysians just took over.

So I got shoved around a bit. Nevermind. At least the train was clean and the seats comfortable. The only thing that has impressed me so far... and sadly the only thing that WILL impress me.

Now I've been on the London tube and the Singaporean one too. Malaysia's KTM does compare to it in terms of speed. Yup. Like comparing a one legged midget to a steroid junked up Ben Johnson. The train was practically going backwards!

Finally I reach my destination. KL Central. The pride of Malaysia. It was decent la. Clean, well sign posted. Security. Staff to ask questions. Ok so it was not too bad. Pretty ok. So I went about my business in KL Central. And when I was done. I wanted to head back to Subang Parade.

I have the sense of direction of a blind badger. I'm more likely to fart my way into a coven of witches than to find my way back to where I want to go. So I do the logical thing. I ask for directions. Some were polite. But of little help. Most of them gave me fast food chain restaurants as land marks for the platform to Subang Parade. Which of course were of no use.

One particularly snide person even asked me 'What do I look like? The information counter?' To which I replied 'No, you look too stupid to be of any information at all. I'm sorry,' and left.

I walked for 30 minutes before finding my way to the platform. Good exercise. Not so good for my time.

So that was my little adventure with our local KTM system. Long may it live, so that it might ACTUALLY IMPROVE.

Nah. Pigs would fly.