SO after what seems like AGES of not taking the bus and the train, today i finally had to. Duty called *yawns*
Anyway , when it was time to leave, i had to force myself to walk two bus stops away, because RapidKL came up with this AMAZING system called the ZONE system! *oooooohhhh aaaahhhh*
This was the saddest piece of news I heard when it first was announced, it still is BECAUSE :
1 ) Anyone using the RapidKL buses KNOWS that there's nothing very rapid about them. They're NEVER on time. Well, they are once u learn their UNpunctuality. I have a little book of Rapid, jotting down all the times i've spotted the bus so i might might just on time for one and not have to wait a million years for it. Anywho, the 20minute rule is pretty non-existent. Everyone only knows this : It comes after 3 yes, THREE Metro 12 busses.
Side Track : Why doesnt everyone just take the Metro 12 then?
Reason : Because like every student travelling back and forth EVERYDAY from Kajang, or Shah Alam , Klang or anywhere, its EXPENSIVE!
1) continued..
So the only reason anyone in the right mind would mind the half an hour to one hour wait , is cause it's RM 2 no matter how far you travel.
Metro : It's RM 2 one way to KL Sentral from Millenium Court.
So it was perfect, you had the Metro for all the one way taking bus people, and the RapidKL for all the two-way / lots of interchange of buses/ traveling every day kinda people.
Now, the system is just broken! Rapid has become like Metro, with the one way passes and the only-for-one-bus rule.
So what is a person like me, and like many others out there to do? I think Rapid is still slightly cheaper than Metro because Metro raised its prices too.
But anyway, its ridiculous ! Oh and the Zone system :
I found out today, since they've FINALLY pasted the list of zones and how much each stop costs from the place you get in the bus, that from the UH bus stop to the Mahsa bus stop, is a whole 90cents more! This is 2, yes TWO bus stops away, it would take u 5 minutes the MOST to walk from one to the other.
This just doesn't make any sense. OK! It would make total sense to make it 90cents more expensive maybe AFTER that MC bus stop, cause the next bus stop is after the fly-over and near Jaya 1? But to make two bus stops different from another one that's on the SAME stretch of road!
Ohmygosh! I don't think public transportation has ever frustrated me more. Not even the crazy KTM delays.
So today, i walked to the UH bus stop, and payed the FAIR Rm 1.00 fare! There, u happy now u Greedy RapidKL people!!
Blahhhh, this post was not supposed to be about RapidKL and their evil ways, it was actually supposed to be about the nicest old man i met in the UH bus stop.This bus stop is definitely more interesting than the MC one. Almost everyone here, is sick or has some part of their body bandaged and just anyone with from holding x-rays to children with the sniffles.
I finally got a seat after most of the peopel left when the Metro 12 arrived. And this very pleasant looking old man sat next to me after making conversation about my bottle and book that was occupying his soon-to-be seat. I picked them up and placed them on my lap and just simply said sorry and giggled a little.
But as we were sitting down there, this man kept glancing behind to his left, over his shoulders, and kept smiling like he's just seen a friend. I heard some voices coming from the back so i assumed he probably did. But it didnt just end with one glance and one smile, he did it again. Okay, so maybe they missed him the first time. But then, again for the third time. Okay, now i had to look, who was this very very blur person?
So i turned, and saw an indian man speaking to a malay man, while barely sitting on the little space the wall provided. Okay, so these are his friends huh? Sweet. They must be hospital buddies. (kekeke)
Then, he did it again, and this time with a "HI!" , i just impulsively turned to look at his friends, to quickly realise they weren't his friends. They did even stop their conversation. They've not been listening to him the whole time. And he, he was saying hi and smiling to no one.
I took a nervous glance to the man on my other side, and he returned it. I just looked straight ahead and ignored the rest of his glances and "Hi!''s. He also twitched and made funny faces in intervals of about 5 mins. But in the mean time, i just couldn't believe the absolute manner this man had. He smiled at EVERY person that walked by, be it a kid or a woman or a man! He smiled! And it looked absolutely genuine.
An old chinese man sat just down on the bus stop cement right beside him, and he just began to talk to the man. He said " Ohh, nak duduk ke? i would give you my seat, but saya pun penat jugak." I immediately moved a little more towards the man on my left, making room just enough for one more person. He soon realised, and then said "aahh, adapun tempat duduk, mari mari duduk!" then turned to me and said "Boleh ye?" gesturing coming closer to me. I of course said ok,and giggled more. Then the four of us sat on this tiny strip of metal of a bench, and he continued talking to the chinese man. He asked him what he was there for, and after he said for gastric, he mumbled something about happiness and kept rubbing his chest.
I'm pretty sure the chinese man was a little uncomfortable, he merely answered in short simple sentences that left little to elaborate on, or make new conversation with. Then a Tempatan bus arrived, and this malay man asked the chinese man, "bus ape ni? pergi ke central market ke?" the other man didn't know so i told him, no it doesnt. Then he looked at me, and was just so amused, and said, "ohh, only the metro 12 does rite" , "oh yes and the U85" ,"my name is (memory fails!) what's your name?". we shook hands and he muttered something about talking and happiness and people. "ooo ok, how much is the fare?" then i told him the wrong amount with which he replied "ohh the metro is only 1.90". I told him a metro was at the traffic light, he just got up and said "arent u coming?". I told him i was waiting for the Rapid and he said "ok, all the best to you!" and slightly bowed before getting on the bus. As the bus moved, i saw him sit next to a young chinese girl and say something,and i saw the girl put on a small smile that quickly disappeared as soon as she turned away from him. LOL! =)
There was definitely something wrong with him. Delusional, ticks and weird eyes. The ticking and the Hi's never stopped but to think that such a nice man, had to be ill! That's heartbreaking. He was one of the most pleasant person I've ever met. And i think that bus stop is now my favourite one and my new inspiration for blogging! =P
Thursday, October 1, 2009
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