Last week, the plan was to write about trains. And, the trip my husband and I took from KL to Ipoh via the ETS or Electric Train Service.

It got derailed by buses. I kid you not I had no plans to write about buses, especially as I don’t like them. The years of pent-up fed-upness associated with buses came to the fore, and I didn’t/couldn’t put a brake on it.

I’m laughing now. I’m also pleased with myself. For meandering. For going off topic. For not reigning in or caring that I might not make much sense. That’s not entirely true. I do care. I want to make some sense😊.

I find writing about stuff amplifies experiences and emotions. I don’t plan or consciously think about it. I start to write and thoughts and memories, hidden or lying somewhere in the deep recesses of my ever-forgetful mind, get regurgitated.

Sometimes, it steers me to the old days, which can make me happy and laugh out loud. Or nostalgic and melancholic. At other times, I learn new and interesting information from reading and Google searches to augment or verify my story.

Whichever, whatever, it’s a nice way to document happenings. For now, and maybe, for posterity. That said, I have not yet been able to read my mum’s stories on my blog. Things that I wrote before she passed. Like her fastidious clock watching, how she got excited during Deepavali, and her special recipes. I still can’t watch videos of her, only photos. With time…

Anyways, back to what I had planned to write. My now preferred public transport is trains, particularly the LRT or Light Rail Transport and MRT or Mass Rapid Transport. There was a time when I drove everywhere. Public transport was not a consideration. I’d rather be stuck in traffic congestions in the comfort of my own car, or so I told myself, rather than get on a bus (not that) or train. Airplanes, yes, commercial air travel, is a different kettle of fish. Flying was/is mainly due to access and distant destinations.

I cannot say for sure why I didn’t use public transport at home, but readily did when I was outside the country. Jumping on buses and trains was not discussed, it was just done. Locally, the only place I used the LRT was to Petaling Jaya. The Taman Jaya station is walking distance from my hair salon. And, even then, I drove most times despite having to park in a winding, multi-storey building, where an empty bay was a difficult find. Truth be told, I also drove because it was easier not to have to lug grocery items like oats, Popinjay soap (yes), denture cleaners, and medicines that I used to buy for my mum from a pharmacy in that area.

I started using the MRT after sister number 3 had used it to visit brother number 1 in hospital on the Putrajaya line. She and I also travelled together to spend time with him. Relatively new, the second MRT line became fully operational in March, 2023. Literally less than 500m from my condominium building, my husband and I knew of the stations and watched commuters walk from the LRT station to the MRT station and visa-versa as they are both interchange stations.

We eventually used the MRT later that year, and the rest, as they say, is history. Getting to places in and around the city became a hop and a skip away. The MRT 1 and MRT 2 networks are extensive, and connect to enough places that we used to drive to and struggle to find parking. Never mind, the traffic that we had to fight with. And, our contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. We are now somewhat regular commuters. There is a proposed third line called the MRT Circle Line. Yay.

While reading about the two operating MRT lines, which have 31 and 36 stations respectively, I learnt that I had a lot more to learn about the train systems in the country. I thought there was only one LRT line, the one I used, which is the Kelana Jaya line. Nope. There are two others, namely the Ampang and Sri Petaling lines.

There is also an elevated monorail service that does city routes. We’ve been on it, once. The ERL or Express Rail Link is a high-speed rail that connects between the city centre and the KL International Airport. Plus, there is the KTM Komuter train services. This connects the suburbs and outskirts of KL to the city centre.

A few weeks ago, my husband and I rode the ETS from KL to Ipoh. It was a trial run to see if we could be encouraged to try the longer routes to Butterworth and further north to Padang Besar.

I think it’s more likely a yay.