Arriving Home
12 July 2019.
Overnight Bus ticket to Singapore: RM70
I reached the Sri Maju office at 2000, with plenty of time to spare before my 2130 overnight bus home. When I called to book my bus ticket the day before, they mentioned that they could hold my ticket on reserve till 2030 today and I should come before that to make payment. More importantly, the bus to Singapore will leave from Ipoh Amanjaya Terminal, a central transport hub for interstate coaches which was unfortunately rather far from Ipoh old town. They provided shuttle bus service and I was informed to board the shuttle bus from their Jalan Bendahara office to Amanjaya Terminal at 2055.
Boarding the overnight bus back home. 1955 hr.
By 2100, I was on the bus towards Singapore. The shuttle bus never came instead, our Singapore bound bus picked us up from the Jalan Bendahara office before heading to the Amanjaya Terminal to pick up more passengers. The bus was manned by two drivers who took turns to drive that night. As we passed by Kuala Lumpur at 1230, I tried to catch sight of the Twin Towers but I could only gather a glimpse of its outline from the highway. At 0230, the bus pulled into a Sri Maju rest stop at Yong Peng for dinner and toilet break.
13 July 2019.
At 0500 hr, the bus reached Larkin Bus Terminal, the main transportation hub in Johor Bahru where most passengers alighted. We were then only about half an hour from the Malaysian Customs however with the numerous vehicles heading from Johor Bahru towards Singapore every morning, the ride took well over an hour. By 0640, we had cleared the Malaysian customs and were back on the bus towards Singapore.
Left and Middle: Arriving at the Malaysian Checkpoint in Johor Bahru, 0618 hr. Rightmost: Malaysia-Singapoore Causeway on the way home! 0655 hr.
We reached Singapore Customs at 0715 and I was done with both passport and baggage checks by 0725. At 0800, the bus pulled into its destination at Golden Mile Complex. We gathered around the luggage compartment of bus as one of the bus driver helped to bring out our luggages.
“Here,” he said, holding out the shoulder straps of my backpack.
“Thank you very much Sir,” I beamed. I was exhausted but excited and comforted to be able to see the familiar landscapes again and that I will soon see my family. I would usually pull my backpack straps onto the floor and lift it up from there as it had grown too heavy from my shopping to simply swing it onto my back. His kind gesture had saved me some time and effort and I was soon on my way home. I had yet to change the SIM card in my phone and thus asked a passer-by for the nearest MRT station which turned out to be Nicoll Highway. That would be another hour and a half journey home, a rather peaceful one with the significantly smaller Saturday morning crowd.
Saturday Morning on the MRT home, 0809 hr.
Lunch with the family, 1304 hr. Looking at the state of the luggage tag that was attached to my bag 48 days ago at Changi Airport.
With the most unexpected surprises and challenges, it was a fulfilling journey indeed, something which I will always fondly recall upon.
Till then, Home Sweet Home.